Artful Inlets 2021
Submissions Due: 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 18
APPLY ONLINE HERE
Zoom Info Session: View here
Passcode: UrG+b50a
Click here to view video shown in Zoom Info Session
On behalf of the Norman Arts Council and the City of Norman, Oklahoma, the Norman Public Arts Board seeks artist submissions for Artful Inlets.
The City of Norman operates and maintains a series of underground pipes, open channels, ditches, and roadways used to collect or convey stormwater runoff from our homes and businesses to the nearest body of water, such as a creek, stream, or lake. In urban areas, stormwater runoff from hard surfaces, like roofs and driveways, flows along the side of the road until it reaches a storm drain, which is an opening or grate in the curb connected by pipes to the nearest waterbody. Water and other materials that enter these storm drains are transported directly to our creeks and streams without any treatment. Some of the pollutants that enter our local creeks and streams with stormwater runoff include grass clippings, oil, trash, fertilizers, pesticides, and pet waste.
For the 3rd Annual Artful Inlets program, the Norman Arts Council, Public Arts Board, and City of Norman are inviting artists to submit designs that will transform city storm drains into works of public art. These artful inlets will educate and raise awareness that pollutants that go down storm drains have a devasting impact on our local water quality.
There are currently ten Artful Inlets on Main Street, and this year we will be adding an additional five (5) drains identified for this project. They will all be on Legacy Trail west of Jones Avenue from Main Street to Acres Street. The artwork should have a stormwater and/or water quality theme, "Only Rain Down the Drain", and must be adaptable to any of the five specified drains. Each selected artist will incorporate their original design into the prescribed area around the storm drain. See below for details..
Submission Rules
Artists (or a team of artists) must be 18 years or older and a resident(s) of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
Artist who completed an Artful Inlets design in 2019 and/or 2020 are eligible to submit in 2021.
All designs must be submitted on the provided Design Worksheet.
Design proposals must be submitted through Submittable no later than Thursday, March 18th 2021. Only applications submitted through the on-line process will be considered.
Artists must submit only original designs and, if selected, must install the selected, original design.
Submissions must include a short artist biography and information about the proposed design
A list of any additional materials to be used that are not provided must also be included
Design Criteria
Artistic excellence
Each design must include the slogan "Only Rain Down the Drain" within the design.
When designing artwork, each artist is asked to consider the following themes:
Stormwater Pollution
Environmental Protection: the importance of cleaner water
The design must be appropriate for a public space.
Any materials supplied by the artist must be eco-friendly, not contribute to stormwater pollution, and be pre-approved by the selection panel at least two weeks before the designs are painted.
The design may not contain any business reference, promotions or advertisements.
It may not contain any breach of intellectual property, brands or trademarks, or depiction of illegal activity.
Final painting must match the proposed design.
Selected Artists will receive:
$400.00 stipend when installation and sealing is completed
A cleaned, primed area stationed off with appropriate traffic control devices while painting
Tent to provide shade over the area while painting
Sherwin-Williams Armorseal paint – black, white, yellow, red, and blue with a non-slip additive
Water for painting
Tubs and containers for water and paint
Drinking water
Selected Artists must provide:
The original design
Execution of the accepted design
Brushes
Any other supplies or tools they deem necessary to execute their design
The artists will be selected based on the materials submitted in this application. Artist selection for this project will be made by a panel including City of Norman staff and members of the Norman Public Arts Board who will choose 5 artists and 1 alternate based on the following criteria:
Artistic Merit
Incorporation of the theme
Feasibility of executing the proposed design
Appropriateness of design
The Selection Panel will assign a storm drain to each artist upon selection. Soon after the selected artists are notified, a staff member from the NAC or the City will meet with each artist at their designated storm drain to discuss the specific size and shape of their design relative to their assigned space.
Artful Inlets Information Session via Zoom
An information session was held on February 25, 2021 via ZOOM at 6:30pm. At the meeting, they reviewed the timeline and process for the 2020 Artful Inlets Program. Interested artists who missed the meeting can view the recording, now!
Zoom Info Session: View here
Passcode: UrG+b50a
Click here to view video shown in Zoom Info Session
Timeline
Submission deadline is Thursday, March 18, 2021
Artists will be selected and notified by Thursday, April 15, 2021
Installation of the artwork will be on Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30, 2021
Mayor Clark’s walking tour celebrating the Artful Inlets will be announced at a later date when it is appropriate to host public gatherings.
During the two days of installation, the artists will be photographed, interviewed, and a video will be made to give each artist an opportunity to talk about their design, their motivation for participating, and their process. These will be used to create a feature segment for the following virtual 2nd Friday.
Please note that if there are any changes to the installation schedule due to inclement weather, selected artists will be contacted with alternate installation dates. Possible alternate dates include Wednesday, April 28 and Monday, May 3, 2021.
Defined space for artwork
The area that artists are allowed to paint is approximately a three (3) feet wide by ten (10) feet long area on the sidewalk/bridge above the inlet/channel (see template below). Additional area around the inlet is also available and will be discussed with selected artists to allow for incorporation in selected designs prior to installation.
Artists must use the template to propose designs. Although the various storm drains are shaped differently, the prepared and sealed sidewalk surrounding the drains will be in a rectangular shape. Be mindful that some changes to your design may be required to accommodate the specific location. Each artist will meet with a staff member of the NAC or the City as soon as they have been selected so they can become familiar with the size and shape of their assigned inlet and make any modifications to their design as needed.
Each storm drain is made of metal with a metal grate in front of it that varies in shape and position, as represented in the photos below. The shape of each paintable surface is a rectangle. The design should fill the entire canvas and be adjustable to highlight the drain nearest each location. Please use the template as a guide.
Copyright
The design must be original and must not infringe on any other person’s intellectual property rights.
Each selected artist further grants the City of Norman, Norman Arts Council, and the Public Arts Board the exclusive rights to reproduce the design (including electronic images) for fundraising, educational, and promotional purposes.
Vandalism
While the City of Norman will provide a clear, vandal-resistance varnish, artists should also be aware that the City of Norman cannot prevent vandalism to said artwork, although every effort will be made to protect it.
Maintenance
The finished works will be on working drains and regular maintenance by the City may damage the artwork. Additionaly time and/or weather may eventually cause artwork to fade. If, in the opinion of the City, NAC, and PAB, the artwork can be touched-up or refreshed, reasonable attempts will be made to contact the artist to see if they want to do that work without additional compensation.
Removal
Artwork must be consistent with submitted and selected artwork. If, in the opinion of the Public Arts Board, the artwork does not reflect the submitted design, the City has the right to remove it partially or completely.
Artists can anticipate the artwork being in place a minimum of one year. However, the City and NAC have the right to remove the artwork at any time if they jointly agree that the artwork is inappropriate due to design, condition, or vandalism. The City reserves the right to remove the artwork immediately if it presents a danger to public safety or the drain needs maintenance, repair, or replacement.
Liability
Each artist agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the City of Norman, Norman Arts Council, and the Public Arts Board from any loss or damage, any and all third party claims, demands, actions, legal fees or costs for which the Artist is legally responsible, including those arising out of negligence, willful harm, or crimes by the Artist or the Artist’s employees, agent or subcontractors. This “hold harmless” agreement shall survive beyond the term of the Artist’s service contract.
The City of Norman, Norman Arts Council, and the Public Arts Board will not be liable or responsible for any bodily or personal injury or property damage of any nature that may be suffered by the Artist, their employees, agents or subcontractors in the performance of this Project, except to the extent of any negligence or misconduct on the part of the City of Norman, Norman Arts Council, and the Public Arts Board.
Commissioning of artists is implemented without preference to racial or ethnic origins, sex, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability or age.
The Norman Arts Council and the City of Norman reserve the right to modify this solicitation and to request additional information or proposals from any or all participating artists. The Norman Arts Council and the City of Norman also reserve the right to accept or reject, at any time prior to the commissioning of a work, any or all proposals when the acceptance, rejection, waiver or advertisement would be in the best interest of the project. In addition, they may solicit proposals from artists not responding to this call and reserves the right to select an artist outside of the pool of artists responding to this call.
Questions
Debby Williams, Public Art Manager, Norman Arts Council
debby@normanarts.org
405-360-1162
