Prairie Rhythms, a collaborative mural from OU School of Visual Arts students located in Downtown Norman, coordinated in part by the Public Art Committee in Fall 2023
The Norman Arts Council and the Norman Public Art Committee are excited to announce the 2024 Mural Incentive Program. This program is intended to enhance the cultural landscape of Norman, Oklahoma by providing matching funds of up to $10,000 to business and property owners who wish to invest in a mural on the exterior of their space.
The program was born out of equal parts community interest and support from The City of Norman, which provided the funding to launch the program.
“The idea for this began when I was driving around Downtown Norman and took photos of blank walls, posted them to Facebook with captions asking how great these wall would look with a mural on them,” said Cody Giles, the chair of the Norman Public Art Committee. “People seemed to gravitate toward the idea, then I was reached out to by Councilmember Matt Peacock to see how The City of Norman could help make something happen. After a conversation, we had a plan and that plan turned into this incentive program after a generous pilot program of funding from the city.”
Murals must be located in the city limits of Norman and highly visible to the general public. Submitters can apply for 1 to 1 matching funds of up to $10,000, enabling the possibility of significant public murals to give new life to walls across the city. Non-profit organizations and entities are exempt from matching funds, unless the project budget exceeds $10,000
Those submitting for funding can use any mural artist of their choosing, or, utilize Norman Arts Council’s assistance by looking through our Pre-Qualified Mural Artist Pool highlighting three dozen, vetted and talented Oklahoma mural artists or use NAC to manage a Call for Proposals for the intended mural site.
There are funding requirements that ensures that the business or property owners submitting for matching funding not only have a vested interest in the process but also guarantees that artists — most of which are likely to be local to Oklahoma — are properly paid and supported. This includes minimum pay per square foot and design fees to artists.
“The spirit of the incentive program is to not just get murals up on blank walls, but to get more artists paid, and paid better,” Giles said. “The Public Arts Committee intentionally created the requirement that an artist must make at least $25 per square foot in order to be close to the national average for such projects.”
Applications for funding will be reviewed on a rolling basis with no set deadline. There is limited funding available, though, so interested applicants are encouraged to submit as soon as possible.
Hopes are high that with a positive response from local business and property owners, artists and the community at large, the pilot program will become a regular fixture and spur on more and more murals across the entirety of Norman for years to come.
“I am really excited to see this be successful and have this pilot program be something that is re-upped each year,” Giles said. “Public art is so important for a city’s identity as well as its artistic expression. The Public Arts Committee welcomes the public to join us in our efforts of creating more, future public art opportunities.”