Fort Worth’s Artspace111 Announces $8,000 Mural Open Call

Murals have long been a part of the Fort Worth cityscape, the most notable ones being the Richard Haas Chisolm Trail mural in Sundance Square, and the Stuart Gentling and Suzanne Gentling Untitled (Zipper Mural) on the south end of Downtown Fort Worth. The summer protests of the police killings of George Floyd and Atatiana Jefferson, as well as street demonstrations calling for an investigation of the death of Vanessa Guillen, all became inspirations for new murals in the city. There is even a panel discussion scheduled to talk about the mural movement in Fort Worth, which Glasstire has been on top of.

 

It is with this backdrop that Artspace111 has announced an open call to Texas muralists to design and install a mural on the North wall of its 109-year-old building. An artist or an artist team can now apply for the project, which could be seen by the more than 24,000 drivers heading east out of Downtown Fort Worth on Weatherford Street each day (according to Artspace 111).

“Murals are an important part of what makes Fort Worth a spectacular city,” states Ariel Davis, Artspace111’s Gallery Manager. “As the next stage in the growth of Artspace111, we are ready to move forward with the addition of a massive mural to the physical presence of the gallery and what makes Artspace111 a special art destination. Our goal with this call is to welcome the free ideas and vision of Texas artists, and to give the selected artist or artist team an opportunity to showcase on a large and very visible scale.”

The red brick wall for the mural measures approximately 72 x 22 ft, although the mural could take up less than the full space, and could also wrap around to the building’s west-facing façade.

The total project budget of $8,000 includes supplies, equipment rental, and artist stipend. The budget is final, and safety certification is required for any operational equipment required for installation. Funds will be disbursed on the following schedule: half of the funds at the beginning of the project, and the remaining half when the project is completed. Artspace111 retains copyright of the mural.

The following information must be emailed as a single document to [email protected] as part of the application’s Artwork Proposal Powerpoint Presentation with the title “Muralist Application-Artist Name.” Deadline is January 15, 2021.

Submissions must be in presentation pdf format, such as Powerpoint, limited to 20 pages maximum.  The presentation must contain:

1)     The artists contact information: Name, email, phone number, mailing address.

2)     Social & Web Profile information: Website URL, @instagram, etc.

3)     Proposed artwork for Mural Project. Renderings using images provided by Artspace111 are encouraged but not required. Images of building can be downloaded here.

4)     Narrative, summary, or intent of the piece suggested.

5)     Artist Statement*

6)     CV

7)     3 – 5 image examples of past completed work, identifying each work by title, materials used, and dimensions.

For more on Artspace111, please visit its website here.