Open Call for Artists: Community Commissions: Artists RFP

Artists are eligible to receive up to $20,000 towards direct project costs for sculptural work or twodimensional work. In addition, NYC DOT may arrange for an engineering review by a NYS licensed engineer for all sculptural work and will provide the necessary permits to install on City-owned property. NYC DOT may provide additional services on a case-by-case basis to assist with project implementation.

Community Commissions is a signature NYC DOT Art initiative in which the agency collaborates with community-based organizations to commission artists to design and install temporary public art on NYC DOT infrastructure citywide. In advance
of the Artists RFP, NYC DOT Art identifies community-based partners (“Partner Organizations”) through the Partners RFP, to collaborate with NYC DOT Art throughout all project phases, including the Artist selection process. The Partner Organizations selected to present temporary art exhibit strong organizational capacity with investment in the broader community and ability to navigate diverse audiences.

Requirements

The NYC DOT Art team, the Artist, a representative from the Partner Organization, and other NYC DOT staff make up the Project Team. Throughout implementation, the Project Team meets to review design, confer on budget, develop a project
schedule, assess the engineering documentation, and sign the legal agreement.

The Artist is responsible for:
1) fabrication and installation;
2) artwork maintenance during the display period;
3) removal of the artwork upon completion of the display period; and
4) restoration of the site to its original condition.
The identified Partner Organizations will sign a legal agreement with NYC DOT and provide a certificate of insurance naming the City as an additional insured on behalf of the Artist. As per the agreement, the Artist receives credit, sole ownership, and copyright of the final design and artwork, but is required to extend to the City and the partner organization the right to a royalty-free, perpetual license to use any depiction of the artwork for non-commercial purposes.

Application Instructions

Artists are invited to submit proposals in response to the list of priority sites as outlined in Appendix A by Sunday, June 30, 2024, 12:59 pm EST. Funding is not guaranteed with project selection. Interested Artists are invited to submit a single proposal for one priority site including the restrictions and considerations listed in Appendix A. Artists are only eligible to receive one commission per fiscal year.

Please submit applications through our Submittable portal at nycdotart.submittable.com/submit. Incomplete applications will not be considered.