Read Public Art Calls Like a Pro: What to Look for First

If you are an artist interested in applying for public art calls, you first have to find the right ones. With a quick internet search you should be able to find a few websites that host calls for public art, but not all calls are going to be a good fit. 

Mixed in on these pages will be opportunities that are not public art, such as exhibits and residencies. These might be great for you as well, but for the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on PUBLIC ART calls. 

Some of these call postings can be very text heavy and take a bit of time to decipher. Here is how I quickly scan a call to make sure it is something I am interested in. 

Eligibility: 

Calls often open with a lot of lofty language about the project background and goals. This is all important information… for later. First things first, make sure you are eligible for the project. 

A well outlined call will be clearly marked somewhere near the top with who is eligible. 

Most calls base this eligibility on your location. Look to see if the call is open locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. See my guide on these below

LOCAL: 

This typically means within the same state, but scan to be sure that is as specific as it gets. I occasionally see calls that are really looking out for their local artist community by limiting eligibility to a certain city or county. 

REGIONALLY:

This can be ambiguous so read deeper into the call to make sure that you are in the region they are looking for. It never hurts to email the person running the call to check and make sure you are eligible. If you do email, don’t wait until the final days of the call. Your delay is not the art administrators emergency, and they may not be able to respond to your email in time. 

NATIONALLY:

This indicates they want applicants within the nation. Most of the call sites I mention will be based in the United States. 

INTERNATIONALLY: 

Calls like this have thrown the doors wide open and are searching far and wide for any and all applicants that would be a good fit. 

Budget: 

Once you have established that you are eligible, next it is time to check and see if it is worth the value of your time. There is no standardization with public art call budgets. Some calls are very well funded and others are so underfunded that if an artist isn’t careful they could lose money in the making of the art. 

The big question is, can you accomplish the work for the amount being offered? 

Murals have a pretty high profit margin, so the answer is usually yes (though depending on the project your margins can get slim). Sculptures and mosaics may be cutting it close.  Additionally, you have to consider how you value your time. If you fill your schedule with low budget projects, you won’t have time to take on the high budget projects when they come along, and you will always be just keeping your head above water financially. 

For murals, find the square footage and the budget being offered. How much is being offered per square foot? Will you need a lift? Will you have to travel and pay for lodging?

Unfortunately, administrators  may not be considering what is a fair amount of work for the budget they have. A new public art administrator or enthusiastic volunteer at an arts organization may have a large available wall, and a small budget, and just throw it out there to see what they can accomplish. If someone is new to public art, they may underestimate what a mural in the area typically goes for. 

It would be a mistake to assume that all arts administrators value art or are looking out for the arts community. I do believe that most are, and they want good things for the artist and for the communities that they are working for, but every situation is unique. 

I chronically assume good intentions and sometimes that gets me into trouble. More than once we have come across someone who, unfortunately, takes pride in seeing how much they can take advantage of an artist during a project. Be on the lookout for scope creep, or projects that involve much more square footage than is realistic for their budget.  

We have met and had the privilege of working with some absolutely amazing change-makers for their communities that use public art to better the lives of those in their communities in inspiring ways. Just be mindful that this may not always be the case. A few times we have run into a situation where the person in charge of making a mural happen is a city employee that was moved over to the position, and is not invested in the arts at all, and the tone of the whole project as well as the budget to scope ratio reflect this. Only you can determine if the work matches the value of your time and effort.

Application Requirements 

There are primarily two different types of art calls you will encounter, ones that require your proposed artwork and those that do not. Art calls that require proposed artwork up front are called Requests for Proposals of RFP’s. Those that will select you for a second round based off of your portfolio are called RFQ’s. 

RFP’s are going to require a lot more time and energy on your part with potentially no reward. It is up to you to recognize if they are asking for artwork up front and if it is worth your free labor to submit for the call. There is a big conversation that needs to take place in the arts community about these two different types of calls, and personally I would love to see a solid shift away from RFPs.

Timeline

The timeline is rarely (in my experience) been the actual timeline. This is one factor in a call that I would not let discourage you from applying. It seems like everytime we apply for a call, a week after the deadline we get an email from the organization that issued the call stating that they will be delayed due to an overwhelming amount of submissions. 

On top of that, projects (especially ones that want a fast turn-around) are often delayed for months beyond what was intended. Not everyone running a call is fully aware of all of the red tape they will have to jump through with various organization and city approvals. I have found that often, these committees may only meet once a month and have a full agenda. The mural may not get approved right away and substantial delays can occur. 

If I see a call that has a timeline for production during a space I already know I have booked, I generally apply anyway. So far there has never been an issue with this. Things typically settle into the right spaces, and I would much rather be a bit overbooked and have to skip a few days off, than go weeks without work because I didn’t shoot my shot. 

It never hurts to email the administrator either. They may have set the month of production arbitrarily and have no problem with an adjustment in timeline. 

Fees

Calls that have a fee to submit are very rare and send up an immediate red flag for me. While you may see this frequently with gallery or residency submissions, you almost never see this sort of thing on public art calls. In charging a fee for submission, artists are essentially paying for the opportunity to work, which stirs up ethics issues. 

I understand that some art committees seek to weed out casual applicants and reduce the submission load by charging a fee, but what will happen instead is, they will make everyone angry and chase off the serious candidates they are seeking.

Artists, keep in mind that not every call for artists is going to be posted by a public art commissioning body. Occasionally, you may see a private business masquerading as a public art commissioning body, seeking submissions like an RFP. While this is already out of line (they should do their research and work with a single artist like any other business), I’ve seen these “opportunities” trying to charge a submission fee as well. This reeks of a scam. Spend your time and talents elsewhere. 

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Mastering the art of quickly assessing public art calls can save you time and align your efforts with opportunities that truly fit your goals. By focusing on eligibility, budget, application requirements, timelines, and potential red flags, you can navigate the selection process with confidence and clarity.

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