Artists

1. Call to Artists: Broader and less formal terms that encompass Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

2. Request for Qualifications (RFQ): Asks for artist portfolios or examples of previous work. A project artist can be selected based on the RFQ, or a shortlist of artist applications can be created.

3. Request for Proposals (RFP): After shortlisting or selecting the artist, an RFP asks for a specific concept proposal. The best practice is to compensate an artist for a proposal.

4. Request for Letter of Interest (LOI) : Smaller scale requests that ask for an artist’s understanding of the project and if they have done similar projects in the past.

Be as specific as possible in the call for artists about community engagement needs and expectations. Not all artists are trained or have extensive experience in working with community groups. Being clear about what is expected at the beginning of the project is a critical first step.

Reach out to community organizations and neighborhood groups before issuing the call to understand community needs and expectations for a specific project. It’s important to engage the community in all major points of decision-making, including picking a topic, defining goals, delineating timelines, etc.

When creating a call for artists it can be difficult to create a vision for what is needed while also giving the artist space to bring their own creativity and ideas, especially within a co-creative process with the community. Certain aspects should be considered when crafting language for the call:

• Outline the interests of the community as they’ve been identified by the community. What language do they use to frame the issue at hand?

• If it’s a process-oriented project, be comfortable with hiring an artist without yet knowing the final product.

• If art is to be a tool or process in community-building efforts, be explicit about that within the call.

• When looking at an artist’s work, examine if their work was produced with the community, or if their work was produced independently of the direct community involvement. Both are valid art practices, but the orientation of the artist towards the community will be different in each one.

Local and outside artists can both bring unique experiences to the project, so it is important to consider the project goals to determine what would be most valuable. Local artists may have the advantage of bringing insight from the nearby area and may better understand the community. Outside artists may approach the project from a different perspective. Consider your project goals to determine what type of artist best fits those needs.

Craft questions that will give insight into who the artist is, their perspectives, and values. Be respectful of the artist’s time. Here are some questions for the artist to consider:

→ Reflect on your artistic practice. (Look for an artist who is introspective and knowledgeable about their own practice.)

→ How does your practice address social equity?

→ Describe a personal experience that made you interested in the residency?

→ Describe a collaborative project in which you have co-facilitated. (People and relationships are the most important part.)

→ Which community design principles do you hope to explore?

→ Describe an instance where you used experimentation and discovery in a project. (This lets the artist know the organization is comfortable with iterative design and process-oriented projects.)

→ If you are an artist collaborative, please describe your internal process for co-managing large projects. (This is helpful for knowing who in the collective is actually applying, and who will be working on the project.)

There are many ways to structure calls for artists:

• Open call: These are open to anyone and can be distributed at any scale (local, regional, state, national, international)

• Limited (invitational) calls: Before the process begins, a select group of artists is identified by the organization, and the call invites them directly to apply. These calls can have application materials closely defined, such as a pre-proposal. If more than basic information is requested, then applicants should be compensated. Unlike design and planning proposals, which are often not compensated for by organizations or municipalities, artistic proposals need to be supported financially.

• Direct selection/commission: Artists are directly selected for these projects – often from a pre-reviewed list of potential artists.

• Social media announcements

• City Cultural Affairs Departments or Public Art Program newsletters

• Local arts organizations newsletters and distribution channels

• Professional PR firms can help with press releases

• Colleagues can send information to their networks

• Ambassadors in the community can distribute to their networks

• Call for Entry (Café)

• Submittable

• Publicartist.org

• Americans for the Arts public art network

Once artists or arts groups have submitted, the next step is to decide who to choose for the project. Just as there is no single way to put out a call for artists, there is also no single way to organize the selection process.

Some key tips:

• Create a panel, usually 3-5 people, who can judge submissions. Select panelists who represent the community and arts profession perspectives.

  • Arts experts bring knowledge of the visual, performing, and / or literary arts. Sometimes this includes curators, artists who are not applying for the project, arts administrators, educators, and other creative professionals.

  • Community experts bring knowledge of the aspirations, experiences, and logistics of working with a community. This often includes people who live or work in a place, or people who share an experience relevant to the project. If your project involves a specific organization or group of people, they are represented on the panel by a person selected by that group.

  • Project experts bring knowledge about how a project will be managed, stakeholder and funder responsibilities, and the history of how a project came to be. This can include the groups commissioning the project, designers, planners, and others involved with project implementation.

• Create a scoresheet outlining the project criteria. Although the final artist may not be selected based on the point system, the scorecard can serve as a collectively agreed-upon starting point.