WISCONSIN ARTS BOARD

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How to Apply

The Selection Process

The application process for this project utilizes a request for qualifications (RFQ). Please review the prospectus and complete the application form for the project that you are interested in being considered for. Please do not submit proposals.

The selection committee for each project is made up of arts professionals and state agency representatives, combining local and state resources to balance the interests of the public, the agency receiving the artwork, the artist, and the state. The committee determines the parameters for the project, including potential sites, media, and thematic content.

For all the projects, the listed sites and specification for media are only preliminary. Each project’s selection committee will conduct an initial review of images from each artist, based on artistic quality and appropriateness to the site. The rest of the submission materials of a selected number of artists will then be reviewed. The committee will then select one to three semi-finalists who will be invited to participate in on-site architectural and programmatic presentations and personal interviews with committee members in preparation for developing site specific design concept proposals. The selection committee may, at the time of the personal interview, select a singular artist for proposal development. At a subsequent meeting, the committee will consider the proposals and make a final selection or start the process over. Final committee recommendations are then reviewed by the Wisconsin Arts Board. The artist is commissioned to produce the work after the design is approved.

Artists invited to participate in the on-site orientation meeting and submit a proposal will be provided limited travel expenses. When an artist/s is/are selected to proceed to the proposal stage, a design fee will be provided.  Artists will have 60 days or more to prepare a conceptual proposal and will then present their proposal to the selection committee.  If multiple artists are selected to proceed to the proposal development stage, the selection committee will review the proposals and select one artist for the commission.

Selection Criteria

Artists are selected on the basis of how appropriate their work is to the site. General criteria include aesthetic and technical quality and durability. The artist’s ability to create artwork of a similar scale along with expertise in producing artwork for the public is also considered. Committees will identify specific criteria relating to potential sites, media, and thematic content for each project as outlined in the prospectus. In addition to the general criteria listed here, applicants should review the listing of conceptual considerations in the prospectus, since these considerations serve as project specific criteria.

To help achieve the goal of placing contemporary art in public places, the Percent for Art program only considers work by living artists and will only purchase or commission artwork directly from the artist. Competitions are accessible to state, regional and national artists; preference is given to artists residing in Wisconsin when no other basis for differentiating finalists exists.

Artists who are full-time or part-time students pursuing a degree in the fine arts are not eligible to apply.

Submission Materials

In order to be considered for one of the Commission projects listed on this website, artists must submit the following five (5) items to the Wisconsin Arts Board. Check individual project listings for the postmark deadline.

1. IMAGES: Please read Image Guidelines. Please submit all digital images on a PC-formatted CD.
2. APPLICATION: A completed application form/image list, including title, dimensions, primary materials, year, location (for permanent installations), and value for each work. You may include additional information about the artwork, contextualizing the work or expounding on the media, however this must be on a separate additional sheet. Applications that do not use the Wisconsin Arts Board’s Percent for Art Application/image list form will not be considered. 
3. LETTER OF INTEREST: A letter, no more than one page in length, that relates the work presented in the images to the commission opportunity you are applying for, and discusses possible approaches, conceptual ideas, or aspects of your past work not readily identifiable from the images. (Do not submit actual proposals at this time—design proposals are requested from finalist artists for each project, who are paid a design fee.)
4. RESUME: Your current professional resume, no more than three pages. Additional pages will not be reviewed.
5. REFERENCES: Please include a listing of at least 3 references, including both telephone numbers and email address for at least 3 different projects.
6. SASE: A self-addressed, postage-paid mailer for the return of your disk, only if you would like it returned.

Mail application packet to:
Wisconsin Arts Board
First Floor, 101 E. Wilson Street
Madison, WI 53702

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS

Please help us make the task of processing hundreds of artist submissions easier.

• Read the description of each of the submission items carefully so that you include all required information.
• Application forms/image lists and related materials must be typed in a standard 12 pt. font—handwritten and illegible applications will not be reviewed. Remember, the selection committee is reading your information in the dark. For the same reason, do not use dark or colored paper. The artist’s name and sequence number of the digital images must be included in the file name of every image. Staple resumes together in the top left corner.
• Include the prices of your work, even on commission projects. If the committee cannot determine if your artwork is within their budget, your entry will not be considered. 
• Do not send your statement, resume and application form/image list in notebooks, ring-binders, cardboard folders or plastic protectors. You may use a protective sleeve or case for your disk containing your digital images.

If you have any questions, please contact Percent for Art Coordinator Chris Manke at 608-266-9737 or by e-mail at: chris.manke@wisconsin.gov.

  

Updated: May 28, 2008