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Date: 6/27/2022
NORTHAMPTON – The Arts and Culture Department of Northampton is assembling a pool of artists interested in creating a “large scale, painted decorative mural” at Thornes Marketplace representing the growth and culture in the city.
According to the callout, three artists will be selected from a pool by the mural’s community stakeholder committee to create design proposals. Each of the three artists will be awarded a $500 commission to create their design proposal, and then one of those artists will be commissioned to complete a mural on the east exterior wall of Thornes Marketplace at 150 Main St. The area surrounding the mural is frequented by pedestrians and cyclists.
Brian Foote, the director of the city’s Arts and Culture Department, told Reminder Publishing that the idea for this mural process comes from his perpetual support of local mural artistry since he joined the department. He said that one of the owners of Thornes was open to giving permission for the Arts and Culture Department to have a mural on that wall.
Because of the sheer size of this wall, which is about 49 feet wide and 50 feet high, Foote said the process of finding funding and putting the callout together took about two years.
According to Foote, the community stakeholder committee will consist of himself an owner of Thornes Marketplace, and a Northampton Arts Council member.
Artists have until July 15 to submit their information for consideration in the top three, and a possibility to be chosen as the artist completing the mural. Artists who have submitted their information will be contacted if a match is made between the artist’s skill and the particulars of the mural. Artists are encouraged to keep their information updated and will be contacted periodically to provide new images and updated experience information.
Applicants who submit their information will be initially screened by the stakeholder team to ensure they have submitted a complete qualifications package. The three artists will then be selected and compensated $500 each and given time to create design concepts. The stakeholder team will then choose which design they see is best, and whoever is chosen will be allowed to create the mural at Thornes. As of press time, a little over 20 artists had submitted their information, so far. “We’re trying to have a much larger reach for this particular project,” said Foote, adding that he hopes at least 100 people apply.
According to the callout, the goal of the winning artist is to create a decorative, large format design that is “visually captivating” and will promote goodwill and tourism. The design should not be a Northampton-centric one, meaning it should not represent the history of the city in literal fashion. Additionally, all styles will be considered by the committee.
“I want to get as many artists [as possible] who have the qualifications to apply,” Foote told Reminder Publishing. “I want to have a huge pool and a large diversity of designs to choose from.”
Once the submission date has passed, the community stakeholder committee will spend two weeks picking out the three best artists. The design competition between the three artists will then occur from Aug. 1 to 15. The hope is to choose an artist and complete the mural by the end of fall. Foote said this is a rough timeline, as of now.
Those interested in learning more about the qualifications and the project in general can visit https://www.northamptonartscouncil.org/2022/06/request-for-qualifications-thornes.html. People can also apply for consideration at that link.