The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy (OACCE) and Rebuild announce a competition to commission site-specific, permanent public artworks to be installed at Barrett Playground at 641 Lindley Ave in North Philadelphia. This public art commission is possible through the City's Percent for Art program and is part of a major Rebuild construction project at Barrett Playground that will include a new community building and significant outdoor site improvements.

The Barrett Percent for Art commission will provide an opportunity for one (1) artist or artist team to create two (2) complementary, indoor public artworks to be located in the main “Commons” area of the new community building. The first artwork will be a sculptural ceiling-hung art installation, and the second artwork will be an indoor art wall installation. See pages 4-5 for more details about the artworks requested for the site.

All interested artists are invited to apply for this public art commission. Given the multiple mediums required for these two artworks, artists are strongly encouraged to form multi-disciplinary artist teams if/as needed to fulfill the requirements for creating both artworks. Teams might include two or more artists working in various mediums with combined capability and skill to provide both 2D and 3D artworks as a team. All lead team members should be listed as part of this application. Teams cannot be formed after an application has already been submitted for this opportunity.

Priority will be given to artists or artist teams who reflect the diversity of the Logan community, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and female artists or artist teams are strongly encouraged to apply. Qualified local artists or artist teams who live or work in the community around the Barrett Playground will also be prioritized for this opportunity, but any artist may apply.

This is a two-part competition consisting of Part 1: Submission of Qualifications and Part 2: Finalist Proposals. In Part 1 of the competition, all artists or artist teams who are interested in this opportunity are invited to respond to this Call for Artists by submitting an application detailing their qualifications ONLY. Applicants will be narrowed into a smaller group of the four (4) best qualified Finalists who will move on to Part 2 of the competition where they will receive a $1000 stipend to develop thorough design proposals for the Barrett Playground art opportunity. No design proposals are requested at this time.

Public input and participation will be vital to ensuring the voices of the community are strongly reflected in the development of the artwork. Community engagement opportunities will allow Finalist artists to hear directly from members of the public about their ideas and aspirations for this project and what stories the artwork should tell. Finalists will be encouraged to align their proposals with input and feedback provided by the community during OACCE-led events, and will be expected to propose artistled engagement as appropriate if selected as a winning artist.

A total budget of up to $135,000 has been allocated for this Percent for Art commission. This sum is inclusive of all artist(s) fees, insurance, drawings, renderings, models, fabrication, installation, engineering, lighting, structure, foundations, travel, artist-led community engagement, and all other project related expenses to support the creation and installation of the artwork.

Description of Artwork Locations:
The Barrett Playground Percent for Art project will consist of (2) complimentary works of art to be located in the main Commons area of the new community building.

Location 1: Sculptural Ceiling-Hung Art Installation (High Ceiling Area of Commons): The main entrance of the Barrett Playground Recreation Center opens to the Commons area, which has high ceilings that pop up above the roof level. With windows on all sides, this pop-up allows light into the space from above. The hanging sculptures will be located in the high ceiling area. Artists may use a variety of permanent and durable mediums such as metal, wood, fiberglass, etc. Artists may propose singular or multiple sculptures that form a composition.

Ceiling hung art installations will need to work with the existing architectural ceiling design and lighting and be appropriately designed for a ceiling-hung application. Finalist artists will be provided with structural information that will inform maximum allowable weight of the hanging sculpture(s). Artist teams will be expected to design and include all hanging apparatus, connections, and reinforcement, including any engineering into their budget as needed in order to connect the sculptures securely to the existing ceiling structure.

Location 2: Indoor Mural/Art Wall Installation (Commons Area):
The prominent locations of these works will provide a sense of identity and welcome for everyone who visits or uses the community building. In the Commons, there is a recessed wall area measuring approximately 26’ wide x 12’ high x 5’ deep. The second work of art will be located on this wall. Artists may use a variety of mediums such as mural painting, glass/tile mosaic, or three-dimensional bas relief.

Please see the commission document for full project information.Click here for the application form.