Under this Call for Artists, the City of DeKalb (“City”)— on behalf of the City’s Citizens Community Enhancement Commission (“CCEC”)— is accepting proposals from qualified candidates who would like to participate in the City of DeKalb’s Public Mural Program.

Eligibility

This project is open to all artists, especially local and regional artists. The CCEC encourages applications from Northern Illinois University (NIU) students, faculty, and alumni artists. DeKalb area and NIU applicants may be given preference if all else is equal. Artists may apply as an individual artist or as a group. For group submissions, a signed Release of Liability and Indemnity Agreement for each participating artist must be included in addition to the application form and design template. No more than three submissions per individual or group.

Project Description

The City of DeKalb and the CCEC have designed a program to support public art initiatives to enhance the community and neighborhoods through the creation of murals. The City’s Public Mural Program is designed to enhance the aesthetics of the city, promote civic pride, highlight the community’s diversity, promote a spirit of Belonging for all citizens, increase pedestrian traffic and extends public art to new areas and unexpected places while creating an attractive environment and allowing art to be introduced to the public in a creative and inventive way. The program goal is to bring beauty and color to public spaces such as city-owned buildings.

The CCEC would like to encourage artists and community members to create murals within the City to beautify the streetscape by incorporating the theme as inspiration for proposal submissions. Artists are not required, but highly encouraged to incorporate volunteers into the mural process. Artists may create a template or outline to help volunteers paint the mural or propose another concept for involving volunteers in the mural process.

Please see commission link portal document for full application instructions, and find the application form linked here.