Up to three (3) artists will be selected from this Request for Proposals – Phase 1 (RFP 1) and invited to submit a proposal in the Request for Proposal – Phase 2 (RFP 2) process. A proposal award of $2,500 will be provided to each artist selected from this RFP 1 who follow all RFP 1 guidelines (“Proposal Award Recipients”). One artist, or artist’s team, will then be selected from the RFP 2 process and, upon entering into a written agreement with the County of San Mateo (“County”), commissioned to complete the murals.

Project Overview

The San Mateo County Office of Arts & Culture invites local professional and emerging artists to transform the pedestrian walkway on both sides of the 5th Avenue underpass, North Fair Oaks, into a vibrant work of art highlighting the theme of "Healthy Community”.

Goals of this project include bringing culturally significant public art to the North Fair Oaks community and enhancing the beautification of the community, specifically on the 5th Avenue underpass. The underpass is a well-travelled pedestrian and bicycle path used by residents and visitors. Interested artists are encouraged to visit the North Fair Oaks community and the mural site for this project.

Community input is very important to this project! A Community Survey will help identify 16 Healthy Community topics for the project’s 16 mural panels. After the survey is complete, two virtual Community Meetings will further engage the community. At Community Meeting #1, the community will discuss the survey results. Proposal Award Recipients are required to attend this Community Meeting #1. At Community Meeting #2, Proposal Award Recipients will present their ideas for the mural project.

For full project information and application instructions please see both the commission portal link and the commission document.