The San Francisco Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams residing in the United States to submit qualifications for the Mission Bay School Public Art Project Opportunity, a tile or mosaic artwork, approximately 330 square feet located on the exterior of the school’s east entrance. The goal of the project is to create an artwork that is bold and colorful, visually enhance the learning environment, and inspire and engage students.

The budget for artwork is $136,000 inclusive of all artist's fees, as well as associated expenses for design, fabrication, insurance, transportation and installation.

Project Description

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is developing a new Mission Bay School, located on 2.5 acres at 6th Street and Nelson Rising Lane in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. The school will include a PK - 5 elementary school; a Linked Learning Hub for students enrolled in SFUSD high schools where they are offered unique opportunities to connect their learning with career experiences and workforce readiness; and a professional learning resource for teachers and staff to receive training in support of ever-changing methods of teaching and ways to engage students. The new Mission Bay school is scheduled to open August 2025 for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Selection Process

Artist Qualification Panel: The applications will be reviewed by an Artist Qualification Panel consisting of one SFAC staff member, one representative of SFUSD, and one arts professional, who will identify a list of the most qualified artists to be considered for the project opportunity.

Artist Review Panel: This list of the most qualified artists will be presented to an Artist Review Panel consisting of two representatives of SFUSD, one representative of the Mission Bay School design team, one Arts Commissioner, one community member, and two arts professionals. After considering the artists’ qualifications, the Artist Review Panel will identify three finalists who will be invited to develop site-specific conceptual proposals after attending an orientation session with the project team and key stakeholders. Each finalist will be paid an honorarium of $3,000 for the development of a conceptual design proposal, plus the reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses, approved by the Arts Commission prior to travel arrangements being made for the orientation and panel interview.

The proposals shall be displayed at at a public location within the Mission Bay neighborhood, and posted on the Arts Commission website for written public comment prior to the final review panel meeting.

The Artist Review Panel will reconvene to consider the finalists’ concepts in an interview format along with any community input and will recommend one artist for the project to the Arts Commission.

Arts Commission Approval: The Artist Review Panel’s recommendation will be submitted first to the Visual Arts Committee (VAC), a subcommittee of the Arts Commission and then to the full Arts Commission for approval. All Artist Review Panel recommendations are subject to the Visual Arts Committee and Full Arts Commission.

All Arts Commission meetings and Public Art Review Panel meetings are open to the public and are posted on the Arts Commission website at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. To check the meeting schedule for public art projects, please go to our calendar.

Please see the commission portal link for full project information and application instructions.Click here for the application form.