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8938 MLK Rec Center Mural SOW CALL FOR ARTISTS: REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. RECREATION CENTER CALL ISSUE DATE: September 19, 2025 CALL END DATE: October 17, 2025 A. INTRODUCTION The City of Denton Parks and Recreation Department is seeking requests for qualifications from muralists experienced with creating community-based projects that involve the participation of volunteer painters of all ages. The project in question is a large-scale mural that will be painted onto multiple aluminum panels and affixed onto the façade of the Martin Luther King Jr Recreation Center (1400 Wilson St., Denton, TX 76205). The funding for this mural project is provided by the Keep America Beautiful Martin Luther King Jr. Corridor Community Grant program. This provides funds so that communities can beautify and revitalize areas near an “MLK Corridor” – a street, building, park, or other space that is named in honor of Dr. King and his Civil Rights legacy. Keep America Beautiful has provided a generous grant of $20,000.00 to support this project. B. PROJECT SITE AND CONTEXT The Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center is a single story, 21,000+ square foot facility that serves as a community hub for the Southeast Denton neighborhood. Southeast Denton is a lively and diverse historic multicultural neighborhood. In the late 19th-century, African American families moved to Denton and settled in the Quakertown, one of hundreds of freedmen’s towns that emerged throughout the state of Texas following the end of the Civil War. Quakertown was located just northeast of the Downtown Denton Square and just south of the growing College of Industrial Arts, a segregated college for White Women that would become Texas Woman’s University. As both Downtown Denton and the College of Industrial Arts grew, city elites began to push for the relocation of the Quakertown community. Quakertown was a vibrant community with a self- sufficient local economy that focused on providing goods and services to African American residents within the discriminatory framework of Jim Crow discrimination. In 1921, a bond election passed approving the construction of a city park where Quakertown existed. The bond election signaled the eventual demise of Quakertown. Quakertown residents who chose to stay in Denton were forced to relocate to Southeast Denton. Even in the present day, the physical geography of Southeast Denton reflects a difficult history of intentional segregation. The construction of the MLK Recreation Center, which opened in 1989, represented a turn toward bridging the physical, infrastructural, and institutional gaps between Southeast Denton and the wider community. The current mural project seeks to build connections between Denton residents across neighborhood boundaries. C. PROJECT SCOPE AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The mural will be painted onto multiple aluminum panels installed in front of the brick façade of the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, but within a free-standing aluminum structure like a billboard or other signage. The panels will be 4’x8’ or 5’x10’ and arranged in a grid of either 8 or ten panels such that the overall size of the mural is 16’ x 20’ or 20’ x 20’. MLK Jr Rec Center Image 1: Full Façade Image 2: Approximate Façade Installation Location Example of aluminum mural structure Example of aluminum mural structure Example of aluminum mural structure (rear structure and bracing) The project scope calls for the installation of an original mural artwork on aluminum panels that will then be placed onto the aluminum supporting structure. The project should be designed as a community-developed art work – meaning that chosen artist will develop the mural design in line with what the community wishes and will then will guide volunteers in the actual painting of the mural onto the aluminum panels. The panels will then be professionally installed onto an aluminum support structure. Denton Parks and Recreation is particularly interested in artists who have experience working on community art projects and directing volunteer teams in the production of large-scale art works. D. PROJECT THEMING AND ARTISTIC STYLE Denton Parks and Recreation is looking for an artist who will work with the community to develop a mural concept that matches the community’s preference regarding artistic style and subject matter. Parks staff have conducted preliminary surveys that indicate a preference for styles that feature natural and historical themes, although further consultation with the community will be needed to finalize the mural design. D. PROPOSED BUDGET Keep America Beautiful has provided an overall budget of $20,000 for the project. This budget will support the price for equipment, paint, the aluminum panels, the structure housing the aluminum panels, marketing, volunteer support, and an artist fee. We anticipate providing an artist fee, independent of project costs, of approximately $6,000.00. E. ELIGIBILITY This opportunity is open to all practicing artists who are at least 18 years of age. All artist and artist teams selected must attend any and all required information sessions and site visits. Thematic Preferences From Initial Survey Data F. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS FOR ARTIST Denton Parks and Recreation is interested in hiring an artist with previous experience working on municipally-sponsored murals and is especially interested in hiring an artist who has experience leading a team of volunteers in realizing a community art project. The following scoring rubric will be used by committee members to grade each application: Proposal Artistic Merit 50 Artist Portfolio 25 Experience Working with Volunteers 25 TOTAL SCORE: H. PROPOSAL CREATION AND STIPEND Members of the Mural Art Committee will choose 2-5 artists to invite to provide a more fully realized proposal for the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation center. A proposal-creation stipend of $200 will be provided to each finalist for their time and effort to create a final proposal. J. SELECTION PROCESS A committee consisting of members of Denton’s Public Art Committee, City staff, and community stakeholders will consider all applications and grade them according to the scoring rubric provided above. All submissions will be ranked according to score and staff will reach out to top applicants to invite them into a formal proposal submission process. K. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR QUALIFICATIONS PORTFOLIO City staff request each applicant to provide the following materials in their Application Portfolio: A. An Artist Statement providing their planned approach to the project B. A brief artist bio C. A portfolio of at least four distinct past projects that includes a brief description of each project and 2-5 high quality images of each project. D. The artist’s resume or CV E. A list of three references from professional contacts or previous patrons L. PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION To view submittal instructions and project requirements please visit: www.dentontx.ionwave.net. New applicants using Ionwave will need to register as a supplier, following the website prompts. When registering Ionwave will ask what NIGP code you want use. Please choose code: 933 (Service Only) Artist as your NIGP Code. Once logged into Ionwave, you can view all the details regarding the project. The scope of work can be found in the attachment section. For all questions regarding registration within Ionwave, please email Erica.garcia@cityofdenton.com or submit your questions via Ionwave. M. FINALIST SELECTION Received applications will be considered by an ad hoc committee consisting of members of the Public Art Committee and other relevant stakeholders. Invitations to submit full proposals will be provided to 2-4 artists chosen by the committee. A stipend of $200.00 will be offered to each invited artist, once their final project proposal has been received by the committee. N. FINALIST SELECTION AND PROPOSAL PRODUCTION TIMELINE • Portfolios of Qualifications due from Artists: October 17 • Finalists receive invitations to create full proposals: October 19 • Final Proposals Due: October 24 • Final Artist Selection: October 30 Project Must be Completed by December 1, 2025 to meet requirements of grant funding. O. PROJECT PROPOSAL GUIDELINES (FOR INVITED FINALISTS) Finalists invited to produce a proposal will be asked to provide the following in their proposal application: A. A comprehensive project narrative document that provides the following elements: 1) An artist statement specifically attuned to the present project, explaining their approach to the proposed design, and how that design fits in with the context of the MLK Jr Recreation center and speaks to Martin Luther King Jr.’s life work and the Civil Rights Struggle. 2) A statement providing practical details of the artist’s intended process including the materials they intend to use to prepare the aluminum panels, paint the panels, and seal the panels for longevity. 3) A statement that describes the short- and long-term maintenance needs for the project. B. The artist should also provide 3-5 high quality images of the proposed design. C. A statement indicating the artist’s approach to involving volunteers in the creation of public art and specifying their approach to working with volunteers within the context of this specific project. P. PROHIBITION OF AI SUBMISSIONS The City of Denton is interested in supporting the deep creativity of individual artists. The City will reject any proposals that make use of Artificial Intelligence text or image generators for any part of the application or proposal process.