At this time, The Batavia Public Art Initiative (BPAI), a subcommittee of Water Street Studios, is looking for interested artists to submit a request for qualifications for the upcoming mural, “The City of Good Energy”. This application will provide a sampling of your work that best represents your style and examples that convey a similar mood or quality to the project at hand. The BPAI committee will review these submissions and select up to five artists to create designs for this project ($250/artist). The winning design will receive an additional $1,000 upon finalizing the mural design. Artists will only be compensated for their designs. The mural installation will be done by a group of volunteers led by an experienced project manager.

MURAL THEME

• “The City of Good Energy" will be a large-scale mural executed in a paint-by-number format. The mural will serve as a welcoming statement to residents and visitors alike, incorporating a playful nod to the city's historic tagline, with a modern twist that reflects Batavia's unique charm, community pride, and active, friendly lifestyle.

• The ideal design will be big, colorful, and fun, while keeping the method of execution in mind. The mural must include the words “The City of Good Energy” and “Batavia, IL”.

• BPAI envisions the mural reflecting Batavia’s spirit—its diverse families, strong volunteerism, pet-friendly, and outdoor-loving community. Known for being progressive, family-oriented, and full of good energy!

MURAL SITE LOCATION

• 18 E Wilson, Batavia, IL, 60501. The south-facing wall on the corner of South River and East Wilson (formerly a bank drive-through, now the backside of The Comedy Vault). This site is along a high-traffic gateway to downtown.

DIMENSIONS

• 24’ x 20’ textured cinderblock wall

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• All required contact information

• A portfolio sample of 3-6 images of artwork

• Optional: A concept description or doodle

ENTRY DEADLINE

• Friday, June 20th, 2025.

SELECTION PROCESS

• Submissions will be juried by a committee of BPAI.

NOTIFICATION TO ARTIST

• Artists will be notified of commission requests or regrets by Tuesday, July 1st.

• Artists selected to create a mural design will have till Wednesday, July 25th, to submit their concept.

• The winning design will be notified by August 1st.

• Any revisions to the final design will be due Sunday, August 10th.

ARTIST COMPENSATION

• Up to five artists will be selected and compensated at $250/artist for a mural design. The design that is ultimately selected for “The City of Good Energy” mural will receive an additional $1,000 upon finalization of the design.

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

• BPAI believes that public art is about celebrating, highlighting, and uplifting a community’s cultural, artistic and historic diversity. We embrace artists across all differences of race, color, religion, sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital or domestic partner status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, military status, veteran status or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.

TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR SELECTED MURAL ARTWORK

• The selected artist will not be responsible for any painting of the mural, however, they may choose to volunteer to paint during installation.

• The selected artist will agree to meet with the project manager to discuss mural details such as paint colors, etc.

• The selected artist will be named on the sign at the mural and all credit will be given to the artist when artwork is shared to the public, unless there is a practical reason why we cannot, such as formatting, or if the work is being used in a medium where no individual credits are given. Also, if we mistakenly do not give credit in any given situation, if you let us know, we will try to correct that for similar uses in the future.

• The selected artist gives Water Street Studios permission to use your name, photograph, or other image of you.

• The selected artist agrees to grant to Water Street Studios, along with its affiliates and partners, a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, non-transferable, except as explicitly set out herein, worldwide license to use, promote, display, reproduce, and distribute your Artwork for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

• The selected artist will retain ownership of their design, all renderings, whether selected or not, are the property of the artist.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:

publicart@waterstreetstudios.org

Submissions accepted June 1st - June 20th