Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Lead Artists for NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine

Summary:
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine (AIM), with support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, is seeking a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for lead artists to work on the NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project (CMP). Continuing the tradition established in the 1930s when the Works Progress Administration supported hundreds of murals across New York City’s public hospitals, the CMP will connect artists and local community members to re-imagine hospitals and promote greater neighborhood wellness.

Visual artists will engage with patients, staff, and local residents to create an integrated internal or external mural at selected NYC Health + Hospitals facilities. The aim of the program is to use a collaborative mural-making process as a tool to build trust and engagement between the hospitals and their communities, build neighborhood pride, and reduce the stigma associated with hospitals through community-building activities.

Proposed themes can include:
Stronger Together
We are Part of Something Great
We Make a Difference
Health & Wellness for All
Freedom to Thrive
ICARE Values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence)

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine anticipates selecting ten (10) professional visual artists to work closely with ten (10) NYC Health + Hospitals facilities to engage staff and community members in a participatory design process and to create and install ten (10) health themed murals. Murals will be installed in both internal and external locations at the facilities, all of which will be highly visible public areas. This collaboration will last from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. This RFQ is soliciting ten (10) professional visual artists that have a portfolio of work executing large-scale murals, have connections with the boroughs and communities of New York City, and experience facilitating workshops and events that engage diverse communities in the creative process.

Project Budget:
The Project Budget is $8,000.00 per location for artist fees including design services, community engagement, site preparation, fabrication, travel, and installation. NYC Health + Hospitals AIM will provide any necessary supplies, permits, insurance, and documentation. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department will execute a deliverables-based MOU valued at $8,000.00 with the lead artist. Lead artists will be paid 1/2 upfront, and 1/2 upon completion. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department will cover all costs related to art supplies and additional materials for workshops and community events, equipment for the installation, special insurance, permits for mural sites and other relevant costs relating to the production of the murals.

Who May Apply:
Professional visual artists or artist teams working in any media, legally authorized to work in the United States, and who are at least 18 years of age, are eligible to apply. Artists with ties to neighborhoods and communities of the participating NYC Health + Hospitals facilities are encouraged to apply, as well as artists with experience in community engagement practices. NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to the values of inclusion and advancing diversity in the field of arts and health. We highly encourage applicants that are traditionally underrepresented* to submit to this RFQ.

*Including, but not limited to: Immigrant, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, Person of Color, Person with Disability, Socioeconomic Disadvantage)

The project period will occur from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Deadline for Submission of RFQ:

Friday, February 7, 2020 at 11:59pm EST
**Late applications may be disqualified from considerations.**

Finalist Interviews will be held during of February 20 and February 21, 2020.

Selected artists will be notified on February 28, 2020

Project Locations:

Size of each mural will not exceed 300 square feet

**You will be able to choose your preferred locations in the application form linked at the end of this description:

Project Calendar:
Mural Artists will be required to be on site for 5 public events, plus additional days to present to the facility CEO, prepare mural panels before the Paint Party, finish painting after the Paint Party, and installation. Time required for preparation, finishing, and installation will be dependent on mural size and detail.

Each mural project will be executed over a period of four (4) months, on a rolling basis from March 9, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The NYC Health + Hospitals facility will choose their start date and mural artists may be paired accordingly.

All mural artists will be required to attend an in-person training and onboarding in March 2020, exact date TBD.

Artists are expected to develop mural concepts, themes, imagery through engaging with the H + H staff, patients, and greater community during Engagement Day, Focus Groups, and CEO Presentation. Designs will not be considered final until approved by the facility CEO. The CEO will be asked to limit rounds of revisions to a maximum of two (2).

Below is the timeline of activities for each phase:

Location Timelines (Dates are approximate):
**You will be able to choose at least four (4) of these options in the application form linked at the end of this description
March 16 – May 15 (Queens Hospital, Interior Wall)
April 6 – July 18 (Coler Specialty Hospital, Interior Wall)
May 4 – August 15 (Woodhull Hospital, Exterior Wall)
May 18 – September 4 (Harlem Hospital, Interior Wall)
May 25 – September 18 (Lincoln Hospital, Interior Wall)
July 6 – October 16 (Judson Gotham Health, Interior Wall)
July 13 – October 23 (Gouverneur Gotham Health, Exterior Wall)
August 3 – November 13 (Jacobi Hospital, Exterior Wall)
August 17 – November 27 (Elmhurst Hospital, Interior Wall)
September 7 – December 18 (Sea View Hospital, Interior Wall)

You can learn more about Laurie M Tisch Illumination Fund’s generous support of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine (AIM) here:
New Program Will Use the Arts to Promote Employee Wellness and Resilience in Hospitals

Arts in Medicine: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/

If you have any further questions or inquiries:
please email them to sebastien@residencyunlimited.org
or you can reach out via Residency Unlimited’s Contact Page

APPLICATION FORM:
OPEN CALL 2020 Lead Artists
for NYC Health + Hospitals Community Murals Project