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Arts Huntsville invites artists to submit qualifications for public art installations in new City Hall

Published on July 15, 2021

Arts Huntsville announced a national Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for two large-scale public art installations to be included in the new Huntsville City Hall complex scheduled for completion in August 2023. The two public art installations will be viewed as visitors enter City Hall and include an Entry Lobby Wall Art installation and a Suspended Artwork installation above the grand staircase between the first and second floor public entry areas.

The City Hall public art projects were developed in accordance with the Huntsville Public Art Master Plan under the guidance of the Huntsville Public Art Committee and Arts Huntsville, which is contracted by the City of Huntsville to manage the City’s public art program. The selected artist(s) will create an entrance experience for City Hall designed to draw people through the space. The art installations will also have a strong visual presence both day and night and generate a memorable sense of place authentic to Huntsville. The City Hall public art projects are also intended to inspire a sense of reflection, community and/or civic engagement.

“Based on extensive community input, the Huntsville Public Art Master Plan prioritizes public art in the City’s capital projects,” says Mayor Tommy Battle. “These art installations help fulfill the vision to integrate more art into our public spaces and our shared community experience.”

photos of renderings of the new Huntsville City Hall

Huntsville City Council President Jennie Robinson added, “Mayor Battle, the City Council and all city staff look forward to welcoming Huntsville residents to the new City Hall, and these art installations will create a dynamic, memorable visitor experience for decades to come.”

The artist award for the Entry Lobby Wall art installation is $245,000, and the Suspended Artwork installation offers an artist award of $550,000. An additional City Hall Public Art RFQ with artist awards totaling $150,000 will be released in early 2022 and will be exclusive to local artists for up to five public art installations in publicly accessible spaces throughout the City Hall complex. Local artists, Alabama artists and artists across the United States are invited to submit their qualifications for Entry Lobby and Suspended Artwork projects as part of the current RFQ.

“The new Huntsville City Hall is, at its heart, a public space. The addition of public art at City Hall will serve to welcome, inspire and reflect the community the city serves each day,” said Allison Dillon-Jauken, Arts Huntsville executive director.

Selected semi-finalists will be invited to propose artwork based on the project criteria. Up to five semi-finalist artists or artistic teams for each project will receive $3,000 honorariums to create and present a design proposal. The deadline to submit artist qualifications is Wednesday, August 18, 2021.

Interested artists can learn more and apply at Arts Huntsville.