City of Franklin seeking artists for mural

The City of Franklin is looking for a Louisiana artist to design and paint a mural at the Historic Downtown Franklin Pocket Park, located at 718 Main Street.
Franklin Main Street Director Ed “Tiger” Verdin said that because there aren’t many muralists in the community, the city is limiting the hunt to Louisiana artists. A grant from the state Office of Cultural Development will pay the chosen artist up to $20,000 commission for the work.
“This is something that’s exciting that we’re looking to move forward with,” Verdin said. “We want something that is going to historically speak of Franklin. We want something that is going to be appealing and represent all of Franklin, every cultural facet in Franklin.”
The work should include things, for example, like the Bayou Teche and the city’s famed lamp posts, he said.
“We want it to be a beautiful mural that just represents the city of Franklin,” Verdin said.
Artists are asked to submit their portfolios and qualifications via email to gtodd@franklin-la.com and everdin@franklin-la.com by 4 p.m. on Feb. 27. A PDF of full details for the Call for Artists may be found on the City of Franklin’s website at www.franklin-la.com under Recent News.
The work is being sponsored by the City of Franklin, in conjunction with the Louisiana Percent for Art Program, Mayor Eugene Foulcard, the main street director and the city’s special projects director. Appointed local artists will be the acting as Art Jury for the artist selection process.
“There’s an art jury that the mayor has put together,” Verdin said. “He’s not going to make the jurists known publicly. There will be a town hall meeting for the community to put in their say of what they would like to see in the mural.”
Several project parameters have been set. The work must be permanent in nature and able to withstand varying weather conditions. Exterior mural-quality paints only may be used. The work should encourage a sense of place and should be in “dialogue” with the chosen site and encourage the use of and interaction with the park in which it is installed.
The grant must cover all associated project costs, including the artist’s time, materials, fabrication, transportation, travel and so on.
The city is seeking materials from artists with demonstrated experience in creating outdoor and/or site specific works of art or large murals.
The artist must adhere to the artist’s concept as approved by the mayor and art jury. Any deviations or proposed changes should be done only after consultation with the mayor and art jury, first. The artist also must be present at the unveiling, at a date to be mutually agreed upon by the artist and mayor.
After artists submit their qualifications, the mayor and art jury will review all submissions and select three finalists. Finalists may be invited to interviews and presentations, or the art jury may reach out to the artist to request additional information in writing. Full design proposals are not required as part of that process, but general rough sketches of the idea are desirable. The art jury will select one artist to be awarded the commission grant.
The finalists will be selected by March 10 with finalists interviews March 20-24. Approval of the art jury’s selection and the mayor’s approval are scheduled for April 3 with contract development April 10-14 and public announcement of the selected artist on April 24.
The work should be created between May and July, as agreed upon by the artist and mayor, with a project mid-point check-in on June 1 and project completion by July 31.
Artists of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, but they must be a Louisiana resident. Preference will be given to Franklin and/or Acadiana-based artists or artists with connection to Franklin. Franklin residency is not required.
Full details of the requirements, dates and so on are available at www.franklin-la.com under the Recent News category.