Webb Plaza Placemaking project

Introduction

Mural Arts Philadelphia is seeking an artist or team of artists to help conceive, design and implement a placemaking project for the new shopping center (Sharswood Plaza) at Ridge Avenue, Jefferson Street and 21st Street, in the Sharswood neighborhood of North Central Philadelphia.

The placemaking project will consist of painting a ground mural on two segments of a pedestrian walkway that connects a community plaza to the entrance of a supermarket, and painting murals on the vertical concrete columns of a parking garage that faces the plaza and the street. Photographs of the site are provided in an attachment to this RFQ. Artists / artist teams must have the skills to lead community engagement, and to design and install their projects. Mural Arts will provide technical assistance and facilitate approvals. For artists applying on their own, Mural Arts can also put together a team of assistants.

Three artists / teams will be paid a fee of $1,000 for preparing and proposing a concept for the project. The artist fee for the community engagement process, finalizing the design and installing the murals, including both lead artist and assistants, will be $70,000. This will include priming the walls and painting and sealing the murals. Mural Arts will pay for materials, supplies and equipment, and manage permissions for the work. The project will begin upon the selection of the artist, with installation expected to be complete by the end of July, 2025. 

Applications will be accepted through February 28, 2025. Artists who applied last year to be on the Sharswood artist roster need only submit a letter of interest; please contact us if you want to be sure you are on that list. Concepts will be due at the beginning of April, 2025, with community engagement to occur in the spring and painting to occur in June and July.

Please note the ongoing schedule of community events in Sharswood, posted at this web page. We are also hosting three information sessions for artists applying for projects in Sharswood.

Tuesday, February 11 from 6-7pm
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/cxx-ahqj-hmw

Tuesday, February 18 from 6-7pm
Video call link: meet.google.com/ftp-mjpf-aqs

Wednesday, February 19 from 2-3pm
Video call link: meet.google.com/djc-mbeg-sea

Background

About the Project

Mural Arts is partnering with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to invest in new public art projects in Sharswood, a neighborhood in North Central Philadelphia. These art projects are part of the area’s ongoing transformation occurring through the improvement of distressed public housing and the addition of new residences, shopping, community spaces and other resources. 

Mural Arts is working with PHA as part of the Sharswood Blumberg Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan. Mural Arts is also receiving funding from PHFA’s Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE).

Mural Arts, working with the community, has identified opportunities for murals and placemaking projects that reflect the community’s vision for improvements they would like to see. Projects are being considered for places that are anchors of community life -- public buildings, community parks and open spaces, as well as the Ridge Avenue commercial corridor. Themes will include the neighborhood's history, issues important to the community now, and people’s visions for the future.

About Sharswood Plaza

Sharswood Plaza, located at Ridge, Jefferson and N. 21st Street, is an anchor of the commercial revitalization of Ridge Avenue. The $52 million project includes a Grocery Outlet Supermarket, owned and operated by Donta Rose, a young man from the community, a Santander Bank, an Urgent Care Family Care Center, new housing, a public plaza along Ridge Avene, and more to come. The Grocery Outlet is the first new supermarket in the area in more than 50 years. The public space is named Webb Plaza, after Bruce Webb, a community fixture who operated the Webb Department Store, known for its record selection, on the site of the new development. It is being managed by Mosaic Development Partners, a Black-owned company, based in Philadelphia.

About Mural Arts Philadelphia

Mural Arts Philadelphia is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For 40 years, Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts engages communities in nearly 100 public art projects each year through core programs such as Art Education, Community Murals, Porch Light and Restorative Justice, and maintains its growing collection through a restoration initiative. Mural Arts has collaborated with an increasing range of community, civic, cultural and development organizations to realize projects that have expanded the city’s public art portfolio in new and exciting ways.

About the Sharswood-Blumberg Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan

Sharswood is a Choice Neighborhood, a designation and program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUDChoice helps communities revitalize neighborhoods by leveraging public and private dollars to improve distressed public and/or assisted housing, catalyze critical improvements in the neighborhood and help residents with educational, workforce, and health programming.

For nearly a decade, the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has been managing the transformation of the 60s-era Norman Blumberg Apartments into new housing developments that are integrated more closely into the economic and urban design fabric of the city. The transformation also includes civic investments — such as new community facilities, retail spaces and open spaces, and health, educational and job readiness programs. 

Read more here: https://www.sharswoodblumberg.com/

Goals

The overall goals for placemaking projects in Sharswood, and for the process that leads up to projects, are to:

• Explore and make visible the neighborhood’s stories – past, present, future – in collaboration with community and project stakeholders.
• Enhance existing public and community spaces through the addition of design elements that meet the needs of the space and add visual features linked to the neighborhood’s stories.
• Embrace the creative talents of community members in the creation and production of work.
• Support the efforts of the Philadelphia Housing Authority and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency in implementing the Blumberg–Sharswood Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan and to promote affordable housing choices in North Philadelphia.

The specific goals for Sharswood Plaza project are to:

• Create a sense of welcome and liveliness in the shopping center area
• Brighten / energize the concrete and macadam surfaces visible in the plaza’s parking area.
• Provide a “gateway experience” to people arriving at Sharswood Plaza.

Artist Scope of Work

Artists / teams will be expected to provide the following services:

• Conduct research as necessary to understand the site and the project, and other considerations as necessary to inform the artistic approach
• Participate in ongoing community and stakeholder engagement activities, organized by the artist and/or Mural Arts
• Create designs for the ground and wall murals, prepare images necessary for presentation 
• Present concept to Mural Arts and to stakeholders, including community members, Mosaic, PHA and Mural Arts Design Review committee 
• Lead / collaborate with Mural Arts production team on the installation / production of the artwork / activation / installation
• Fulfill responsibilities within contracted budget and schedule

Artist Qualifications

We are seeking artists the following skills and experience:

• Engaging community members in conversations that inform / inspire design of murals
• Designing murals, particularly decorative murals for ground and architectural surfaces
• Presenting concept to various stakeholders
• Planning the installation of the artwork, including identification of materials and supplies
• Installation of murals, including experience working on a lift

Please note that all artists should have qualifications #1, #2 and #3. Mural Arts can provide support to artists who need assistance with qualifications #4 and #5.

Budget

Three artists / teams will be paid a fee of $1,000 for preparing and proposing a concept for the project. One artist / team will be selected to proceed.

The artist fee for the community engagement process, finalizing the design and installing the murals, including both lead artist and assistants, will be $70,000. This will include all labor (lead artist and assistants) involved in translating the design to the surfaces, priming the surfaces and painting and sealing the murals. Mural Arts will pay for materials, supplies and equipment, and manage permissions for the work 

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to artists based in the Philadelphia area who have the experience and qualifications described above. Both established and emerging artists are encouraged to apply. Artists with ties to Sharswood are especially encouraged to apply. Artists must be citizens of the U.S. or have U.S. work authorization.

Selection Process

Artists will be selected as follows:

• Interested applicants must submit an RFQ package, including a letter of interest that addresses the review criteria below.
• Artists who have already applied to the Sharswood artist registry only need to submit current contact information and a letter of interest, confirming their interest and availability. 
• A selection committee will review all of the applications and rank them according to the criteria below. The committee includes: 
  • Philip Asbury, Director of Community Murals
  • Todd Bressi, Mural Arts Curatorial Consultant 
  • Sahiti Bonam, Mural Arts Project Manager (facilitator)
  • Three stakeholder representatives (Mosaic, community leadership, PHA)
• Top ranking candidates will be paid $1,000 to prepare a proposal and to present them in an interview..
• The top candidate will be notified of their selection, and all other all applicants will notified about the selection decision

Review Criteria

Artists will be considered based on the following criteria. Artists should address these criteria in their letters of interest:

• Experience, technical skills and capacity to work on a mural project of this scale and nature
• Experience working on projects that require collaboration on creative and technical aspects of the project
• Alignment of artistic interests and practice working within a community-engaged process and working at this particular site
• Specific affinity with Sharswood or general understanding / experience of communities with similar histories and circumstances in Philadelphia