If your neighborhood is a victim of blight and vandalism, the City of Tacoma wants to hear from you. The Tacoma Murals Project seeks community groups who would like a mural painted at a specific site in their neighborhood. The neighborhood group will pair teams of trained and qualified artists with selected community groups and the artist teams will design and implement murals that reflect the research collected from the surrounding community.

The Tacoma Murals Project requires participation by community members who are committed to their neighborhoods and agree to be actively involved and open to the creative ideas of the assigned artist team. Selected applicants will be provided with a funded mural, including supplies and artist compensation; a mural-artist team to design and implement a mural; technical assistance and general promotion of the project. In return, the selected applicants will be a resource to the artist team for research, stories, and content; assist in community coordination; agree to maintain the mural after completion; and contribute in-kind resources or cash to support associated meetings with community members and a mural dedication.

Proposed mural walls must be on commercial or public property and located within the official city limits of Tacoma. Priority will be given to sites located in Community Based Services (CBS) areas within Tacoma and/or sites located in areas without a good representation of public art. Permission of property owners is required.

Community groups interested in applying may download the Tacoma Murals Project, Call to Community Groups, at http://www.tacomaculture.org/arts/opportunities.asp . More information about the Tacoma Murals Project and examples of past murals may be found at http://www.tacomaculture.org/arts/murals.asp . Information is also available by calling (253) 591-5191 or by e-mailing nstrom-avila@cityoftacoma.org . Deadline for submissions is April 2, 2012.

This opportunity is an initiative of the Graffiti Reduction Through Community Based Art team, part of the City of Tacoma’s Safe, Clean and Attractive effort.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

For earlier Tacoma Daily Index coverage of the Tacoma Murals Project, click on the following links:

City offers training programs for public art opportunities (03/22/11) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1945359&more=0

City seeks visual artists for mural art pilot program (05/04/10) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1763214&more=0

City seeks teaching artists for Mural Art Training Program (04/26/10) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1758357&more=0