Hiring Artists: RFPs, Calls for Entry & Commissions | Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Finding the right person for the job is critical to the success of any project.

In creative placemaking, it is about both the art that is created and the process of its creation. When creating a call for artists for a creative placemaking project, there are lots of considerations to take into account. Like how you will involve community members in the process of developing, selecting, or executing the work. Is there space for the artist to bring their own creativity and ideas to the table while fulfilling the goals of the community? What kind of experience does the artist have working with community members? Should you engage local creatives or use funding to hire national talent? There are many ways to structure calls for artists— these resources will help you do so ethically, creatively, and with the specific goals of your project and community in mind.

WATCH:

Hiring Artists: RFPs, Calls for Entry & Commissions
In this video, Ina Anderson, the deputy director of Kansas City LISC, shares the process that a coalition of partners used to select artist Michael Toombs. And Michael will discuss how the selection process in turn, influenced the way the project unfolded.

Things to consider:

What role will an artist play on the project?
What particular skills or experience should the artist bring?
Do we want to have a local artist?
What’s the best way to find an artist? What channels
should we use?
Who should be involved in choosing the artist?
How should we get to know the artist applicants?

In creative placemaking, the impact that the arts and culture have within a community is about both the art that is being created and the process of its creation. This dual function adds a layer of complexity when it comes to the initial search for a project artist. Should the call be about the piece that the community envisions being created? Or should the call be about the potential process that the artist and the community might take to get there? Should a final product be delineated in the call, or should it emerge through the community engagement process?

There is not a singular answer to any of these questions, but the people, the place, the historical context, and the goals and visions of the community should all influence the way a call is composed. There are however best practices that everyone can rely on to ensure both the artist and the community have the full potential to engage in a process of creating arts-based responses to local issues.

The Basics

Essential Vocabulary

Request for Qualifications (RFQ): Asks for artist portfolios or examples of previous work. A project artist can be selected based on the RFQ or a shortlist of artist applications can be created.
Call to Artists: Broader and less formal terms that encompass RFQs and RFPs.
Request for Proposals (RFP):After shortlisting or selecting the artist, RFP asks for a specific concept proposal. The best practice is to compensate an artist for a proposal.
Request for Letter of Interest (LOI) : Smaller scale requests that ask for an artist’s understanding of the project and if they have done similar projects in the past.

Strategic considerations

Highlight Community Engagement Priorities

It’s important to be as specific as possible in the call for artists about community engagement needs and expectations. Not all artists are trained or have extensive experience in working with community groups. Being clear about what is expected at the beginning of the project is a critical first step.
Community organizations should also spend time with neighborhood groups before issuing the call to understand community needs and expectations for a specific project. It’s important to engage the community in all major points of decision-making, including picking a topic, defining goals, delineating timelines, etc.

Distinguish Between the Role of Artists in Process and Product

When creating a call for artists it can be difficult to create a vision for what is needed while also giving the artist space to bring their own creativity and ideas, especially within a co-creative process with the community. Certain aspects should be consideedr when crafting language for the call:
- If the process dimension of the project is critical, look for artists who have extensive experience working with communities, rather than selecting an artist based on their experience in one medium of art over another.
- Outline the needs of the community as they’ve been identified by the community. What language do they use to frame the issue at hand?
- If it’s a process-oriented project, be comfortable with hiring an artist without yet knowing the final product.
- If art is to be a tool or process in community-building efforts, be explicit about that within the call.
- When looking at an artist’s work, examine if their work was produced with the community, or if their work was produced independently of the direct community involvement. Both are valid art practices, but the orientation of the artist towards the community will be different in each one.

Choosing Artists from Outside the Community

Should you ever choose artists with a specific background rather than by location? Is there specific value that artists from outside the community can add?
Local and outside artists can both bring unique experiences to the project, so it is important to consider the project goals to determine what would be most valuable. Local artists may have the advantage of bringing insight from the nearby area and may better understand the needs of the community. Outside artists may approach the project from a different angle and see opportunities that local artists may have missed. Consider the specific project at hand to determine what type of artist best fits those needs.

Artist Feedback

Should you provide feedback to artists who apply but are not selected?
Keep in touch with artists to maintain relationships and ensure the door is open to work together in the future. Provide specifics to artist finalists that were not selected and at least a couple of sentences to everyone that applies. If necessary, be available for more in depth-conversations to those that request it. Artists can also give great feedback about your process to help your organization improve.

Asking the Right Questions

Connecting the right artist to your project is critical to the success of the project. Try to get to know the artist’s perspectives and values beforehand. Craft questions that will give insight into who the artist is. Keep the questions brief to be respectful of the artist’s time, but also choose questions that lend themselves to thoughtful answers. Below are some questions that are a good starting place:

→ Reflect on your artistic practice (Look for an artist that is introspective and knowledgeable about their own practice)
→ How does your practice address social equity?
→ Describe a personal experience that made you interested in the residency?
→ Describe a collaborative project in which you have co-facilitated (People and relationships are the most important part)
→ Which community design principles do you hope to explore?
→ Describe an instance where you used experimentation and discovery in a project (This lets the artist know the organization is comfortable with iterative design and process-oriented projects)
→ If you are an artist collaborative, please describe your internal process for co-managing large projects (This is helpful for knowing who in the collective is actually applying, who will be working on the project)

Ways to hire an artist

There are many ways to structure calls for artists:

Open call: These are open to anyone and can be distributed at any scale (local, regional, state, national, international)
Limited (invitational) calls: Before the process begins, a select group of artists is identified by the organization, and the call invites them directly to apply. These calls can have application materials closely defined such as a pre-proposal. If more than basic information is requested, then applicants should be compensated. Unlike design and planning proposals, which are often not compensated for by organizations or municipalities, artistic proposals need to be supported financially.
Direct selection/commission: Artists are directly selected for these projects – often from a pre-reviewed list of potential artists.

How and where to share calls for artists

Social media announcements
City Cultural Affairs Departments or Public Art Program newsletters
Local arts organizations newsletters and distribution channels
Professional PR firms can help with press releases
Colleagues can send information to their networks
Ambassadors in the community can distribute to their networks
Call for Entry (Café)
Submittable
Publicartist.org
Americans for the Arts public art network

Reviewing a Call

Once artists or arts groups have submitted, the next step is to decide who to choose for the project. Just as there is no single way to put out a call for artists, there is also no single way to organize the selection process.

Best practices include:

Create a panel, usually 3-5 people, who can judge submissions.
Panelists should represent the community and arts profession perspectives.
Create a scoresheet outlining the project criteria. Although the final artist may not be selected based on the point-system, the scorecard can serve as a collectively agreed upon starting point.

Additional Resources

Curated for you by the LISC team, the resources below provide models of best practice, insights from our Resource Team, and other extras we hope will be useful to you as you navigate your creative placemaking projects.

ENGAGE:

Handbook for Artists Working in Community, Springboard for the Arts
This handbook from the team at Springboard for the Arts is a practical guide for artists developing their community engaged practice. Drawn from Springboard deep experience in creative placemaking, “the stories, tools, and wisdom” in the handbook come directly from practitioners.

This material emerged from a past Our Town Knowledge Building project. Through the Our Town Knowledge Building program, the NEA has invested in community development and arts membership organizations to build out knowledge on how to do creative placemaking.

WATCH:

Getting the Word Out
How can you recruit and engage the right artists for your community? In creative placemaking, the impact that the arts and culture have within a community is about both the art that is being created and the process of its creation. This dual function adds a layer of complexity when it comes to the initial search for a project artist. It’s important to be as specific as possible in the call for artists about community engagement needs and expectations. Terry Schwarz is the Director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. In this session from the November 2020 Learning Lab for Our Town Grantees, she will discuss InPlace, an Our Town project in Youngstown, Ohio that funded teams of local artists who created installations in the city's downtown district. Lynne McCormack, LISC Senior Program Officer for Creative Placemaking will also provide practical tips from the How to Do Creative Placemaking curriculum.

Creating a Level Playing Field: Power and Information Dynamics in Artist Selection
In this 90 minute Peer Exchange, presenters Christine Wong Yap, Richard Young, Mat Greiner, Dan Swern, and Julie Garreau focus on artist selection through the lenses of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Resource Team member Renee Piechocki facilitates this conversation among Our Town grantees and artists as they describe their experiences navigating power imbalances in artist calls and applications, developing equitable payment practices, connecting artists with community, and creating artist selection processes that align with project values.

Sample Materials:

Setting the Stage
How can you create processes to support artists in making their best work? Renee Piechocki has worked in the field of public art for twenty six years as a consultant, administrator, advocate, and artist. She brings this range of experience to one of the most important questions communities can ask: what can we do to help artists make their best work? During this one hour session from the November 2020 Learning Lab for Our Town Grantees, we will cover a range of topics that focus on the artists experience and successful collaborations including artist selection, project teams, feedback, contracts, and connecting artists with communities.

Hiring Artists Webinar
What are different ways to structure opportunities for artists? How might one structure resources, and what scale of resources are appropriate for a creative placemaking program? Where and how can opportunities be shared in order to connect with the appropriate artist for a project? This webinar will discuss how to structure a call, grant, or commission in a way that will yield the kinds of relationships and projects that will help achieve the goals set for a project.