This call for artists is for the PAiD Program Artist Council. The Artist Council is an eight-member group of artists selected to create temporary public artworks and to provide recommendations to help shape the future of Los Angeles County’s public art policy and processes. The group of artists will participate in an 8 to 10-month long, two-part program of dialogue and art creation. Artists selected for this program will engage in a series of discussions around LA County Arts &
Culture’s current public art, equity, and inclusion policies and procedures. The discussions will be led by the PAiD program art consultant, Dyson & Womack, and other arts and culture leaders and advocates.

Through the course of these discussions, the Artist Council will develop a set of recommendations that seek to address historical barriers to participation and expand support for artists working in the field of public art. In addition, each selected artist will create a temporary public art project. The projects may be objects, artist happenings, or performance-based and may amplify an important civic issue and further the artist’s professional goals. Artist Council members will develop their projects during the course of the program.

ELIGIBILITY & CONSIDERATIONS:

• The opportunity is open to artists living in Los Angeles County. Artists from any career level are encouraged to apply, including artists with limited public art experience.
• The opportunity is open to artists working in any media.
• Artists ages 18 and older who live within Los Angeles County may apply individually or collaboratively as a team. Artists applying as a team will have a track record of working together and apply with a portfolio of joint work. Any artist team selected through this RFQ must retain the same composition of individual team members until the completion of the commission. Any artist teams selected for the Council will represent one place on the eight-person Council and receive one commission and stipend to be shared among team members.
• Artists who are historically underrepresented individuals/groups (including artists identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, and Queer (LGTBQ+) artists, artists with disabilities, emerging and self-taught artists, and artists working in non-traditional mediums) are encouraged to apply.
• County elected or appointed officials, County staff, and any artist who does not reside in Los Angeles County may not be commissioned under this RFQ.

EVALUATION:

Applications will be evaluated based on Artistic Engagement and Cultural Equity as defined below:

• Artistic Engagement is identified by the strength of the artist’s conceptual framework as it relates to communities, sites, and historical/social/political contexts. Through their prior work and written or verbal statements, applicants should demonstrate that they have an interest in producing art in the public sphere. Artists with little or no experience completing public art projects may instead articulate their understanding of and interest in public art through their written or verbal statements. Prior work portfolios may include examples of public, studio, gallery, and other commissioned artworks. They will be evaluated for skill, distinction, or value related to the artist’s career level and historical/cultural contexts.
• Cultural Equity is articulated by the value placed on representation and inclusion. In practice, this
  means considering representation not only through the artists selected for the Artist Council but also for the communities served and the perspectives represented in their artwork. Evaluation will be based on the artist’s ability to demonstrate an understanding of the themes and goals of the program and provide a meaningful contribution to the program.