The Rockwell Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is seeking to hire an experienced mural artist to work with Rockwell’s Youth and Visitor Engagement Educator and the High School Learning Center (HSLC) students and staff to plan, design and paint a mural.
Key Dates
Application Due Date Extension: Friday, October 4, 2024
Artist Finalist Interviews: Mid-October 2024
Artist Notification: Friday, November 1, 2024
Artist Agreement Contract Signed by: Friday, November 15, 2024
Download full scope and application >>
Project Scope
The artist co-teaches with the Rockwell educator and takes a leadership role in developing the design concept and creating a cohesive mural design that both represents the students’ artwork and honors the artist’s creative ideas. The development of the mural design is a collaborative and creative process that uses the Museum’s collection as inspiration and is connected to The Rockwell’s annual theme. The 2025 annual theme will be Color. How does color make you feel? The theme will focus on the exploration of color and how it interacts in our day-to-day lives considering environments, light and interrelations with other colors. The Rockwell will explore color in all its shades and tints!
The accepted artist will be required to sign a contract with The Rockwell, attend weekly mural design classes via Zoom and in person for one class depending on the distance of where the artist lives. 10 classes will be held from February – April 2025 and a specific schedule will be determined with the selected artist upon signing the contract.
The artist is responsible for creating a draft mock-up design to share with students for feedback and will produce a final mural design that will be submitted to appropriate agencies for approval in April (Date TBD). Minor modifications may be requested to the original design. Once the design is approved, the artist will then paint the mural on site in August with students and staff and participate in a community ribbon cutting ceremony.
This is a nine-month commitment, although the guest artist will only be on site for about 10 days in August, and potentially one mural design class (depending on artist location). After mural completion, the artist will coordinate with the Rockwell educator to apply a clear protective coat of paint. See Artist Guidelines and Project Dates & Timeline for details.
Program Goals
- Feature and collaborate with a professional mural artist.
- Recognize the 17th Alley Art Project mural in Corning, NY.
- Support public art projects and overall community aesthetics in Corning.
- Demonstrate the importance of community collaboration: The Rockwell Museum, guest Teaching Mural Artist, the High School Learning Center and the City of Corning.
Overview and History of the Alley Art Project
Each year, students create murals with professional artists and museum educators using The Rockwell’s own fine art collection as inspiration. The program supports students through the vigorous process of designing and producing public art–while cultivating a sense of pride, ownership and connection to the community. There is emphasis on developing citizenship skills and civic pride by sharing public art with the wider region. The holistic program integrates using the arts for exploration and expression without judgment, fostering safe dialogue and developing a stronger sense of self. More information is available at RockwellMuseum.org/alley-art.
Building location: A local building wall has been secured for the project. The 2025 mural will be located at the north façade of 41 Bridge Street in downtown Corning. The mural wall section is the lower level that is primed with a dark blue color.
Teaching Mural Artist Guidelines
The artist is responsible for creating a visual framework to allow the vision of the students to be clearly recognized in an aesthetic design that complements the building wall. It is essential for the artist to thoughtfully depict the students’ artwork and ideas in the final mural design, but also create a design that is representative of their own unique vision. A balance and blend of the artist’s original artwork with the student artwork incorporated into the design is essential. The hired artist must be willing to make adjustments and changes to the design in response to input and feedback from Rockwell staff, the HSLC and business owners for approval. This process can take several weeks and several rounds to finalize. The mural artist is then responsible for the execution and completion of the mural with students within the given time frame.
Please submit the following information to Amy Ruza at ruzaa@rockwellmuseum.org to be considered for the 2025 Teaching Mural Artist position for The Rockwell Museum’s Alley Art Project.
For questions or additional information, please contact Amy Ruza by email. Thank you!
- Resume
- Sample images of artwork
- Website URL where you are featured as a muralist and/or social media accounts
- Answers to the following four questions:
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- Why do you think you would be a good fit for the Teaching Mural Artist position?
(200 word limit) - Please share your background. What inspires you as an artist? (200 word limit)
- What is your experience working with youth on group projects? (200 word limit)
- What are your strengths in community-based project work? (200 word limit)
- Why do you think you would be a good fit for the Teaching Mural Artist position?