PAST – Request for Qualifications: Lead Artists for NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Community Mural Project | Deadline January 6, 2023

 About:

The Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals, with support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, invites submissions for a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for lead artists to work on the NYC Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project. The Community Mural Project stems directly from the tradition of the depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) established in the 1930s when murals were commissioned for virtually every New York City public hospital. A number of additional murals were undertaken in subsequent decades. The Community Mural Project was launched in 2019 to support healing environments across public hospitals and clinics, resulting in the realization of 26 murals over three years, spanning all five boroughs.

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine programs include multiple arts disciplines, including literary, visual, and performing arts. The Community Mural Project, a flagship of Arts in Medicine, connects artists, healthcare staff, and local community members to re-imagine hospitals and health centers and promote greater neighborhood wellness. The Community Mural Project aims to enhance emotional wellbeing amongst the greater Health + Hospitals system and community, to promote healing and wellness for all patients and their families, and to stimulate employee engagement.

Mission:

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the United States. We provide essential inpatient, outpatient, and home-based services to more than one million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the city’s five boroughs. The mission of the Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals is to encourage patients, families, employees, and our greater community to live their healthiest lives by promoting healing, wellness, and engagement through the arts and humanities.

2022-2023 Community Mural Project:

The 2022-2023 Community Mural Project is an opportunity for artists to apply their creative input to NYC H+H’s vast health system while highlighting the difficult and complex issues challenging our health. This year saw particularly drastic changes in policies for reproductive rights, gun laws, and immigration, all of which have a tremendous impact on the health of our communities. How does this interconnectedness support a catalyst for change on these and other important policies affecting our health?

We are excited to add a new opportunity for immersive art that harness technologies such as VR, holography, and digital projection. The Community Mural Project is seeking these kinds of artists for places such as emergency room waiting areas, behavioral health, lobby’s and pediatric spaces.

Request for Qualifications (RFQ):

NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program is pleased to announce an open call in 2022 for 10 community murals that will be realized in 2023. Ten (10) professional visual artists will be selected to engage with patients, staff, and local residents to create an integrated internal or external mural at selected NYC Health + Hospitals facilities. The 2022-2023 Community Mural Project consists of a collaborative mural-making process, (e.g., focus groups and paint parties) as a tool to build trust and engagement between the hospitals and their communities, which include people who live and work in or near the health facility, clinical teams, and the patients and families treated in those facilities, to build neighborhood pride, and reduce the stigma associated with hospitals through community-building activities.

The 10 selected artists will present their project to a focus group at the identified healthcare facility. A final version will be approved in conjunction with participants.

Project Budget:

The Project Budget is $10,000 per location for artist fees including design services, community engagement, site preparation, fabrication, travel, and participation in installation. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department will provide any necessary supplies, permits, insurance, and documentation. NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department will also execute a deliverables-based MOU valued at $10,000 with the lead artist. Lead artists will be paid 1/2 upfront and 1/2 upon completion. The NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department will cover all costs related to art supplies and additional materials for workshops and community events, equipment for the installation, special insurance, permits for mural sites and other relevant costs relating to the production of the murals.

Who May Apply:

Professional visual artists or artist teams legally authorized to work in the United States, and who are at least 18 years of age, are eligible to apply. Artists with ties to neighborhoods and communities of the participating NYC Health + Hospitals facilities are encouraged to apply, as well as artists who are actively engaging in community engagement practices. Experience in large-scale murals is a plus. NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to the values of inclusion and advancing diversity in the field of arts and health. We highly encourage applicants that are traditionally underrepresented* to submit to this RFQ. *Including, but not limited to: Immigrant, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, Person of Color, Person with Disability, Socioeconomic Disadvantage.

The project period will occur from February 27 through December 15, 2023
Deadline for Submission of RFQ:
Friday January 6, 2023 at 11:59pm EST
**Late applications may be disqualified from considerations**
Finalist interviews will be held between January 30 and February 3, 2023
Selected artists will be notified on February 14, 2023

Project Locations:

Click here to see the list of hospital and Gotham Health Center locations. Please note that the size of each mural will not exceed 300 square feet.

Project Calendar:

Mural Artists will be required to be on site for 5 public events, plus additional days to present to the facility CEO, prepare mural panels before the Paint Party, finish painting after the Paint Party, and installation. Time required for preparation, finishing, and installation will be dependent on mural size and detail. Each mural project will be executed over a period of three (3) months, on a rolling basis from February through December 2023. The NYC Health + Hospitals facility will choose their start date and mural artists may be paired accordingly.

All mural artists will be required to attend virtual training and onboarding in February, 2023 exact date TBD.

Artists are expected to develop mural concepts, themes, imagery through engaging with the H + H staff, patients, and greater community during virtual Focus Groups and CEO Presentation. Designs will not be considered final until approved by the facility CEO. The CEO will be asked to limit rounds of revisions to a maximum of two (2).

APPLICATION CLOSED

You can learn more about Laurie M Tisch Illumination Fund’s generous support of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine (AIM) here: New Program Will Use the Arts to Promote Employee Wellness and Resilience in Hospitals

Arts in Medicine: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/

We are excited to share the PBS NewsHour segment that aired in August 2022 highlighting the Arts in Medicine program and the civic engagement our murals provide to all of our communities: Art and medicine intersect in New York City hospitals | PBS NewsHour

If you have any further questions or inquiries: please email them to adminmurals@residencyunlimited.org