Monday, June 25, 2018
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced that the city has released an Invitation for Bids, seeking proposals for Public Art in the Springfield Central Cultural District. The program, funded via the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, will award multiple grants for public art proposals in the cultural district.
“As the home of Dr. Seuss, Springfield has been built on art and creativity,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. “We had great success with our first round of this program and are happy we can offer an even larger program this year.”
The CDBG Cultural District Public Art program started with two installations in 2017, for a total of $10,000 in awards. This year the program will offer up to $25,000 in total awards.
The 2017 awards resulted in a full size wall mural themed on the history of board games in Springfield on the Gifford Lock building by artist Kim Carlino, and a sculpture now placed in front of the MassMutual Center by James Kitchen, highlighting the history of the wrench in the city.
The program calls for Springfield themed proposals installed in the district that will become visible, positive and inspirational placemaking pieces for the city. The program considers proposals of all types – paint, structure, visual, projection, audio, etc., and plan to make awards later this summer for installation to begin this fall. Awards will be in the $1,000 to $10,000 range.
“We want to continue to grow the creative economy in the city,” said Kevin Kennedy, Chief Development Officer. “Arts and culture equates to jobs and economic activity, and this program both highlights Springfield and brings vibrancy to our cultural district.”
The Springfield Central Cultural District was approved in 2014, of which the city is an active member, and aims to “bring more vitality to the city by highlighting its outstanding cultural offerings and adding new creative opportunities for artists and the greater community. “
The funding is being provided through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) annual CDBG allocation to Springfield.
Proposals are due July 31st at 2:00 p.m. Interested parties should get the complete bid package from the Office of Procurement at (413) 787-6290.