Call to Artists
Banner Design Competition
Overview
To highlight downtown Northfield as a welcoming and inclusive destination for visitors and residents alike, the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission (ACC), in partnership with the Friends of Downtown Northfield, is hosting a competition for artists to design a new downtown banner. The banner will be hung on lamp-posts along Division Street. The purpose of the banner is to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. It will be displayed for Northfield’s sixth annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration on September 15, and remain for all of Hispanic Heritage Month, and into November. The banners will be displayed annually from the second week of September to the second week of November.
To celebrate the vibrant and diverse communities of Northfield, the Arts and Culture Commission invites Latine and Hispanic artists to participate in the open design competition.
Eligibility
Preference will be given to artists who live or work within the Northfield school district boundaries.
Candidates are eligible regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identification, military status, sexual orientation, marital status or physical ability.
Candidates are NOT eligible if they are immediate family or business partners of the Public Art Review Committee or program staff.
The Arts and Culture Commission recognizes that Hispanic and Latino artists have been historically underrepresented within the City, and are committed to furthering inclusivity and equity in the art community. We recognize that many distinct peoples and cultures exist within the broad nomenclature of ‘Hispanic’ and ‘Latino’, and wish to be inclusive of these cultures without conflating or being reductive. We encourage all artists who identify as Hispanic, Latine, Chicane, whose ancestors hail from Central or South America, Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, any of the indigenous peoples of South and Central America, or any other regions that identify with these cultures to enter.
Timeline
Deadline for submissions: June 23, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.
PARC judging of submissions: July 2023
Banner manufacture completed, dedication event: September 2023
Theme
The Hispanic Heritage Month banner will celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of Latine and Hispanic Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America or other regions that identify with the aforementioned cultures.
The banner design should celebrate or reference Hispanic or Latine art, history and/or culture. The design should also incorporate or leave room for the text “mes de la Herencia Hispana/Hispanic Heritage Month”.
Scale
The banners will be printed on durable fabric measuring 28 inches wide by 79 inches tall, portrait orientation, which is the standard size for the banner posts in Northfield.
Materials
Since the call for banner art involves design only, and not the manufacture of the banner by the artist, there are no expectations for the artist to deal with specific materials. Any medium or artistic form that can be digitally rendered is acceptable such as illustration, painting, photography, collage, and fiber.
Award
The selected banner artist(s) will be awarded a total of $1,500 for the winning submission, regardless of the number of chosen images—one or a series of thematically-related images—or the number of artists contributing to one design.
Criteria for selection
Submitted banner designs can be for one banner intended to be used for all new banners in downtown Northfield, or designs for a series of up to 4 thematically linked banners in downtown.
To create a banner that is visible, understandable and attractive to pedestrian and auto traffic, it is recommended that the banner designs be:
- Visible from a distance
- An original design by the artist(s)
- Be appropriate for viewing by all public audiences
- Be consistent with the unique character of the city of Northfield
- Designs may not be sponsored or branded by any commercial entity
Selection process
The process for selecting a new banner design, as specified in the City of Northfield’s Banner Policy, is as follows:
- Proposed banner designs will be reviewed by a Public Art Review Committee (PARC), composed of community members. The PARC may ask the artist(s) to slightly modify their submission.
- The PARC will advise the Arts and Culture Commission (ACC) on the winning design(s). The ACC will make the final decision of the design of the new or modified banners, based on the recommendations of the PARC group.
- After ACC preliminary approval, there will be a period of 2 weeks for public comment through the City website and City social media outlets. The ACC may choose to provide additional public engagement including, but not limited to, community feedback on options for final approval.
- The ACC may complete final approvals at a meeting after the prior processes are completed.
Submitting artwork
Artists may submit up to two different ideas/entries per person. These may be included in the same submission.
Required information
- The names and contact information of the submitting artist(s).
- A finished design in the form of PDF or JPEG, at a maximum 3 MB for each submitted image.
- Written description for the banner or banners.
Optional information
- Work samples: visual representations of any past projects that demonstrate qualifications for the banner competition.
- Resume: a resume that includes relevant work experiences to above mentioned project.
Agreement
Submission of art will establish an agreement by the artist that selected artwork may be published and promoted. Promotions are not limited to that which is detailed within this information. Chosen submissions will become the property of the City of Northfield.
Copyright statement: All copyrights are reserved to the artist(s). The artist(s) grants the City the right to reproduce and display the artwork in any and all media for the purposes of educating the public and about promoting its civic promotions and nonprofit programs and activities, but they may not sublicense the artwork for commercial or editorial licensing.
Photographs will bear the following designation: “© [Artist(s)]. All rights reserved. Sponsored by the City of Northfield”. Artist(s) and any other creators will receive a credit line with any editorial usage.
The artist(s) acknowledges the City may from time to time permit the editorial reproduction of the artwork in appropriate circumstances in order to help publicize city programs, enhance the public’s awareness and appreciation of public art, and/or raise money to further the city’s mission. The City will not have any obligation to consult with the artist(s) on such uses. All such editorial uses of the photographs will include the copyright notice in the name of the artist(s), and the City as described above.
Use and sale of reproductions
The artist(s) may exercise all copyrights under U.S.C. 106 without restriction.