City of Dubuque and Green Dubuque Issue Second Call for Climate-Focused Designs for Bus Shelter Sidewalk Mural Project

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The City of Dubuque’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is issuing a second call for climate-focused design concepts for the Art En Route bus shelter sidewalk mural project. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022. Art En Route is being produced in partnership with Green Dubuque, funded by a national grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative.

Art En Route is a project at the intersection of public art, public transit, and climate action designed to enhance 14 bus shelter locations throughout Dubuque with painted murals on the concrete surface under and around the shelters. The network of sidewalk murals aims to draw attention to the City’s public transit system as a community asset while encouraging residents to actively engage in Dubuque’s Community Climate Action & Resiliency Plan.

The project also advances goals and priorities of Dubuque’s Arts and Culture Master Plan and Imagine Dubuque 2037 to make arts and cultural resources and activities available in every neighborhood in the city and county, make art more visible in all aspects of daily life in Dubuque, and facilitate the presence and participation of arts and culture at non-cultural activities and venues.

All artists, professionals and aspiring, who are 18 years and older are encouraged to apply. Artists are welcome to submit multiple design concepts. Creative collectives and community groups may also apply. Those living within a 50-mile radius of Dubuque and underrepresented artists are strongly encouraged to apply. There is no application fee.

Selected applicants will be responsible for painting their sidewalk mural design between May 1-31, 2022. Applicants can request a student assistant from a pool of college and high schools if interested. Artists will receive a $750 stipend following the completion of their selected sidewalk mural(s); limited travel stipends are available for artists based outside of Dubuque city limits. Materials will be provided.
 
Applicants must include a brief description with their proposed sidewalk mural explaining how the design seeks to inspire and empower individual, business and governmental climate mitigation and adaptation to advance implementation of the Community Climate Action & Resiliency Plan.

Design templates and access to the online application form is available at www.cityofdubuque.org/artenroute. Applications can also be mailed to City Hall Annex, Attn: Jenni Petersen-Brant at 1300 Main St, Dubuque, IA 52001.

Submissions are due on or before Thursday, Mar. 3, by 11:59 p.m. The community will have opportunities through online platforms and in-person meetings to review and provide input on submissions in March 2022. A panel of jurors, comprised of members from the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, Green Dubuque, Resilient Community Advisory Commission, and the City's Transit Division, will then review the community's rankings and finalize the selections. Artists will be notified by April 8, 2022 regarding the status of their submission.

The 14 bus shelter sites included in the project are located throughout the City of Dubuque, from downtown to the North End and out to the Industrial Park West and the Northwest Arterial.
 
The project's primary funding source is a Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art grant with in-kind and additional support from City of Dubuque, Green Dubuque, Sustainable Dubuque, and Gigantic Design.
 
For specific information about the Art En Route project, visit www.cityofdubuque.org/artenroute or contact City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Jenni Petersen-Brant at jbrant@cityofdubuque.org or 563.690.6059. For additional information about the Asphalt Art Initiative, visit Bloomberg Philanthropies at https://asphaltart.bloomberg.org.