2024 Cultural Arts Laureates
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
January 31, 2025
Cultural Arts Laureates
The City of Murfreesboro is seeking Cultural Arts Laureates for 2025 (term begins February 2025 and ends February 2026).
The Cultural Arts Laureates shall be considered a civic appointment and one of honor. The Cultural Arts Laureate Program was founded with the intent to give experienced individual artists an opportunity to share their talents with their community, offer youth citizens and emerging artists role models within their own community, and to encourage and nurture the growing arts and creative culture in Murfreesboro. The desired outcomes of this initiative are as follows:
• that each year the selected Laureates will use their creative practice to impact their community in a way that they find rewarding,
• that the Laureates will continue to give time to their community projects after their term ends,
• that this program will encourage artists to set goals within their own community,
• and that the community will be enriched by the Laureates’ contributions.
The Laureate program is designed to acknowledge the work and contributions of a local artist. The selected artist will receive a year’s commitment from the City of Murfreesboro involving 1) exposure for the artist’s work 2) support for the artist’s community project(s) for 2025 and 3) a $1,000 monetary award. The laureates will be responsible for exhibiting their creative work and expertise at city events. Laureates serve for one year with the opportunity to continue serving for a total of three years if invited and pending an evaluation at the end of each year.
To gain a better understanding of the Murfreesboro City Laureate program or past or current Laureates, please review the information on the Murfreesboro City Laureate webpage https://www.murfreesborotn.gov/1611/Laureate-Program.
To be considered for the Laureate Program candidates must live or work in Murfreesboro, fill out the requisite program application, and agree to the responsibilities of the Laureates laid out below.
***Applicants are only eligible for one category of the Laureate program: Poet, Visual Arts, or Performing Arts.***
OBJECTIVES:
The Cultural Arts Laureates will serve a term beginning in February 2025 and ending in February 2026. The objectives of the position are as follows:
• Serve as a Cultural arts advocate for the City of Murfreesboro to a wide demographic of audiences within the City.
• Raise the profile of artists and contemporary Cultural arts discourse in Murfreesboro.
• Create an artistic legacy through public exhibitions and civic interactions.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Have the ability to fulfill their term in residence;
• Enrich the community through "arts advocacy" by participating in events Hosted by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro and interacting with non-traditional audiences;
• Raise the profile of Poet Laureate and contemporary arts discourse in Murfreesboro;
• Attend/Participate/Exhibit in select ceremonial/civic engagement events of our choosing as the Laureate’s schedule permits;
• Submit semi-annual reports on their work to the Cultural Arts Department;
TERM:
The application period is open through January 31, 2025. The Cultural Arts Laureates will serve a term beginning in February 2025 and ending in February 2026. Laureates will be evaluated at the end of each year. Pending the results of that evaluation Laureates may be invited to return for the next years term. Select Laureates may have the opportunity to serve their community for up to three years. Each laureate will receive a $1,000 monetary award for each year they serve. Additional project funds may be available to support Laureates activities dependent upon available financial resources.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
Candidates Must:
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Available to attend various city events as designated
• Be a professional artist with a well-established performance/technical history
• Work or reside in Murfreesboro
• Have an established body of work or have been recognized for notable contributions to the Cultural arts
• Some of their work should be relevant to Murfreesboro and/or subjects that reflect the life of the city at this particular time in history, or candidate must be able to create this type of work during their term.
SUBMISSIONS:
Submission Deadline – January 31, 2025
Eligible artists and nominators are invited to submit proposals that include the following:
1. A sample of your work/your professional portfolio (please limit video clips to 3 minutes).
2. Curriculum Vitae or resume
3. Confirmation of current place of residence or employment
4. Letter of Intent of 1,000 words maximum detailing:
• The Cultural artist’s professional accomplishments and community outreach activities in regard to sharing their love of the arts, and professional resources.
• Why the artist feels they are the best candidate for the Cultural Arts Laureates for the City of Murfreesboro.
• How the artist envisions fulfilling their key responsibilities through leading classes, public speaking, and/or other means of representation at different community events.
5. An artist bio of no more than 250 words to be used on the City’s website if the application is selected.
6. Three references that can attest to the artist’s talents and their ability to engage others in their craft.
Submissions are accepted through www.culturalarts.submittable.com
For questions about submissions contact: smayo@murfreesborotn.gov 615-893-7439 ext. 6111
SELECTION PROCESS:
Appointment will be by a selection committee comprised of arts professionals from the community and the previous year's laureate. Submissions will be reviewed on the following criteria:
• The artist has made a significant contribution to cultural arts in Murfreesboro
• The candidate has influenced other artists
• Artistic merit of the submission
As part of the selection process, candidates may be asked to participate in an interview with Cultural Arts staff.
RESERVED RIGHTS OF THE CITY OF MURFREESBORO:
The City of Murfreesboro, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights:
• To request clarification or additional information, as it deems necessary to evaluate submissions
• To determine suitability of the submission and capability of the prospective artist(s)
• To select the artist(s) that it deems most appropriate for the project
• To make no selection or to cancel this process at any time
• To issue public announcements regarding the competition.
This document and any submissions in response to it by prospective artists do not create any binding obligations on the City, the prospective artist, or any other party.
Thank you for your interest in showcasing in the Community Gallery located inside of Patterson Park Community center!
OUR MISSION
Art in the Community Gallery is maintained by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro. This gallery exists to introduce contemporary art into a community space where people already gather, and to those who may not have regular access to art museums and galleries.
The gallery extends established artists the opportunity to show their work outside of normal art-world settings and present the work of those who are not able to show their work in other capacities. This space does not fix traditional curatorial expectations but instead hopes to offer an example of an evolving and educational contemporary art space that reflects both the community and the conversations relevant to the world at large.
Our mission is to offer a centralized platform for the local community to engage in the production of, and ideas generated by, contemporary art through exhibitions, dialogue, educational programming, and community events. The purpose of our gallery is to enrich our community, therefore all artwork will be judged to ensure it will help us maintain an educational, family friendly, and inviting space.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
- The submitted works MUST be 11" x 14" or larger
- Each piece can weigh no more than 40 pounds
- ALL pieces must be delivered ready to hang - framed or equipped with a secure, taught wire (we recommend that you have your pieces professionally mounted if you do not have experience in that area)
- The Community Gallery does not provide horizontal space for pieces that need to be displayed by sitting on the floor, in a glass display case or shelving unit
- Photos of ALL pieces the artist intends to exhibit must be submitted and approved before they can be accepted by the Community Gallery
- Exhibits are typically 8-12 weeks long, and ALL exhibited artwork must remain in the exhibit for the entire duration of the exhibit
- It is the responsibility of the artist to negotiate all sales of their work
- NO prices, contact information, or commercial logos may be displayed on the title cards for each artwork
- One placard containing information to the viewer about the artist and/or their work may be provided by the artist and displayed (this placard may contain contact information)
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Cultural Arts Murfreesboro, by emailing smayo@murfreesborotn.gov or shicks@murfreesborotn.gov with the subject line "Community Gallery".