The People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall - Call for Artists
Application Deadline Extended: 11:59 P.M., Sunday, July 7, 2024!
No submission fees, always free to apply.
The Austin Public Library (APL) is pleased to announce the 2024-2025 cycle of the People’s Gallery exhibition at Austin City Hall!
Located on the first three floors of City Hall, the People’s Gallery is part of an ongoing Exhibition Series to showcase local and regional artistic endeavors and to encourage public dialogue, understanding, and enjoyment of visual art. The exhibition is designed to reflect the artistic excellence and cultural diversity of Austin and to promote the City’s cultural and economic initiatives. A high-visibility venue, City Hall hosts over 200,000 visitors each year.
The City of Austin seeks 2- and 3- dimensional artworks in any medium by Austin-area visual artists or from Austin galleries or visual art organizations. All two-dimensional artwork selected must be framed or mounted and ready to hang. No saw tooth hangers, please. All three-dimensional artwork selected must be self-supporting or include a pedestal or stand. The gallery may provide pedestals as needed, but any artist-provided stands used must be approved by the APL Program Manager before delivering to City Hall.
Selected artists may offer their artwork for sale; the City of Austin does not receive a commission on, or compensation, from the sale of artwork exhibited at Austin City Hall. All sales must be conducted by the artist or representing gallery.
Timeline (subject to change)
Sunday, July 7, 2024, 11:59 P.M., Application Deadline. No late entries will be accepted.
July 1-July 31: Applications reviewed and artworks recommended.
August: Final review takes place.
August: Show is laid out prior to final review.
Mid-Late August: Notification e-mails sent to ALL applicants. Loan Agreement forms and delivery information will be sent to selected artists. All selected artists must confirm receipt of acceptance and give notice of agreement to participate, by the deadline provided in the acceptance email.
September 2-September 5, 2024: Artist delivery of selected works to Austin City Hall. No artworks will be accepted without a Loan Agreement form. Loan forms to be signed upon installation/delivery, with City staff.
October 4, 2024 6-9 p.m: Opening Reception at Austin City Hall. (301 W. 2nd St.)
Eligibility
Professional artists over 18 years of age, who live or work in the Austin area (within Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, or Williamson Counties), or visual arts organizations in Austin, are eligible to apply. All mediums are welcome.
*Austin Public Library staff members are ineligible to apply. Other City staff members are eligible to apply but may not offer their works for sale.
Selection Process
All applications will be reviewed by a selection panel appointed by the APL Program Manager. This year’s selection panelists are, Lisa Woods, Mario Villanueva and Joanna Gutt-Lehr. All applicants will be notified of acceptance, modification, or rejection of their applications by e-mail. Please add lib.exhibits@austintexas.gov to your list of “safe” senders so that you receive these notifications. Do not contact staff about the status of your application once the submission period has closed.
Selection criteria may include, but is not limited to:
Quality or merit of the artwork
Cultural diversity of artwork
Local or national reputation of artist
Inclusion in the permanent collection of an Austin-based museum
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit an artist bio and up to FIVE artworks available for loan for the duration of the exhibition. For each artwork entry, the following information is required: One image: include your name and the artwork title in each uploaded file's name, numbered by the order in which submitted.
EXAMPLES:
First piece submitted: 01-LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
Second piece submitted: 02-LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
Third piece submitted: 03-LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
Fourth piece submitted: 04-LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
Fifth piece submitted: 05-LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
Artist Bio
A brief artist statement for each entry. If accepted, each work will be accompanied by a label which lists your statement.
Title, Medium, Year of Completion, Dimensions, Insurance value, whether the piece is available for sale.
*If works in progress are submitted for consideration, final acceptance for inclusion in the exhibition will be subject to review and approval of the completed work of art.
Please, DO NOT send applications by e-mail or by postal mail. We are only accepting submissions through this site.
Exhibition Space
No artwork will be displayed on the fourth floor or in the administrative offices located on the first, second, and third floors.
Available interior exhibition space: First Floor: Atrium lobby and limited locations in adjoining public rooms. Self-supporting sculptures must be on a pedestal at least 4.75” high, to be provided by the artist. Weight may not exceed 200 lbs. per 18” x 18” floor tile. Pedestal must not exceed a 6’ x 6’ footprint.
Second Floor: Second floor lobby and surrounding conference rooms, east and west hallway corridors.
Third Floor: Third floor lobby and surrounding conference rooms, excluding the City Manager’s conference room. Self-supporting sculpture must be on a pedestal at least 4.75” high, provided by the artist and to be painted with a washable paint for ease of maintenance. Pedestal footprint may not exceed 42” in depth.
*Due to new City Hall policies, artwork installed on 3rd floor, east and west hallways will be accessible to the public only via scheduled tours. Tours will be scheduled quarterly by City staff or volunteers. Artists will be notified ahead of time and given a link to sign up.
Contact Information
If you have questions regarding this call for artwork, please call 512-974-7379, or e-mail lib.exhibits@austintexas.gov. Add this email address to your "safe senders" list so that you will receive our notifications.
For more information about the 2024 Exhibition Guidelines, please visit: https://library.austintexas.gov/peoples
To explore the current exhibition, City Hall is located at 301 W 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701, and is open Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm (except on City holidays.)
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