By Daily Press staff
City Hall is looking for qualified artists to redesign the banners that will hang over Santa Monica’s busiest shopping district — the Third Street Promenade.
Officials have announced that $10,000 is available for the chosen artist to create the new banners.
The city of Santa Monica Arts Commission and the Bayside District Corp. are seeking a professional artist or artist team to create large scale art banners to enliven and enhance the world-famous Promenade. The highly-visible banners will replace the existing ones at 18 locations along the central spine of the retail district.
Opened in 1989, the Promenade hosts more than 40,000 thousand visitors daily. The Promenade’s assortment of shops, theaters and restaurants make it a key destination for locals as well those visiting Southern California, as well as a highly desirable location for movie and television filming.
The selected artist(s) will design two sets of 18 banners. The two sets must consist of different designs. Banner sets will be rotated to allow for cleaning and repair, but there will be one set of banners on display throughout the year. Banners may be no larger than eight feet, three inches wide by nine feet, eight inches tall. In addition, the two sets must be designed so that they can be fabricated per the Bayside District’s specifications for a total cost of no more than $25,000.
The competition is open to professional artists living or working in Santa Monica. Artists may work alone or collaborate as a team. The selected artist(s) must be available to meet with city staff and several advisory boards and commissions throughout the course of project development. The artist(s) also must be available to oversee the fabrication of the banners by a manufacturer to be selected.
It is a two-stage competition, which will result in one artist or team being selected to design new original art banners for the Third Street Promenade. In the first stage, artist qualifications are being requested. A panel will select up to three finalists who will receive a fee of $500 to develop a two-dimensional proposal. Finalists must be available to present to the selection panel in early November. Based on the proposals, the panel will then select one artist(s) to be approved by the Santa Monica Arts Commission and the Bayside District Corp.
The deadline for applications is Sept. 19. Call (310) 458-8350 for information.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 9, 2005. Read the original PDF.