Professional visual artists or artist-led teams are invited to apply for the following opportunities. Review each individual open call for artists for qualifications specific to those projects.

Questions about our current open calls or the process? Attend the Cultural Arts Division Virtual Open Office Hours every second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT and talk with a staff member.

 

General Terms
  • The Art in Public Places program defines artist as an individual recognized by critics and peers as a professional practitioner of serious intent and substantial ability in the visual, performing, and literary arts.
  • Design professionals, including architects who do not have a consistent visual art practice are ineligible to apply as team leads, but may be a part of artist-led teams.
  • Artists who have more than three permanent artworks represented in the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places public art collection; artists who currently are under contract with the City of Austin for a permanent Art in Public Places project; and artists who have completed an Art in Public Places project within the past year as well as City of Austin full-time employees and architects or other designers currently contracted with the City of Austin are ineligible to apply.
  • Each project budget is inclusive of design, fabrication, installation, engineering, permitting fees, travel, shipping expenses, insurance, and other project-related costs 
  • All artists doing business with the City are required to register as a Vendor with the City of Austin through the Purchasing Department's website. If you are currently registered as a vendor with the City, please update your registration profile as needed. Note that registration is not complete until the vendor has submitted a hard copy of his or her W-9 form to Purchasing. 
Policies
How to Create a City Account

Note: Previous Austin Art in Public Places calls to artists were hosted on the Economic Development Department Application Portal. To apply to Austin Art in Public Places' current open calls, please visit PublicArtist.org/AustinAIPP.

 

Watch a video on How to Create a City Account.  | Cómo crear una cuenta con la Ciudad.

Create An Account – For First-Time Users

  • Step 1: Visit the Economic Development Department Application Portal.
  • Step 2: Click the “Create Account” icon.
  • Step 3: Enter the required information and click the “Submit” button.
  • Step 4: After completing account creation, you will be prompted to fill out your profile information.
  • Step 5: After updating your profile information, you will be redirected to the home screen to begin the application process. 
     

How to Redeem Your Access Code

If you have previously applied for a City of Austin Economic Development Department grant or program, you may need to redeem an access code to confirm and access your account.

If you received a ‘Your email is connected to our system’ message, follow the steps below to confirm and access your account.

  • Step 1: Visit the Economic Development Department Application Portal. 
  • Step 2: Click the “Create Account” icon.  
  • Step 3: Enter the required information and click the “Submit” button.    
  • Step 4: If your information is in our database, your access code will be displayed. 
  • Step 5: Copy the one-time access code and enter into the Access Code tab.  
  • Step 6: After you confirm your account, you will be directed to complete your account creation using the “Create Account” tab. 
Art in Progress

The Art in Public Places program hosts diverse projects underway in various stages of the public art process, including planning, artist selection, preliminary design, final design, fabrication, and installation. View the timeline for past open calls in progress listed below. Project schedules are subject to change.

Looking for art in progress not listed? Please email aipp@austintexas.gov.

 

Walter E. Long and John Trevino Metro Parks AIPP Project

  • Selected Artist under contract - November 2023 
  • Target Installation/Project close-out - Summer 2024 
  • Information Meeting - April 12, 2023 
  • Submission deadline - April 27, 2023 
  • Interviews (if needed) - May 2023 

 

Airport Playscapes Public Art Opportunity, Austin, TX 

  • Information Meeting: April 12, 2023 
  • Submission deadline: April 27, 2023 
  • Short-listed artists notified: May 15, 2023 
  • Interviews: June 26, 2023 
  • Selected Artist under contract: October 2023 

 

Current Open Calls

 

Palmer Events Center: Interior Installation

This project is an opportunity for a US-based artist or artist-led team to create a tactile, visually engaging artwork on the 2nd level of the main entrance lobby space of the Palmer Event Center. The artwork should consider the surrounding natural context of the space and earthy interior finishes. The final artwork could use various methods of digital or analog technologies to inform, illuminate, provide humor, or share narrative(s) while visually engaging visitors and other users of the Palmer Event Center.   

 

ESB Mexican American Cultural Center 

There are myriad interpretations of the ideas of place-keeping, home, and memory that resonate from our varied human experiences (past, present, and future). The selected artist(s) or artist-led team will work collaboratively with project stakeholders and community advocates to design artwork that will connect the history of place and the iconic facility. Ideally, the final artwork will also increase visibility and appeal to a broader community. This opportunity is open to Texas artists and artist-led teams who have a multi-media or sculptural practice with experience creating permanent work situated in outdoor spaces. There will be up to two installation areas. Only one commission will be awarded. 

 

Family Violence Shelter & Protection Center

The goal of the City of Austin Family Violence Shelter & Protection Center project is to integrate the visions of the key project stakeholders into a functional and well-designed facility that meets the urgent need to provide additional shelter for women and children experiencing family violence in Central Texas. The design for the building will integrate principles of Trauma-informed Design to foster healing and improve the overall well-being of the individuals being served. The accompanying Art in Public Places project is an opportunity for an artist or artist-led team to design and fabricate an exterior installation as a place for reflection, peace, and restoration integrated within the secured lawn area of the site.

 

Apply Now!