CALL FOR ARTISTS: America250 Community Mural
⏰ DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: June 8, 2026
🎨 OVERVIEW
To celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the West Virginia Department of Tourism is seeking proposals from artists to lead a community mural project as part of the state’s America250 celebration.
The selected project will celebrate America250 and West Virginia’s contribution to the country, while allowing community members to assist in the painting of the mural. The mural should incorporate the West Virginia America250 logo in the design.
Possible concepts may include:
- Historic figures or leaders
- Important places, landscapes, or communities
- Significant events (local or national)
- Contributions to technology, industry, or the arts
- Aspirations for the next 250 years
The mural should be on mural cloth (Polytab) or panels to make it accessible to community painting workshops. The selected artist should plan to be present for the entirety of the State’s America250 celebration and will be provided with a covered space to engage community members in the painting of the mural. All other materials should be included in the artist’s proposed budget. The artist will have one month after the America250 celebration to make adjustments / touch ups to the mural and deliver it to the Department of Tourism for installation.
🗓️ TIMELINE
- Monday, June 8, 2026 – Deadline for submissions
- Friday, June 12, 2026 – Artists notified
- Thursday, July 2 – Sunday, July 5, 2026 – Community mural painting & West Virginia America250 celebration at the State Capitol Complex
- Monday, August 3, 2026 – Completed mural delivered to the Department of Tourism for installation
📍 MURAL LOCATION
The completed mural will measure 25 feet in height and 32 feet in length and will be installed on the State of West Virginia Chiller Plant (Building 11) located at 218 California Avenue, Charleston, WV 25305.
✅ ELIGIBILITY
- Open to professional artists or teams of artists 18 years of age or older with experience in large scale public art
- Applicants must be permanent residents of West Virginia
- Applicants must be available to lead painting activity at the Capitol Complex, Thursday, July 2 – Sunday, July 5, 2026
🖌️ REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS
To submit a design for consideration, submit the following required attachments to Jenna Green (jenna.r.green@wv.gov) on or before Monday, June 8, 2026.
Concept Design & Narrative
Include a two-dimensional graphic representation of the preliminary concept for the proposed mural. The concept may be presented in any medium (photo, graphite, CAD, pen & ink, watercolor, etc.).
Describe the artistic concept and material specifications for the mural. Describe why this proposal is relevant to America250 and West Virginia’s contributions to the country.
Artist Resume & Work Samples
Attach artist resume detailing public arts and exhibiting experience and 3-5 examples of previous work.
Project Budget
Submit a budget proposal that includes artist fees, materials, travel, and lodging expenses. Do not include installation costs in the proposed budget. Installation will be completed by the Department of Tourism.
📋 EVALUATION
The following criteria will be used to review submissions:
- Quality, appropriateness, suitability, and cost of the proposed mural.
- The extent to which the project artist is qualified by training and/or experience to implement and carry out the project, including completing the work on schedule.
- The excellence of the artist’s prior work and demonstration of the artist’s ability to produce the proposed project successfully.
- Design concept takes into account one or more of the following America250 themes:
- Local and national history
- Community identity
- Innovation and visions for America’s future
Includes the West Virginia America250 logo in concept design