Railroad Bridge Public Art Call for Proposals

A gateway into the City will be the site of a new piece of public art to welcome people to Northampton. In recent years, Bob Reckman, Ward 3 City Councilor and the members of the neighborhood opened discussions about the care and maintenance of the "Dream" mural, installed on the east side of the railroad bridge over Rte 9 funded by the Northampton Arts Council in 1991. It is in poor shape and cannot be repaired.  Leland Johnston, the artist who created it, believes it is time for something new in that location.

The cost to refurbish the mural was staggering and three groups or individuals expressed their interest in funding a replacement. The first was a donor who prefers to remain anonymous.  The second was Chartpak, Inc a Leeds based company that sells a wide range of art supplies and had been looking for a way to contribute to the local arts scene and the City.  In addition to money they are happy to contribute any of their products that could be used at no cost.  The third group was the newly created Business Improvement District (BID). Reckman, working together with Mayor Clare Higgins, brought the project to the Northampton Arts Council.

The Northampton Arts Council recognizes the challenges of this space, but also notes its importance to our city.  We hope to encourage creativity with a level eye toward how the art will look in the future.

This call is open to artists working in a broad range of media. The finalist will have the support of the City's technical boards and resources. The jurors will be asked to select work of the highest artistic merit and technical competence. We see this project is a template for more public art projects, and also a testament to the significance of art in Northampton.

Dream

This page will be the source for all updates on the project and Call for Proposals.

Short proposals are due at the Northampton Arts Council office on February 1, 2010.

If you are planning on submitting a proposal for this project please email the Northampton Arts Council and notify us of your intent so that you can be on the list to receive project updates: nacads@comcast.net

Photographs of the Bridge and surrounding area can be found here.