2025 ARTBOX Projects RFQ

Request for Qualifications
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 9, 2025
The City of Bloomington’s Creative Placemaking Commission invite experienced Minnesota-based public artists to submit qualifications for design and installation services to transform utility boxes in the South Loop District into creative, exciting, and captivating objects of art that celebrate Bloomington while enhancing the district’s character and vitality. For the 2025 round of the ARTBOX Project, three locations have been selected. Two of the locations have single utility boxes to be hand painted. The third location is a cluster of utility boxes with two to be hand painted, four to be vinyl wrapped.
All information provided on this page is on the application itself.
Questions must be submitted via email by March 4, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
Deadline: Applications are due: Monday, March 3, 2025 Sunday, March 9, 2025 by 11:00 PM CST
Eligibility: This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to experienced public artists/teams that have completed at least one commissioned outdoor public artwork or mural in the past ten years, who are at least 18 years or older, and residents of Minnesota. Priority consideration will be given to Bloomington residents. Previously accepted applicants will not be considered to provide others an opportunity to display work.
Each selected applicant will receive a $2,000 budget for a single painted utility box. For the cluster of painted and wrapped utility boxes, one selected applicant will receive a $6,000 budget.
All utility boxes are in the South Loop District, Bloomington. Applicants will be considered to paint a utility box located at one of these sites:
33rd Avenue and 80 1/2 Street
8051 33rd Avenue South
Or a cluster of six utility boxes (two to be hand painted, four to be vinyl wrapped in the artist’s design) located at:
Old Shakopee and Killebrew Drive
South Loop is a growing district in the northeastern corner of Bloomington. The area is home to Mall of America, a 50-acre mixed-use development called Bloomington Central Station, and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Initially guided by a 2012 district plan developed by the City of Bloomington, South Loop is quickly evolving into a true neighborhood with 1,100 housing units added in the last 4 years, significant employers like Health Partners and TKDA, expanding high tech facilities like Polar Semiconductor and SICK Sensors, and the addition of new amenities like Hazelwood restaurant and Backstory Coffee. Creative placemaking plays a key role in highlighting the character, assets, and history of the district through public art, programming, and partnerships. For more information, visit blm.mn/southloop.
In 2014 the City of Bloomington and Artistry initiated a South Loop District Creative Placemaking Plan acknowledging that the arts and other creative activities can contribute to a more walkable, vibrant, welcoming neighborhood. The goals of the Plan are to create Urbanism, Animation, Involvement, Leadership, and Investment. The ARTBOX Project is just one way to expand on the creative enthusiasm and enjoyment already experienced in the South Loop. In simple yet powerful ways the utility box wraps enhance neighborhoods by helping shape a more animated, distinct place, making the area a more pleasurable place to walk, deterring graffiti and creating elements of surprise and delight. ARTBOX Projects may reflect on the unique history or assets of Bloomington; celebrate and embrace the City’s diversity; and elicit interest, excitement and enjoyment from people of diverse ages, cultures and backgrounds.
Step 1: Submit qualifications by Sunday, March 9, 2025 by 11:00 p.m. CST
Please apply online through CaFE™ at the following link: https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=14858
In addition to your contact information, you will be asked to provide the following:
Up to one-page letter describing interest in the project, approach to design as well as a statement addressing eligibility criteria.
Up to one-page biographical information or resume. If you have multiple team members, please provide brief biographical information on each essential member but do not exceed one page.
Work Samples: up to 5 images of your recent projects (at least one of which should be of an outdoor public artwork or mural which was completed in the past ten years). 1200 pixels on the longest side, less than 5 MB in size.
Do not submit a project proposal or design at this time.
Submit your qualifications (with specifications listed above) to https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=14858
Applications must be received no later than Sunday, March 9, 2025 by 11:00 PM CST.
Step 2: Selection of Artists– Notification by March 28, 2025
The submitted qualifications will be reviewed and scored by a selection panel potentially consisting of Bloomington’s Creative Placemaking Commissioners, stakeholders, community members, and/or artists. One artist/team will be selected per location and commissioned to complete the ARTBOX project.
Artists will be selected based on the following equally weighted criteria:
Quality of letter of interest
,and an understanding of the project description and goals;
Quality and relevance of work samples;
Connection to Bloomington or Minnesota.
All applicants will receive notification of the panel’s decision by March 28, 2025.
RFQ – Qualifications Due: Sunday, March 9, 2025 by 11:00 PM CST
Finalists Selected and Notification sent to Applicants: by Friday, March 21, 2025
ARTBOX Installations: Summer 2025
The selected designs will be painted directly on the utility box, except for the four utility boxes in the middle of the cluster which will be vinyl wrapped in a design submitted by the selected artist. If submitting for the cluster of boxes, the design should unify the individual boxes in some way. Selected artists must adhere to the requirements put forth by Xcel Energy and the City, and owners of the utility boxes.
For the vinyl wrapped utility boxes: The City will contract with an appropriate vendor to ensure that the vinyl wrapped utility box design is digitally applied to a high-quality product. The vendor will then apply the vinyl to the utility box, using a process similar to applying graphic vinyl to vehicles. Anything that can be copied, scanned, or printed can potentially become a vinyl wrap design (i.e. a painting, photograph of a 3-D object, written words, etc.). Applicants should note that certain areas of utility box cannot be covered by paint or the vinyl wrap including meters, windows, vents, and handles, and as such the design may be affected by the need to keep these elements clear.
IF you are selected you will be responsible for the following:
The anticipated installation of the ARTBOX Project is summer of 2025.
Selected applicants must sign a legal contract with the City agreeing to provide artistic services, for the use of the design, and must provide reasonable insurance coverage. A sample agreement is attached at the bottom of this document.
Artist should plan to provide up to three design revisions to City staff.
The selected applicant must provide all materials necessary to complete the project, including those required for painting the utility boxes. The applicant must also cover all costs related to the painting of the boxes if applicable, including installation and cleanup. The creation of the final digital image must be in the quality level and format specified by the printing vendor, which may include photography, scanning, and graphic design expenses.
Applicants must be the author, creator or sole copyright holder of the material submitted for review and said material must not infringe upon the proprietary or intellectual property rights of any other persons or entities.
If images of real people are included, the applicant must obtain a release from those people for the images to be used for this purpose. The artist must also obtain all releases necessary for text and poetry if applicable.
No advertising, branding, or commercial images allowed.
Paint Requirements and Process:
The original surface will be cleaned and primed by the City before the artist begins painting.
The selected artist must use high quality acrylic-based products on Xcel Energy utility boxes.
A list of recommended paint products will be provided upon artist selection. Nova Color paint is preferred.
Exterior UV protectant and anti-graffiti clear coat is recommended.
Avoid dark palettes as they may cause the equipment to overheat.
ARTBOX Locations

The south east corner of 33rd Avenue and 80 1/2 Street

Approximate dimensions:
L: 36” W: 36” H: 32.25”
8051 33rd Avenue South

Approximate dimensions:
Section 1: L: 67” W: 24.25” H: 61.25”
Section 2: L: 42” W: 22” H: 55”
Overall: 109”x 66.25”x 116.25”
The south east corner of the corner of Old Shakopee and Killebrew Drive

Approximate dimensions:
Box 1 - to west
L: 66.25” H: 30” W: 22
Box 2 - to east
L: 31.75” W: 36” H: 24”

Still Have Questions?
We encourage interested applicants to learn more about South Loop and the Creative Placemaking Plan by visiting www.blm.mn/placemaking.
All inquiries, questions, or clarifications specific to this RFQ must be submitted by email no later than Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. A Question and Answer (Q&A) addendum related to this RFQ will be updated as questions come in and can be found at http://blm.mn/2025ARTBOXES. Please direct questions to: Kathryn Murray, Creative Placemaking Specialist: placemaking@bloomingtonmn.gov. (Please place “ARTBOXES” in the subject line.)
The City of Bloomington does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Bloomington services, programs, and activities. Upon request, this information can be available in Braille, large print, audio tape and/or electronic format.
This section includes edited questions from people interested in the ARTBOX Projects. Q&As are added as they are received. Emails will be answered directly within 3 business days until March 4.
Q: A group of students are interested in participating in the utility box design submissions, but we do not meet the eligibility requirement of previously completing an outdoor project. Can another individual with eligible experience apply and partner with us?
A: Yes, an eligible individual may apply to be the lead on the project, and coordinate how to work with students. Please note the eligible individual must be the applicant and lead artist for the project, sign the contract with the City and provide applicable insurance certificate, and coordinate permission slips and waivers with guardians of participating youth under 18.
Q: How much information in the reference section do we have to present?
A: Please include 1-3 professional references including contact name, email, and phone number. One reference should be for work that was commissioned that reflects mural design in the past 10 years.
Q: For a brief description of work samples, how much information should we provide?
A: We do not have specific guidelines on how much information, but CaFE limits each description to 300 characters. Please make a brief statement describing the artwork so that the panel has a better understanding of the artwork.
Q: If we present a collage of photographs at different angles of the same mural, would the limit of 5 examples be exhausted?
A: If it is a collage of one project within one image that is submitted, that would be accepted as one of your five images.
Q: Could we apply for this opportunity if we applied to the BIG Mural RFQ?
Yes.
Q: What file type is needed for the vinyl wrap, and will there be any support from the team or the vendor to troubleshoot the technological part?
A: The vendor we work with can utilize several different file types, but here is their preference:
- Adobe Illustrator files are preferred;
- If designing in Adobe Photoshop with rasterized art, set up your art scale at 300dpi;
- Have at least a 2" bleed on all 4 sides of each panel;
- Art files for any vector based art – AI or PDF files would be preferred. Rasterized based art – PSD or TIFF (with layers – we would like production art not flattened art);
- If your design requires a PANTONE color, please make sure to include those swatches in the vector based art and note that to us as well.
Additionally, the City of Bloomington can provide tech support to ensure the correct specs are provided to the vendor.