Bicentennial Legends Murals:
Call for Artists 

Indy Arts Council is seeking artists interested in creating large-scale portrait murals for the City of Indianapolis Bicentennial Legends program.

  • Commission fee: $20,000-$30,000 per mural (based on size/location) for artist fee, materials, and travel costs.
  • Eligibility: Professional mural artists over 18 and legally able to work onsite in the United States.
  • How to apply: Visit PublicArtist.org.
  • Deadline to submit information: For best consideration, complete your profile and click "submit" by December 15. The call will remain open until mid-January.

Apply as an Artist

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope you find these answers helpful as you prepare your application.

What are you looking for in an artist?

Any artist over 18 and legally able to work onsite in the U.S. can provide their information.

The stakeholder groups for each mural will most likely use the following criteria when identifying artists as finalists to create design proposals:

  • Artistic quality
    • Does the artist have a signature style? 
    • Can the artist produce a recognizable, high-quality portrait of an individual? 
    • What is the reputation of the artist for innovation, excitement, and “wow”?
  • Technical expertise
    • Does the artist have experience working at the very large scale that will be required? 
    • Has the artist successfully used the equipment that will be necessary to create the mural for the particular site? 
    • Does the artist have expertise with the materials and techniques that will result in the murals lasting approximately 15 years?
  • Community engagement experience
    • Does the artist have experience listening to community-based stakeholders?
    • Can the artist translate a community’s input into a final design? 
  • Ease of process
    • Does the artist have a record of completing projects on time and within budget?
What will I need to provide in order to be considered?

The application form has details, but in general, you will need to prepare the following:

Artist information:

  • Artist contact information
  • Resume, CV, or narrative biography
  • Technical capacities (there will be boxes to check off)

Information about past projects: 

  • Images or videos of recent mural-scale projects. 
  • Examples of portraits you have created.
  • Information about each project submitted.
Can I email you my information?

To ensure ease of access to applications by our community partners, we are only taking applications through the PublicArtist.org website. It is free to apply through the site.

What happens after I apply?

Submitting your information does not guarantee a commission.  

Artists who have submitted their information will be contacted if their skill and style matches the community group’s desires for a particular portrait mural and the nature of the mural site. 

Three artists will be selected to create design proposals for each mural. Artists will be paid to create these proposals.

The community group will select one of the proposals and the Arts Council will commission the artist to create the mural.

When will I be contacted to provide a proposal?

This is a long-term project and there is no way to predict right now when the murals will happen, so we appreciate your patience. 

You will have about 4-6 weeks to create your proposal if you are invited, and you will be paid for your proposal.

Artists are encouraged to keep their information updated, and will be contacted periodically to provide new images and experience information.

If you have additional questions, please contact Indy Arts Council's Director of Public Art Julia Muney Moore, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (317) 631-3301 x240.

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Thank you to our funders

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Lilly
Indiana Arts Commission
CICF
Clowes Charitable Foundation