Art in Public Places

Summary:

The City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places (APP) Program is celebrating 20 years since completing the first Transformer Cabinet Murals in Tenney Court. For 2026, APP seeks to commission multiple new artists who haven’t completed a previous Transformer Cabinet Mural in Fort Collins. These artists will work with the APP Project Team to develop concepts for murals to be painted on transformer cabinets located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The murals are intended to help mitigate graffiti, as well as create artful objects within the public sites. The APP Program will select artists/teams for multiple locations. Artists/teams will be selected based on their qualifications/application materials. The budget is a minimum of $1,250 per artist/team.

Project:

APP is requesting artist qualifications in an open competition for artists/teams to create painted murals on select electrical equipment (transformer cabinets) sited within the City of Fort Collins. Murals will be painted in July and August. The goal of the project is to mitigate placement of graffiti upon these existing structures and to make them artful objects within the site.

The APP Program is celebrating 20 years since completing the first Transformer Cabinet Murals in Tenney Court. To celebrate this anniversary, APP would like to introduce new artists to the Transformer Cabinet Mural Program. For 2026, the APP Program is only looking for new/emerging artists that haven’t previously completed a Transformer Cabinet Mural in Fort Collins to apply. Artists who have previously completed transformer cabinet murals with the City of Fort Collins are not eligible in 2026. We hope you will apply again in the future.

The program will offer mentorship opportunities for selected artists. Artists will be assigned a cabinet location after they are selected. A final design will be developed at that time with input from the Project Team. The resulting design should be visually active and busy, so as not to leave large open spaces. The design must be picture-based, not word-based. Any text included in the design should be incidental to the design and not the focal point of the design. The City will not accept designs that include logos; copyrighted or trademarked images; advertisements; or political, commercial, religious, or sexual symbols, themes, or messages. Designs must be appropriate for a diverse audience of all ages. We encourage diversity in the mural themes/content. The transformer cabinets are functioning units and need to be opened periodically by utility personnel. The use of dark colors in the mural is subject to approval to avoid thermal problems for the transformer cabinet. Final artwork must incorporate the inclusion of the existing required labeling for each electrical/utility unit.

Safety & Durability:

The work is intended to be a permanent addition to the City of Fort Collins. Design and installation must consider that the work will be situated in a public location and subject to the elements and potential vandalism. Access to the boxes and to the contents of the boxes must be possible at any time. The contents of the boxes have the potential to generate extreme levels of heat.

Site:

The project area is within the city limits of Fort Collins, Colorado. Specific sites are selected by the Project Team.

Eligibility:

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary, APP would like to introduce new artists to the opportunity of painting murals on transformer cabinets in Fort Collins. This project is open to new/emerging artists/ teams that haven’t previously completed a Transformer Cabinet Mural and that reside or have a current studio space within the Growth Management Area of Fort Collins, Colorado.  Artists must be at least 18 years of age and legally residing in and authorized to work in the United States. A map of the Growth Management Area can be found at fcgov.com/growth-management-area. The artist or artist team leader must be at least 18 years of age. The artist must be willing to work with the design team selected by the City of Fort Collins. Artists are allowed one submission (artist or team). Artists previously awarded a Transformer Cabinet Mural are not eligible to apply.

Media:

The team is looking for murals to be painted on working transformer cabinets. The surface treatment should allow the box to be opened and worked on by the utility crews. The City will prepare the surface for painting and add a final anti-graffiti coating to the mural.

Budget:

Compensation will depend upon surface area of the cabinet(s) to be painted, which will be determined by the Transformer Cabinet Mural Project Team. The total contract amount—for all applicable expenses, which includes all fees for consulting with the design team, the design, travel, and execution of all artwork selected—shall be an amount based on the total square footage of surface area to be painted per site. A minimum of $1,250 will be paid per artist.

Selection Process:

 A selection committee may consist of members of the APP Board, representatives from the Transformer Cabinet Mural Project Team, and a City Purchasing Department representative. The committee will review application materials and make a final recommendation. The selection committee reserves the right to reject any entry at any time in the review and selection process.

Artists/teams will be chosen during an initial review process. Each artist/team will work with the project team to develop a detailed design proposal, budget, and timeline. Upon final approval from the APP Board and possibly the Fort Collins City Council, the artists will be awarded contracts for a minimum amount of $1,250.

Selection Criteria:

• Suitability of the artist/team to the project as demonstrated in resume and letter of intent.
• Quality of artist’s/team’s previous work as demonstrated in digital images.

Submission Information:

Proposals must be received before 5:00 p.m. (our clock), March 4, 2026
Final Selection by March 2026

Email applications to: purchasing@fortcollins.gov
Type "2026 Transformer Cabinet Mural Project" in the subject line and request an acknowledgement email

Application Materials to be Submitted:

Please submit one (1) copy of the following materials:

1. Completed form at this link.
2. A one-page letter of intent. Include information such as why you are interested and how your skills and experience relate to this project.
3. Current resume (max. 1 page) outlining your accomplishments as an artist. Team resumes can either be 2 pages for the team or one page per team member.
4. Image list including name, title, media, dimensions, and date of the artwork. List all names if the work was completed by a team of artists. 

Please do not include images on your resume, letter of intent, or slide list.

 In addition to the above materials, please submit:

Five digital images of recent work created within the last 5 years. We are seeking colorful transformer cabinet murals, with high value contrast, and busy compositions to help deter graffiti, and would like to see examples of similar work. Digital images should be high resolution. When opened, each image file should appear in the proper orientation. Please label each image with artist’s last name and image number matching the artist’s image list.

Do not include a proposal, graphic rendering, or illustration with this application.
Submissions must be complete or will not be reviewed.
Materials not requested will not be reviewed.

Contact information:

Questions concerning the scope of the project should be directed to Ellen Martin at (970) 416-2789.

Contract:

Upon selection and final design approval, the artist must complete a contract with the City of Fort Collins. All finished work shall be faithful to the drawings, designs, concepts, and budget as approved by the APP Board and possibly the Fort Collins City Council. Progress reports and payments will be made as contracted, with final payment to be made upon completion and acceptance by the City of Fort Collins.

Notice:

All proposals submitted must meet all applicable City codes and charter requirements. The City of Fort Collins reserves the right to reject all proposals and to waive irregularities or informalities. Artists are not to contact the project community/neighborhoods for an APP project unless arranged through Ellen Martin, APP Coordinator for the City.

Sincerely,
Gerry Paul
Purchasing Director