The New York City Department of Transportation Art Program (NYC DOT Art) oversees the installation of public artworks on NYC DOT property throughout New York City in partnership with a diverse body of professional artists, galleries, business improvement districts and arts, community-based and other nonprofit organizations. City sidewalks, fences, triangles, medians, bridges, jersey barriers, step streets, pedestrian plazas and other unique project sites service as canvases and foundations for temporary murals, sculptures, interventions, and cultural programming. In addition, NYC DOT Art coordinates conservation and maintenance of NYC DOT’s permanent art collection and collaborates with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Percent for Art Program to commission permanent art as part of the Percent for Art law.
For more information about NYC DOT Art, visit www.nyc.gov/dotart, Instagram: @nyc_DOTArt
If you have any questions about program tracks or applications we encourage you to reach out to arts@dot.nyc.gov.
Digital Illustrator Request for Qualifications
All interested artists are eligible to submit past work examples in response to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the opportunity to be selected to develop digital illustrative designs. Projects commissioned through this RFQ will be prompt-specific and installed on NYC DOT property as selected by NYC DOT Art. Projects will be funded and managed by NYC DOT Art. Project types may include digital illustrations for aluminum street signage, printed vinyl fence wraps, NYC DOT Art Display Cases, NYC Art Stop Letters, or other Special Projects. For more information on project scopes and examples of past projects, review the PDF version of this RFQ on our website: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/dotart-digital-illustrator-rfq.pdf
Application and Deadline
Interested artists are invited to submit a single application by Sunday, January 12, 2025, 11:59 pm EST. Please submit applications through our Submittable portal at nycdotart.submittable.com/submit.
Incomplete applications or applications that do not meet the requirements will not be considered.
Selection Process
The NYC DOT Art Advisory Committee and a project-specific selection jury shall review and identify artists to be included in an artist registry based on the following criteria:
- Past work demonstrates art/design excellence and is appropriate for the public realm;
- Previous experience demonstrates ability to collaborate with a large agency on a public project; and
- Past work demonstrates ability to create illustrations in response to a prompt or theme.
When a project becomes available, NYC DOT Art shall review the artist registry and invite up to five of the shortlisted artists to participate in a phone interview to discuss the potential project site and prompt, and to better acquaint the agency with the artist’s past work and artistic process. This group of artists may also be required to develop a conceptual design proposal for review. Final selection shall be based on the written responses to the RFQ application, the phone interview, and, if applicable, the conceptual design proposal. Upon selection, each artist will develop one or a series of final designs to be approved by NYC DOT Art. Upon delivery of final design files, the agency will print and install.
As additional project sites become available throughout the year, NYC DOT Art will review the artist registry and contact shortlisted artists to respond to these opportunities. Artists are only eligible to receive one commission per fiscal year.
Project Scope
Selected artists for digital illustrations will be responsible for the following:
- Completing one or more conceptual design(s) and once approved by NYC DOT Art, completing final design(s);
- Providing NYC DOT Art with the final digital design file(s). NYC DOT will print and install the produced materials;
- Selected artists may be asked to participate in public engagement initiatives.
Project Fees
NYC DOT Art may provide selected artists with up to $10,000 to complete the final designs; NYC DOT Art will determine the budget depending on the project scope. NYC DOT Art will print and install the final designs.
All artists will be required to enter into a legal agreement with NYC DOT, and to receive payment will be required to submit a W9 form, Doing Business Form, quote form, and invoices. The legal agreement must be signed in advance of receiving any payments. As per the agreement, the artist receives credit, sole ownership, and copyright of the final design and artwork, but is required to extend to the City the right to a royalty-free, perpetual license to use any depiction of the artwork for non-commercial purposes.
About the NYC DOT Art Program
The New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program (NYC DOT Art) partners with community-based, nonprofit organizations and professional artists to present temporary public art on NYC DOT property throughout the five boroughs for up to eleven months. Artists transform streets with colorful murals, dynamic projections and eye-catching sculptures. Sidewalks, fences, triangles, medians, bridges, jersey barriers, step streets, public plazas and pedestrianized spaces serve as canvases and foundations for temporary art. Since 2008, NYC DOT Art has produced over 475 temporary artworks citywide. For more information,
visit nyc.gov/dotart and follow @nyc_DOTArt on Instagram.
Questions
All questions may be emailed to arts@dot.nyc.gov.