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The Link Mural

Artist Open Call & Expression of Interest

DOWNLOAD CALL

The United Nations World Food Programme Background

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Call for Mural Proposals

Through this open call, WFP is looking to receive expressions of interest and a short application from artists for the creation and delivery of an outdoor mural at the UN WFP Headquarters in Rome.

The mural space is 130/150 square meters and will be painted on a one-story building (specs below). This will serve as the backdrop to a new outdoor common space called, “The Link.” This space will be the point of social and physical connection between two main areas of the HQ campus while also acting as a COVID-19 compliant outdoor meeting space for collaboration and interaction between teams.

Mural objectives

  • To create a visually inspiring work of art (mural/backdrop) that reminds WFP staff, partners, and visitors of the organisation’s mission and mandate to save and change lives in the most challenging of circumstances.

  • The mural must be culturally respectful, communicating hope and aligned to WFP’s mandate and visual identity.

Proposal requirements

The mural’s themes should be driven by three key elements: 1) the word “hope”, 2) the visual imagery present in the links shared below, and 3) the organization’s purpose of “saving and changing lives.”

It must also include the WFP blue banner/logo

Visual Inspiration for Artists

Prior to proposal development and submissions, artists are required to visit our website and follow WFP’s Social Media platforms for visual inspiration:

Budget, Materials, and Compensation

The materials will be provided by WFP, in consultation with the selected artist, with a maximum value of 2,000 euros. WFP will purchase only carbon emission absorbent paints to produce the mural.

The winning artist will also be compensated 2500 euros. If the artist is coming from outside of Rome they will be reimbursed for their trip (with certain requirements that will be outlined in the contract with the artist) and for the duration of their stay, with a payment of 150 euros per day for accommodation and food.

Ownership

It should be noted that ownership of the work will remain with WFP, which will be free to sell or destroy it.

Timeline

  • This call is to be open from the 27th December 2021 to the 31th January 2022.
  • The mural is to begin the end of February 2022 and to be completed by the first week of March 2022.

How to Apply

Applications must be sent to hq.landmarkinitiative@wfp.org. And must include the following:

  • A one-page single sided CV
  • A document containing their current residence status
  • Photos of past and current work
  • An up to one page description of the proposed approach
  • A graphic visualization of the proposed mural

Selection Process

Applications will be reviewed by a committee at WFP HQ who will identify the final artist to come to HQ and execute their design.

Position and Purpose:

The mural will be carried out on the back façade of a service building (former Commissary).

The façade will be switched to
become the scenography of a new square along the outdoor walkway linking the two buildings of the WFP Headquarters in Rome.

Measurements:

The facade is 25.55 m long 4.22 m high, the corners are rounded with radius 1.75 meters.

Infrastructure Elements:

There are 3 doors (one covered by a small aluminium shelter), 2 air outlets, and a fire hose. The mural should consider all these elements as constraints.