Omnitrans’ 2025 Beautiful Bench Project
September 9, 2024
Thanks to the generosity of CalTrans’ Clean CA Local Grant Program, Omnitrans is looking for visual artists to celebrate art in our Inland communities. Local muralists and painters are encouraged to apply their artistic ideas and concepts for painting up to 45 concrete bus stop benches. With concepts that reflect the local culture, history, resources, and character of the Inland Empire, artists can submit their designs to the selection committee, which will choose artists based on the criteria here and detailed below (experience, concept, and connection with the local community.)
Important Dates
- Applications Open: Monday, September 9
- Applications Close: Sunday, November 3 (at 11:59 pm)
- If selected artists will be notified sometime in January or February, with artists completing the benches in Spring 2025
- Community Clean Up Day and Art Event (showcasing some benches): late April or early May.
Grant Acknowledgement: This project is funded by CalTrans’ Clean California Local Grant Program.
Contents of artwork from this project do not reflect the official views or policies of CalTrans or Omnitrans
ARTIST SUBMISSION DETAILS
When you have prepared these questions/a sketch, please fill out the survey with your contact information, responses to these questions, and a preliminary sketch. Thank you.
1. Please provide a Statement of Interest and Description of Concept for your artwork (max 300 words).
2. Please briefly describe your experience with similar art projects, such as outdoor murals/painting projects. (max 300 words)
3. Please prepare a preliminary concept sketch to upload showing all visible sides of the bench. Please note the design cannot include text, per CalTrans requirements.
An 8.5″ x 11″ sketch size is preferred and uploaded as a PDF, DOC, DOCX, PNG, JPG, JPEG, or GIF file. For a bench template, click this link. You can right-click and then use “save image as” to download the templates.
4. In what ways do you engage and contribute to your local community? How will your art contribute to the local community? (max 300 words).
Map of Benches Locations: https://omnitrans.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=e0afca3d8eeb4d34a1ba3ee3a21b7919
English SurveyMonkey Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/35X7YZ6
Spanish SurveyMonkey Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LYWFLBT
Requirements for Visual Artists – Benches
- Artists must be age 13 or over. (If 17 or younger, must have signed waiver by parent or guardian).
Rules/Terms of Participation
- Artists are highly encouraged to create artwork that reflects the local culture, history, resources, and character of the community and San Bernardino Valley region.
- Per CalTrans requirements, art cannot contain text.
- Artists will be selected based on the criteria below (experience, concept, & connection with local community)
- Artists selected will receive a $1,500 stipend to cover time and materials.
- Artists must provide their own art supplies/materials, including permanent, long-lasting paint suitable for concrete, a sealant to protect the design during regular bench cleaning/maintenance, and a drop cloth to prevent damage to the sidewalk at the event location.
- Omnitrans does not discriminate on any basis.
- All artworks must be appropriate for public viewing by all ages – no lewd, graphic violence, gore, nudity, or copyrighted content.
- No political or commercial advertisements or statements, written, visual or implied are permitted.
- All artworks must be original and not include text.
- Omnitrans reserves the right to remove any inappropriate art or writing as deemed necessary.
- Omnitrans is not responsible for damage or defacing of artwork post-event.
- Artists must fit artwork to a 7′ long, 2′ deep, and 40″ to the top of the back concrete bus bench.
- Omnitrans reserves the right to take photographs or videos of artists and their work for marketing, promotion, and publicity purposes, as well as to share the photographs with CalTrans for use in progress reporting and promotion of the Clean California Local Grant Program.
- Omnitrans employees and their immediate family members/dependents are not eligible to participate.
- Non-compliance with the rules will result in removal from participation in the project.
Rules/Terms of Participation
Submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the following 100-point criteria. At most, 45 artists will be selected, for one bench per artist.
- Experience with similar art projects (25 pts)
- Proposed Concept (Total of 50 pts)
- Originality (25 pts)
- Highlights area’s history, resources, or character (25 pts)
- Proposed Concept (Total of 50 pts)
- Familiarity with local community (25 pts)
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