RAP issues request for proposals for new RAM public art
Jacksonville artists have an opportunity to leave their mark at Riverside Arts Market (RAM) and add to the city’s vibrant collection of public art and murals in the community.
Riverside Avondale Preservation has issued a Request for Proposals for a mural for the JEA lift station located at 715 Riverside Avenue. The selected proposal will occupy a prominent space at RAM, the weekly open-air market located beneath the Fuller Warren Bridge, which hosts more than 150 vendors and welcomes more than 5,000 guests on average every weekend.
According to the RFP submission criteria, the mural will be approximately 17 feet by 90 feet in size, spanning the lift station. The requested theme is “Water, River and Connectivity,” to tie in the St. Johns River “as an essential natural resource and ecosystem” and “a unifying element that connects people, nature and urban life.”
Proposals must be submitted by Aug. 20.
Candidates may submit up to three proposals for consideration. The commission for this project is $20,000.
RAP and JEA, owner of the lift station, have collaborated to collect major gifts from several community stakeholders for this commission, including the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board, PNC Foundation and Haskell with supplemental contributions from Haymaker Coffee Co., a RAM vendor that donated 10 percent of its RAM and online sales throughout July to the fundraising efforts.
Representatives from the donating stakeholders will join JEA, RAM and the RAP Placemaking Committee on the selection committee, which will choose the winning artist.
The artist will be notified no later than Oct. 1. The mural must be completed by Nov. 15.
This mural revives RAP’s dream of bringing public art into RAM’s space. According to RAP Executive Director Shannon Blankinship, in 2020, RAM vendors designed murals on large pieces of plywood and invited the public to help paint them. Though the plywood murals were a hit, the wind tunnels beneath the bridge made it impossible to safely secure and display them and the murals were removed.
“A mural has been a dream, but we didn’t have approval from JEA or FDOT to paint any of the public infrastructure,” said Blankinship. “Recent conversations with JEA opened the door to this installation, and we jumped on it. The mural’s theme is ‘water’ – a direct connection to the St. Johns River, Riverside, and the JEA lift station. The objective is to bring elements of nature into the market that is otherwise surrounded by concrete. In the future, we hope to bring more nature into the market through art, showcasing Florida’s natural flora and fauna.”
This mural is part of RAP’s ongoing placemaking efforts in the Riverside Avondale communities, which Blankinship said “are about turning spaces into places and allowing a moment for deeper respect and appreciation for where we live. This mural is all about reminding viewers of our proximity to an incredible waterway in the St. Johns River, and how it shapes us and deserves our respect.”
Artist Walk
This RFP comes as the City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department prepares for the opening of Artist Walk, the remaining counterpart to the skate park that opened last August.
Liberty Landscape Supply was the landscaping contractor for the Artist Walk project. Liberty Landscape Supply Owner Mike Zaffaroni said final inspections for the landscaping portion of the project have already been completed. This project, he said, was a unique use of a previously “wasted” space beneath the overpass. As such, he added, it presented its own set of unique challenges.
“If you think about it from a landscaping perspective, really the most challenging thing is that we’re underneath a bridge, so you have almost zero sunlight and no natural rain,” Zaffaroni said.
While Liberty Landscape Supply wasn’t involved in the design process, Zaffaroni said his team was able to provide feedback to the design team as it worked towards a final product the community can truly enjoy.
A project several years in the making, Artist Walk will also connect to the Emerald Trail, and its opening will provide not only further opportunities for connectivity for residents and between Jacksonville communities, it will also create expansion opportunities for RAM.
Resident News reached out to the City of Jacksonville for details regarding an official opening date or ribbon-cutting ceremony for Artist Walk but did not receive a response by press time.
