Background
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative responds to the growing number of cities around the world embracing art as an effective and relatively low-cost strategy to activate their streets.
While cities incorporate art into public spaces in a variety of ways, the focus of this initiative is what we’re calling asphalt art: visual interventions on roadways (intersections and crosswalks), pedestrian spaces (plazas and sidewalks), and vertical infrastructure (utility boxes, traffic barriers, and underpasses).
Goals
The Asphalt Art Initiative grant program is designed to fund visual art on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and public infrastructure in cities with the following primary goals:
- Improving street and pedestrian safety
- Revitalizing and activating underutilized public space
- Promoting collaboration and civic engagement in local communities
Eligible Projects
Reflecting the larger grant size in this latest round, proposed projects should be ambitious arts driven street designs with the goal of catalytic improvements to a key location in the city. Improving road safety, especially for pedestrians and cyclists, must be a component of all proposals. Applicants may demonstrate the intended impact through a variety of approaches:
- Critical Intersections:
- Enhancing safety, mobility, and access in crossings with concentrated pedestrian, bicycle, and/or vehicular traffic
- Major Corridors:
- Transforming one or more important streets to enhance the walking or cycling network, including significant reallocation of space for non-motorized transportation
- Signature Destinations:
- Improving access to culturally, historically, or otherwise significant locations at the neighborhood or civic scale
- Large New Public Spaces:
- Creating or activating plazas or other pedestrian space with amenities such as seating, greenery or space for cultural programming
- Catalysts for Future Projects:
- Launching or expanding ongoing programs or policies (g., Vision Zero safety program, plaza program, etc.) in the city or the region
Selection Criteria
Competitive proposals must clearly demonstrate:
- Impact
- The chosen site is significant to the city (e.g., central location, concentrated pedestrian and vehicular traffic, cultural or regional significant).
- The proposed project addresses a relevant and meaningful challenge faced by the identified site, the surrounding neighborhood, or the city (e.g., traffic safety, underutilized or insufficient public space, etc.), with a particular emphasis on road safety for pedestrians and/or cyclists.
- The proposed project clearly benefits the local community and engages residents stakeholders in its planning, development, execution, and post-installation activation.
- The proposed intervention would produce sufficient, appropriate metrics to determine success.
- Viability
- The characteristics of the proposed site (e.g. physical layout, traffic or pedestrian volume, neighborhood context) are such that the proposed intervention has a high likelihood of success.
- The project team and partners have the necessary authority and expertise to oversee a project of this nature.
- The project has demonstrated support from city and community stakeholders, through existing partnerships or a thoughtful outreach/engagement plan.
- The proposed budget and timeline are realistic and demonstrate notable in-kind city support.
- Quality & Visual Interest
- The process for artist selection and design development is well-defined and appropriate for the proposed project, and will be overseen by someone with appropriate expertise.
- If the artist has already been selected, the chosen artist has demonstrated creative skill and the potential to develop a visually compelling design.
- The surface being painted is in good repair or there is a reasonable plan to repave or otherwise treat it to be receptive to the chosen materials.
- The proposed maintenance plan is realistic and lays out clear responsibilities for keeping the mural maintained for at least two years.
Funding
The program will award 10 cities grants of up to $100,000 each, as well as on-call technical assistance from the tactical urbanism firm Street Plans and impact evaluation support from Sam Schwartz Consulting.