49th Ward Mural Projects RFQ: 7442 N. Ashland and 1532 W. Jarvis

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Office of Alderman Maria Hadden, invites professional artists, artist teams, and arts organizations based in Chicago to submit qualifications for two public art commissions: 

Dubkin Park, located at 7442 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago 

Jarvis CTA Station, located at 1532 W. Jarvis Ave., Chicago 

Selected artists will design and install murals that activate these highly visible neighborhood locations. 

Applicants may indicate that they would like to be considered for both sites. However, if selected, an artist or artist team will be chosen as a finalist for only one site. Each site commission will be awarded to a different artist or artist team. 

The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Office of Alderman Maria Hadden, invites professional artists, artist teams, and arts organizations based in Chicago to submit qualifications for two public art commissions: 

Dubkin Park, located at 7442 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago 

Jarvis CTA Station, located at 1532 W. Jarvis Ave., Chicago 

Selected artists will design and install murals that activate these highly visible neighborhood locations. 

Applicants may indicate that they would like to be considered for both sites. However, if selected, an artist or artist team will be chosen as a finalist for only one site. Each site commission will be awarded to a different artist or artist team. 

PUBLIC ART MENU PROGRAM 

These projects are part of the City of Chicago Public Art Menu Program, through which DCASE collaborates with Aldermanic offices to commission neighborhood public art projects using discretionary capital funds provided by City wards. 

SUMMARY OF THE OPPORTUNITY 

The 49th Ward Public Art Projects at 7442 N. Ashland Avenue and 1532 W. Jarvis Avenue invite professional artists, artist teams, and arts organizations with demonstrated experience creating large-scale mural projects to submit their qualifications for two outdoor public art commissions in the Rogers Park neighborhood. 

Through this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Office of Alderman Maria Hadden, seeks artists to design and install murals that will activate two highly visible locations in the 49th Ward: the eastern-facing wall adjacent to Dubkin Park at 7442 N. Ashland Avenue and the eastern façade of the Jarvis CTA Station at 1532 W. Jarvis Avenue. These murals will serve as welcoming visual landmarks that contribute to the character of the neighborhood while enhancing everyday public spaces used by residents, visitors, and commuters. 

The mural at Dubkin Park will be located along the park’s back wall and will frame the park with a vibrant visual presence visible to pedestrians, cyclists, and passing vehicles. The mural at the Jarvis CTA Station will be located on the station’s eastern façade along a major transit corridor, offering an opportunity to create a dynamic work of art experienced by transit riders and neighborhood residents throughout the day. 

Artists are encouraged to develop concepts that thoughtfully respond to the surrounding community and reflect the history, identity, and evolving character of Rogers Park. Successful projects will present a bold and imaginative visual approach that enhances the site while creating a welcoming and engaging public experience. Murals should be designed at an appropriate scale to be legible from multiple vantage points and to create a strong visual presence within the streetscape. 

Artists may apply to be considered for one site or both sites. Following the RFQ review process, three finalists will be selected for each site and will be invited to develop site-specific design proposals. Finalists will present their proposals to a selection panel, after which one artist or artist team will be commissioned for each location. 

Emerging artists with experience completing large-scale murals are encouraged to apply. 

COMMUNITY 

Located along Chicago’s far North Side, Rogers Park is one of the city’s most dynamic and community-oriented neighborhoods. Situated along Lake Michigan and connected to the rest of the city by the CTA Red Line, the neighborhood is known for its active street life, independent businesses, and strong network of artists, cultural organizations, and community groups. 

Rogers Park has long been a place where many cultures, languages, and traditions come together, creating a neighborhood identity rooted in openness, creativity, and civic engagement. Local commercial corridors—including Clark Street, Howard Street, and Jarvis Avenue—are lined with restaurants, cafés, bookstores, music venues, and small businesses that contribute to the neighborhood’s vibrant public life. 

Public art plays an important role in Rogers Park’s visual landscape. Murals and street art can be found throughout the neighborhood, transforming blank walls, viaducts, and building façades into spaces for storytelling and artistic expression. These works often celebrate local history, highlight community values, and reflect the everyday experiences of residents. Many murals have become neighborhood landmarks that contribute to a strong sense of place and pride. 

The two project sites are located within active community spaces where residents gather, commute, and spend time outdoors. Dubkin Park, a small triangular park along Ashland Avenue, offers a quiet green space surrounded by residential streets and neighborhood activity. The Jarvis CTA Station serves as a daily gateway for residents and visitors traveling along the Red Line, making it an important visual point of arrival and departure in the neighborhood. 

Artists are encouraged to consider the energy, history, and everyday life of Rogers Park when developing concepts for these murals. Artwork may draw inspiration from the neighborhood’s cultural life, its proximity to Lake Michigan, its tradition of community organizing, or the many stories that make Rogers Park a distinctive and welcoming place within Chicago. 

The selected murals should contribute to the neighborhood’s ongoing tradition of public art by creating bold, engaging, and visually compelling works that resonate with residents and enhance the public experience of these shared spaces. 

SITES 

7442 N. Ashland site. 

Dubkin Park is a small triangular neighborhood park located along Ashland Avenue in the Rogers Park community. Nestled between residential streets and local businesses, the park serves as a quiet gathering place for neighborhood residents and families. Though modest in size, Dubkin Park provides a welcoming green space where people pause, socialize, and enjoy the outdoors. 

Originally known as Ashland Baby Park, the space was developed between 1934 and 1935 through funding from the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission as part of efforts to create neighborhood recreational spaces throughout Chicago. In 1974, the park was renamed Dubkin Park in honor of Leonard Dubkin, a longtime Rogers Park resident, writer, and naturalist who advocated for the preservation of nature and open space in the city. 

Today the park remains an important neighborhood amenity, offering seating, play space, and greenery within a dense urban setting. The mural site is located on the eastern-facing wall where it will be highly visible to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers traveling along this busy north–south corridor. 

The mural presents an opportunity to create a suitable visual backdrop for the park and a welcoming landmark for those passing through the area. Artists are encouraged to consider how the artwork may contribute to the atmosphere of the park, enhance the surrounding streetscape, and create a memorable visual presence for residents and visitors. 

The designated mural opportunity is located along the eastern-facing wall that separates the park from CTA’s elevated tracks. The potential mural area measures approximately 15 feet high by 125 feet wide, within a total wall dimension of approximately 15 feet high by 150 feet wide. 

Finalists will have flexibility in determining the exact dimensions and placement of the mural within the wall area. Artists should consider the surrounding park environment, architectural features of the wall, and the overall visual impact of the artwork when determining the most appropriate scale and composition for the site. 

1532 W Jarvis is the next site. 

The Jarvis CTA Station is an important transit stop in Rogers Park and serves thousands of riders traveling along the CTA Red Line each day. Located just west of Ashland Avenue, the station acts as a key gateway into the neighborhood for commuters, students, residents, and visitors. 

The station has a long history tied to the development of Chicago’s elevated rail system. Originally opened in the early 1900s under the name Birchwood, the station was later relocated and renamed Jarvis Avenue–Birchwood before eventually becoming the Jarvis station known today. In 1921, it was rebuilt as part of the Wilson–Howard track elevation project, with the current station constructed on an embankment with brick and concrete elements characteristic of early CTA architecture. 

Over time the station has undergone multiple renovations to improve accessibility and accommodate growing ridership. Today it serves both Red Line trains and Purple Line Express service during peak hours, making it one of the more active stations in the northern section of the CTA system. 

The mural opportunity is located on the eastern façade of the station, a long and highly visible wall along Jarvis Avenue that is experienced daily by transit riders, pedestrians, and neighborhood residents. The site presents a unique opportunity to transform a utilitarian surface into a visually compelling public artwork that enhances the arrival and departure experience for commuters while contributing to the character of the surrounding streetscape. 

The potential mural area measures approximately 12 feet high by 135 feet wide, within a total wall dimension of approximately 12 feet high by 268 feet wide. Finalists will determine the appropriate mural dimensions and placement within the available wall space. Artists should consider how the artwork will be experienced by pedestrians, transit riders, and passersby along Jarvis Avenue, and how the scale of the mural can best enhance the visual character of the site. 

SCHEDULE* 

* All dates are approximate. 

BUDGET  

Finalists will be paid a $1,000 honorarium to develop proposals. 

The artwork commission will be for,

 7442 W. Ashland: $60,000 

1532 N. Jarvis: $50,000

Inclusive of all costs and fees for the artist to execute the project from design through fabrication, site preparation, and installation. 

WHAT TO SUBMIT  

Each artist, artist team, or arts organization must submit an entirely digital application.  

Incomplete applications will not be considered. *  

Applications should include:   

Letter of Interest: A one- (1) page letter of interest in the project, stating why the specific site, neighborhood, or community is meaningful and appropriate for the applicant’s work. If community engagement is part of your project development, please describe your approach; while not required, it is encouraged. 

CV: A resume or curriculum vitae (CV) - maximum two (2) pages. 

If applying as an artist team or arts organization, provide one resume or CV for each team member. 

If applying as an artist team or arts organization, a list of key team members and their roles/affiliations. 

Past Work Samples: Six (6) to ten (10) images of past large-scale public art and infrastructure projects by the artist or the artist team’s lead artist(s). 

Optional: One (1) video, edited to no more than two (2) minutes in length, may also be submitted but is not required. 

Annotated Image List: An annotated image list that includes the title, media, year completed, dimensions, location (if site-specific), project budget (if applicable), timeline, and client or commissioning entity for each corresponding image or video. 

If a video is submitted, please include two to three (2-3) sentences to describe its context. 

Please note that the annotated image list may include thumbnails of submitted images but does not replace the need to upload individual image files in fulfillment of a) above. 

Check the box next to the site or sites the artist or artist team is applying for.

ELIGIBILITY 

This opportunity is open to all Chicago based professional artists, artists teams, and arts organizations. 

Applicants may indicate that they would like to be considered for both sites. However, if selected, an artist or artist team will be chosen as a finalist for only one site. Each site commission will be awarded to a different artist or artist team. 

SELECTION PROCESS 

Following the RFQ application deadline, DCASE will convene a selection panel of community representatives, arts professionals, and 49th Ward staff to review the applications.

 The committee will select 3 finalists per site, who will be commissioned to develop public art proposals. Finalists will present their design proposals to the selection committee, and a final artist or artist team will be selected for each site. 

SELECTION CRITERIA  

Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel composed of community representatives, arts professionals, and 49th Ward staff. The panel will evaluate submissions using a rubric that considers the following general criteria: 

Creative Practice 
The artistic quality, originality, and professional experience demonstrated through the applicant’s portfolio of past work, particularly large-scale exterior mural projects. 

Community Relevance 
The artist’s ability to create work that is responsive to the surrounding community and demonstrates an understanding of place and public engagement. 

Administrative and Project Management Capacity 
The artist’s ability to successfully plan and execute a mural project, including collaboration with project partners, communication with stakeholders, and the management of timelines and project requirements.