Shape of Community 2026

The City of O’Fallon’s rotating sculpture series, The Shape of Community is a citywide, temporary sculpture exhibition, featuring large-scale works of art in prominent areas throughout the city, loaned by artists for an 18-22 month period. This exhibition is unique to the entire St. Louis metropolitan area and will attract people to visit sculpture sites throughout the city.

Submissions are accepted digitally through CaFE. 

Artist's will submit:  

• Resume
• Artist Statement
• Artist may submit up to 3 works
• No More than 10 images per work

Submissions are due January 21, 2026.  

BACKGROUND/CONTEXT  
O’Fallon, Missouri is the largest city in St. Charles County and the seventh largest in the state of Missouri. Originating as a railroad community in the 1850s, O’Fallon was a small, rural community until the 1980s when it began growing, first, into a bedroom community to St. Louis and now, an important residential community as well as home to major regional employers and sports and recreation destinations. O’Fallon has grown rapidly, in no small part due to its quality of life. It is well known that people choose O’Fallon because of its excellent parks and schools, its safety, and its friendly and welcoming spirit. In addition, many residents feel that art, culture, and history are essential parts of the quality of life in O’Fallon.  
  
In 2016, The City of O’Fallon completed an Art and Culture Plan to build on and help guide the successful art and culture programming already underway and greatly appreciated in the community. By formalizing the Art and Culture Program, the City of O’Fallon has been able to focus their efforts on supporting and enhancing arts programming, making O’Fallon a more unique and welcoming place to live, work and visit.  
  
The mission of the City of O’Fallon’s Cultural Arts Program is:  

"Our History Makes our Future.” 

The Cultural Arts Guidelines:

• Foster the commissioning, acquisition, presentation, and preservation of permanent and temporary public art,
• Exhibit works of art and cultural and historic artifacts in public places,
• Act as a steward of the City’s public art collection, and
• Engage the public in the work on view throughout the community.

​The mayoral appointed Cultural Arts Commission (CAC) advises City Council and City staff regarding decisions related to the Art and Culture Program. The CAC helps connect the City’s program to what is happening in the broader community.  

PROJECT DESCRIPTION  
The City’s many public parks became of a primary focus of the Art and Culture Plan, because of their beauty and popularity within the community. The Shape of Community sculpture series makes use of these beautiful parks and other communal public spaces by providing opportunities for people to experience art and culture as part of their everyday lives: while exploring a hiking trail, going to the gym and pool, attending a community meeting, or taking the kids to soccer practice. 

The Shape of Community sculpture series is a citywide, temporary sculpture show, featuring large-scale works of art in prominent areas throughout the city, loaned by artists for an 18-22 months. (Dependent on the cycle year) Viewers will be invited to vote for their favorite sculptures from the collection and the top voted artists will be recognized. Artists will receive $4,000 for the loan and selected works will be included in various events, lectures, and community programming, and in marketing materials, both digital and print.   

PROJECT GOALS  

• The goals for The Shape of Community sculpture series are to:
• Enliven and enhance O’Fallon’s public spaces and gathering places.
• Encourage exploration of the City and tie different corners of the community together through a single exhibition.
• Engage residents and visitors by expanding cultural opportunities and inspiring interaction with art.
• Represent the O’Fallon spirit of healthy living and family fun.
• Complement and enhance the visual appearance of the location.
• Provide a venue for sculptors that is unique in the region.
• Create a sense of welcome to O’Fallon and to its destinations.

BUDGET  
Selected artists will be paid a $4,000 stipend at pre-arranged installments throughout the exhibition period, which must cover all related and incurred costs, including installation materials, travel costs for delivery and pick-up, and insurance fees.  
Artwork can be available for sale while on display, however, all works must remain in place for the duration of the exhibit. City and artist responsibilities will not change in the case of a sale.  

ARTIST RESPONSIBILITIES  
Selected artists will be expected to:  

• Agree to loan the artwork to the City of O’Fallon and have the artwork remain on display for the duration of the exhibit.
• Provide hardware where needed, special installation instructions, including detailed information related to the anchoring method and a detailed sculpture description.
• Deliver selected sculpture to site on pre-determined dates and times. Artist or representative must be present during installation. Missed delivery times will result in a fine or disqualification.
• Insure the artwork for property loss during the length of exhibition.
• Provide marketing information as requested.
• Transport artwork from site once the duration of the exhibit has ended.
• Artists are also invited to attend an opening reception event at the start of the exhibition. Interested artists may be asked to speak at community lectures or tours.

CITY OF O’FALLON’S RESPONSIBILITIES  
The City of O’Fallon will:  

• Compensate artist for loan of artwork at agreed cost and length and by agreed payment schedule.
• Create concrete pads for display, if needed.
• Install the work according to instructions provided by the artist.
• Provide liability insurance.
• Provide signage and marketing for sculpture series.
• De-install work at close of series.

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS  
The Cultural Arts Commission (CAC) will serve as the selection committee – submissions will be pre-scored by CAC and the top scored submissions will be reviewed and discussed during a CAC meeting, resulting in the selection of Ten works of art and up to four alternatives with no more than one work selected per artist. Final selections presented for review by the O’Fallon Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB) and approval by O’Fallon City Council.  
Based on the selected works, locations will be determined by the Cultural Arts Specialist and managing consultants with input from Parks and Recreation staff and approval granted based on technical review by the City.

SELECTION CRITERIA  
Entries will be selected based on the following criteria:  

• Shows an understanding of Community’s Mission Statement.
• Alignment with project goals.
• Original work and no more than one piece will be selected by each artist.
• High artistic merit and creativity.
• Scale is large enough to be clearly visible outdoors.
• Quality construction of durable materials and viable to be safely displayed outdoors for duration of exhibition.
• Engages the public and encourages repeated viewing.

​The selected collection should represent a variety of styles, materials, and themes and be created by a diverse group of artists.  

TECHNICAL CRITERIA  
Entries must meet these minimum technical criteria:  

• Must weigh no more than 10,000 lbs.
• Cannot be over 15’ tall and must fit within the perimeter of concrete pads, which measure 4’x4’ and 6’x6’. Any projections must occur at a minimum of 7’ above the ground.
• Must be suitable for long-term outdoor display, capable of withstanding but not limited to pedestrian contact and adverse weather conditions, high winds, rain, extreme summer heat, snow, and freezing conditions.
• Maintenance free for the duration of the exhibition, and as vandal-proof as possible.
• Safe for the public, including children (no sharp edges, no climbing hazards, no breakable or bendable components).
• Able to withstand brief and occasional periods of water around the base.
• Completed installation must pass city inspection, meeting all safety requirements.
• Must be able to be securely anchored to the concrete pad with bolts provided by the artist. Sites are available for ground-mounted works only.

Most sites will not have available electricity, selected works should not rely on access to electricity. Please note in application if electricity is requested.