Retaining wall mural, Tony Aguirre Community Center

The City of Kansas City, Missouri seeks qualifications for a Kansas City-area professional visual artist or artist team to design and produce a mural for a curved retaining wall at the new outdoor pool at the Tony Aguirre Community Center. The retaining wall measures approximately 84’ W x 4’ H. Two to 5 semifinalist artists will be asked to advance to the RFP phase and propose designs. The maximum budget available for this project is $9,400, all inclusive. Semifinalists will be paid a design proposal stipend of $1,000.

The City of Kansas City, Missouri seeks qualifications for a Kansas City-area professional visual artist or artist team to design and produce a mural for a curved retaining wall at the new outdoor pool at the Tony Aguirre Community Center. The retaining wall measures approximately 84’ W x 4’ H. Two to 5 semifinalist artists will be asked to advance to the RFP phase and propose designs. The maximum budget available for this project is $9,400, all inclusive. Semifinalists will be paid a design proposal stipend of $1,000.

The new mural will join other public art at the Community Center. The Community Center is named after Tony Aguirre, a volunteer and mentor in the Westside community.  Six mosaics at the community center building by Concetta Morales depict scenes from Aguirre’s time as a volunteer coach and Athletic Director at the Guadalupe Center, as well as other roles in the Kansas City neighborhood where he spent nearly his entire life.  Two of the mosaics depict a fish, which was Mr. Aguirre’s nickname as well as the character traits he instilled in the children he mentored.  Those traits are FISH: Friendship, Intelligence, Scholarship and Honor.

Budget

The maximum budget available for this project is $9,400, all inclusive. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, artist's fees, travel, fabrication, supplies, material costs, meeting and administration hours, labor, artist’s legal review fees, permits, licenses, insurance, lighting, equipment rental, shipping, delivery, documentation, and installation.

Question and Answer Period

Questions related to this project for the KCMO Public Art Administrator should be emailed to james.martin@kcmo.org by Monday, April 20, 2026 5:00 p.m. Central. Questions received by this deadline will be answered through an addendum on this CaFÉ Call for Artists after the Artist Q&A videoconference described below. Answers to written questions also will be answered during the Q&A sessions.

ADDENDUM: Q&A session recordings

Q&A sessions were held Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22. Recordings of these Q&A sessions are located at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18wKUNMxiyEp0KPUVpZYaOUYzZbK6xljG?usp=sharing

Virtual Q&A Sessions

Virtual Q&A sessions with the public art administrator will be held on the following days:

• 5:30 p.m. Central Tuesday, April 21, 2026 https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/2273626984754?p=sUePyid6WESZONPl3G
• 5:30 p.m. Central Wednesday, April 22, 2026 https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/26549279675713?p=pjwVCiraxSZUJdydam

Use of Artificial Intelligence tools

Artists using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the creation of their portfolio or semifinalist proposal must identify the use of AI in the information accompanying each image.

Eligibility

Artists lacking public art experience may want to consider jointly submitting the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.

Eligibility is limited to professional visual artist teams or artists at least 18 years of age based in the Kansas City Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The Kansas City CSA includes the Missouri counties of Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray and the Kansas counties of Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Wyandotte.

Artists who have completed a City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art commission within two years of their project’s contract date are not eligible.

Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees and Parks and Recreation Department project consultants and their employees and sub-consultants are not eligible.

Selection Process

The Kansas City, Missouri Public Art Administrator will recommend selection panelists to the Municipal Art Commission for approval. The selection panel will consider artist’s resumes, portfolios and letters of interest residing on CaFÉ and select 2-5 semifinalists. Semifinalists will be paid a design proposal stipend of $1,000. The selection panel will interview the semifinalists, review their proposals and budgets and select the finalist and one alternate.

The finalist artist’s proposal will be presented to the Municipal Art Commission for approval prior to developing a contract. All contracts may be subject to approval by City Council or by the city’s executive leadership.

Evaluation Criteria

The city will select what in its sole judgment it determines to be the qualified candidate or candidates that is in the best interest of the city. Any evaluation criteria or weighting of criteria is used by the city only as a tool to assist the city in selecting the best candidate. The city may change criteria and criteria weights at any time. Evaluation scores or ranks do not create any right in or expectation to a contract regardless of any score or ranking given to any candidate.

The Tony Aguirre Community Center Artist Selection Panel will use the following evaluation criteria to select semifinalists. All evaluation criteria are weighted equally. Each criterion is worth 1 point in the 7-point CaFÉ judging system.

1. Eligibility:

• Collaborators and teams are eligible to apply within a single application. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.
• All applications must be submitted through this CaFÉ Call for Artists.
• Eligibility is limited to professional visual artist teams or artists at least 18 years of age, based in the Kansas City area.
• Artists previously contracted for a City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art commission within two years of their past project’s contract execution date are not eligible.
• Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees and Parks and Recreation Department and project consultants and their employees and sub-consultants are not eligible.

2. Artistic Excellence: Works of art in the Artist's portfolio are original, innovative, and of exceptional quality and enduring value. 

3. Prior Experience: Artist's and/or collaborator’s portfolio illustrates a track record of progressively significant projects or comparable professional or community-based creative experiences. Demonstrated experience working with diverse community stakeholders is also desired.

4. Appropriateness to Site and Project: Works of art in the Artist's portfolio indicate that the Artist is likely to be sensitive to the social, economic, cultural, historical, and physical context of the site, either existing or planned.

5. Low Maintenance & Durable: Works of art in the Artist's portfolio utilize materials and processes likely to contribute to the longevity of public works of art, especially for projects that will be located outdoors, or the Artist is willing to adopt such practices by collaborating with a partner with relevant expertise.

6. Letter of Interest: Has the Artist introduced you to their art practice and/or their team, and convinced you they are a good fit for this particular commission?

7. Additional question to score applications: Can you visualize this artist's work in this location, and are you convinced that this artist/art team should move to the RFP phase and create a proposal for this location?

Tentative Schedule

• March 27, 2026: Call for Artists distributed
• Monday, April 20, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Central: Written question and answer period deadline
• Virtual Q&A sessions
  • 5:30 p.m. Central Tuesday, April 21, 2026 https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/2273626984754?p=sUePyid6WESZONPl3G
  • 5:30 p.m. Central Wednesday, April 22, 2026 https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/26549279675713?p=pjwVCiraxSZUJdydam
• 11:59 p.m. Central Monday, May 11, 2026: Application deadline
• May 2026 Semifinalists selected and notified
• July 2026: Semifinalist artists’ proposal presentations (virtual), finalist selected
• August 2026: Artist contract executed
• September 2026: Purchase order issued
• October 2026: Artist procures materials, completes mural
• Completion Fall 2026 or Spring 2027
• Artwork dedication: Within 1 week of installation, if applicable

Changes in the Call for Artists

From time to time, engineering, construction, or other factors may require the city to amend its selection criteria. After this Call for Artists (“CFA”) is issued, the city, in its sole discretion, may change anything contained in this CFA at any time, including after the application due date. If the change is prior to the application due date, the city reserves the right, when considered necessary or appropriate, to modify this CFA with an addendum. If the city shall amend the CFA after the application due date, the city may, in its sole discretion, solicit new applications in an amended CFA from anyone or everyone, regardless of whether an applicant submitted an application in response to the original CFA.

About the Kansas City One Percent for Art Program

https://www.kcmo.gov/art

• Work samples on CaFÉ. All applications must be submitted through this CaFÉ Call for Artists. Up to ten (10) Images and six (6) videos of your original completed commissions, not proposals, which demonstrate your qualifications for the project. Three-dimensional models, sketches, or drawings will not be accepted. You must include the title, medium, dimensions, project budget or price, year completed and location (if applicable) for each work. The value must be indicated in US dollars. Artists who need access to a computer and/or internet access are encouraged to seek assistance from their local library or KC BizCare, 816-513-2491.
• Artist resume
• Letter of interest

Artists lacking public art experience may want to consider jointly submitting the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.

Eligibility is limited to professional visual artist teams or artists at least 18 years of age based in the Kansas City Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The Kansas City CSA includes the Missouri counties of Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray and the Kansas counties of Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Wyandotte.

Artists who have completed a City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art commission within two years of their project’s contract date are not eligible.

Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees, Parks and Recreation Department project consultants and their employees and sub-consultants are not eligible.