Local Artists Encouraged to Apply for Central Library D ...

(April 25, 2024)

Omaha's new Central Library will display original, local artwork.

Beginning today, artists in the Omaha metro area can apply to create permanent public artwork for Omaha Public Library's new Central Library.

Omaha nonprofit Amplify Arts is coordinating the call for public artwork in conjunction with OPL. Artists, artist collectives, and collaborative groups in the Omaha area are eligible to apply. The art will be incorporated throughout the interior and exterior of the Central Library with opportunities for free-standing work, wall work, and integrated work, including sound recordings and digital imagery.

A selection committee will award project budgets in amounts from $5,000 to $100,000 for the artists to create their new works. Selected artists will collaborate with the Central Library design team throughout the design and installation process.

OPL Executive Director Laura Marlane said Central Library partners are eager to see the applicants' ideas. "We know most people have significant relationships with libraries throughout their lives as spaces for learning, creative growth, community building, and resource sharing," said Marlane. "We're excited to see how the applicants communicate that relationship through their work."

Amplify Arts, an Omaha nonprofit that provides resources to artists, organizers, and cultural workers to incubate liberatory ideas that move our community forward, will support artists throughout the application process including at the following events:

- In-person information session on May 8 from 6:30 pm - 8 pm at Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture at 1516 Cuming Street.- Virtual office hours on May 13 from 6 pm - 8 pm

- Virtual office hours on May 23 from 11 am - 1 pm

Launched by OPL and the City of Omaha in partnership with three nonprofit organizations - Omaha Public Library Foundation, Heritage Omaha, and Do Space - the Central Library is an important cultural investment in literacy, digital equity, community, and individual potential.

The library is currently under construction at 72nd and Dodge streets and scheduled to open in 2026.

Program details and a link to the application can be found at omahacentrallibrary.org/art. The application deadline is June 9, 2024.

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