The original Petworth Mural painted by Juan Pineda in 2015.

After a few kids vandalized the Petworth Mural on the 800 block of Upshur Street back in February, the neighborhood came out in droves to donate money to redo the mural. We temporarily “fixed” the mural working with a local DC artist to make it nicer for the time being, while we raised $4,000 to pay for the new work. Now we’re finally ready to kick off this project!

We’re making a call for artists to submit their designs for a new mural on the wall. Minimum mural size should be 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide, and cover the existing design. It can be larger as well.

The original design was by Juan Pineda, and we’re hoping to find an experienced artist who lives in or near Petworth, but we’re open to anyone with the knowledge and skillcraft to design and paint the wall in a way that will make the neighborhood proud.

The temporary mural painted over the damaged original mural (It’s kinda awesome all by itself, actually). — The temporary mural painted over the damaged original mural
(It’s kinda awesome all by itself, actually).

Remember that this mural is heavily used on Instagram and Facebook photos by residents, as well as featured in news outlets like Petworth News, the Washington Post and the New York Times to showcase our community.

The new mural should reflect all that we are and who we are. It can be abstract design, it can be a clever design, but it’s got to represent the Petworth community. Preferably, it should feature the name “Petworth” in the design, either prominently or somewhere on the wall, but we’ll leave that up to you.

The community will get a chance to vote for their favorite design (voting will be online and in-person on Upshur with Covid-safety protocols, obviously) and Marc Dosik, the owner of the building and of Fed City Team at Century 21 Redwood Realty, gets a pretty big say in what is going on his wall as well. (He’s open to pretty much anything, so be creative!)

You can check out the wall in the alley next to Willow on the 800 block of Upshur Street NW.

Submit your ideas and plans on the submission form.

You will need to upload examples of prior work and renderings (at least 3) of your proposed idea. Multiple submissions? You can submit up to 3 different proposals, but please submit them separately.

Deadline to submit is August 18, 2021.

Rules…

The total budget is $4,000. This sum is inclusive of all artist fees, insurance, fabrication, materials, installation, travel, and all other project related expenses.
Artist or artist team may submit up to 3 designs for consideration. (You can submit up to three separate proposals if you have multiple, different designs.)
The top 5 designs will be voted on by the public. Opportunities to vote will be made available: at a public meeting, the Petworth neighborhood group listserv, via Petworth News, and at the mural site one or two Saturday afternoons.
The winning artist will be required to submit a W9 and invoice for payment.
Minimum mural size should be 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide, and cover the existing design. It can be larger as well.
Incorporating the word "Petworth" in the design is recommended.
Artist is required to use a paint specific to outdoor wall/concrete use such as Sherwin-Williams, Keim, SherKryl, NovaColor by Artex, Golden Artist Colors, or other comparable brand and system.
The artist is responsible for priming the wall prior to painting.
The artist is required to coat the mural with an anti-graffiti coat layer at the end.
Artists are expected to carry their own general liability insurance.
All entrants retain the copyright rights to the works they submit.
Deadline for submissions is August 18th.
Installation should occur in early or late September.
Questions? Email Pipkin Creative with any questions.