Call for artists: Submit for the CityFleet mural or low relief artwork by January 5

The City of Portland and its partners are opening another call for artists at the CityFleet facilities on Swan Island. The Regional Arts & Culture Council(RACC), with CityFleet and the Office of Arts & Culture, invite artists and artist teams to submit their qualifications for one or both of the opportunities mentioned below.

Made possible by the City of Portland's Percent for Art Program, which specifies that up to 2% of qualifying infrastructure project budgets be dedicated to public art, this call for artists provides an opportunity to design and execute a mural or low relief artwork to be installed in the designated frieze area of the walls of the CityFleet training room. Artists working in a variety of types of materials are welcome to apply. The budget for this art opportunity is not to exceed $45,000.

Art opportunity

The walls range in length from 35 ½' to 62', with an approximate 178 linear feet x 3 ½' height available for artwork. The artwork may be a mural directly painted onto the wall or a low relief artwork installed onto the wall. The maximum depth for the artwork is 3". The artwork may occupy a portion of the frieze on different walls or may wrap around the room on all four walls. The wall material is paint over drywall with steel studs. There is access to electricity in the frieze area on two of the walls.

The artist will be responsible for design, materials, fabrication, any structural engineering of art components/attachments, delivery of the artwork to the site, and installation of the artwork.

About the project site

This project moves CityFleet from the Kerby Garage in North Portland, which was built in 1922 as the City's first public works building, to an existing warehouse located on Swan Island which will be renovated into a vehicle maintenance facility. CityFleet's office headquarters are located at the same site. The leased site includes over 105,000 sq. ft. and 125 parking stalls. Surrounding neighbors include FedEx, Swan Island Wholesale Flower Market, Portland Community College's Swan Island Trade Center, and Maletis Beverage.

Swan Island has been an important historical site for Portland's industry as well as for Indigenous peoples of the area (including the Multnomah, Clackamas, and Cowlitz peoples) prior to White settlement.

Art goals

The artwork created for CityFleet's Swan Island facilities should meet one or more of the following goals:

• Contributes to an inviting space that evokes a sense of well-being for staff & visitors
• Evokes a sense of place, which may include natural, historical, industrial, or cultural themes
• Honors the legacy of industry and trade workers
• Recognizes CityFleet's key role in essential functions of the City of Portland
• Takes inspiration from a technologically advanced future

The submission due date is Monday, January 5, 2026.

Learn more and apply today

Don't miss it: Related call for artists

At the same CityFleet site, artists are encouraged to apply for two separate opportunities to (1) install artwork that will attach to functional aluminum gates and (2) a large-scale sculpture by Monday, November 24, 2025.