About

Project Overview

The San Francisco Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams residing in the United States to submit qualifications for 2027 Art on Market StreetPoster Series. The 2027 Program will feature the work of four artists/artist teams with each series on view for a period of three months.

The budget for artwork is $12,000 inclusive of all artist's fees, poster designs, digital file preparation, and proofing. The budget does not include printing and installation, which is managed and paid for by the Arts Commission.

Project Description

The Art on Market Street Poster Series has commissioned new artwork by artists on an annual basis since 1992. Each year, the Program commissions four artists to create a new body of work that responds to a theme specific to San Francisco. Each poster series is on view for approximately three months and consists of at least 6 unique images that are printed at 68 inches high by 47 ¼ inches wide and installed in 15 bus shelters on Market Street between Steuart St. and 7th St.

2027 Poster Series Theme

Market Street: The Next 175 Years

Built in 1851 as the “spine” of San Francisco, Market Street has seen many transformations over its 175+ year history. What do the next 175 years hold for this major thoroughfare, from now to the start of the 23rd Century? Artists are invited to imagine what the far-distant future holds.

This project intersects with the 2027 Further Triennial, whose mission is to “animate the cultural history and celebrate the creative present of Northern California.” Through this call, we invite artists to look further ahead, imagining the future of Market Street while grounding their work in the region’s legacy of “unorthodox thinking, offbeat creativity, and unconventional identities that continually seek new horizons.”

Project Goals

• The artwork will envision Market Street’s future evolution over the next 175 years, while integrating Northern California’s cultural legacy of creativity and unorthodox thinking.

Selection Process

Artist Qualification Panel: The applications will be reviewed by an Artist Qualification Panel consisting of one representative from Arts Commission staff and one arts professional to identify a list of the most qualified artists to be considered for the project opportunity. SFAC may consider artists in the qualified pool for other opportunities at the project site or any other site, as determined by SFAC and consistent with contracting rules.

Artist Review Panel: This list of the most qualified artists will be presented to an Artist Review Panel consisting of three arts professionals. After considering the artists’ qualifications and their meaningful connection to the San Francisco Bay Area, the Artist Review Panel will identify up to 6 finalists. The finalists will be invited to develop conceptual proposals after attending an orientation with the Art on Market Street Program Manager. Each finalist will be paid an honorarium of $1,000 for development of a conceptual design proposal.

The Artist Review Panel will reconvene to consider the finalists’ concepts in an interview format and will recommend one artist for the project to the Arts Commission. 

Arts Commission Approval: The Artist Review Panel’s recommendation will be submitted first to the Visual Arts Committee (VAC), a subcommittee of the Arts Commission and then to the full Arts Commission for approval. All Artist Review Panel recommendations are subject to the Visual Arts Committee and Full Arts Commission.

All Arts Commission meetings and Public Art Review Panel meetings are open to the public and are posted on the Arts Commission website at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. To check the meeting schedule for public art projects, please go to our calendar. 

ARTIST SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS

Selection Criteria for Artists and Artwork: Artists and artwork will be selected in accordance with the Mission and Goals of the Civic Art Collection and in accordance with the criteria below. Criteria to be used when scoring an artist’s application for a commission and/or acquisition of artwork by either purchase or commission shall include, but not be limited to, the following considerations. Per City contracting requirements, artist applicants who are registered as a Local Business Enterprise will be given a rating bonus of 10% relative to other applicants.

• Artistic Merit: Artistic Merit may be judged by such measures as originality of concept and artistic vision; the degree to which the work engages the viewer emotionally, intellectually, spiritually; the qualify of craftsmanship or mastery of skills and techniques. Artistic merit may also be credited to artwork that reflects a significant or direct relationship between the artist and distinct racial or cultural communities.
  
• Relevant Skills & Experience: Review Panels and the Commission shall consider the assessed ability of an artist to successfully implement a proposed project, such as the ability to work constructively with other project stakeholders, meet deadlines, willingness to resolve issues as they arise, and generally manage the demands of the project. Cultural competency and/or significant connection between the artist and the project constituency, or experience that may particularly qualify an artist to meet project goals may also be considered.
  
• Meet Project Goals: The proposed artwork (or the assessed ability of an artist to design a proposal) meets the specific goals of the project as defined in this RFQ and in the Project Plan approved by the Commission.
  
• The Artwork is Appropriate to the Site: The artwork or proposed artwork is appropriate for its intended display location in terms of scale, media, design or imagery and is judged to be relevant within the context of the surrounding community, and is compatible with the mission and operations of the client department.
  
• Contributes to the Quality of the Civic Art Collection: The artwork or proposed artwork is judged to support and improve the City’s collection in terms of artistic quality and diversity of artists represented. The Arts Commission is committed to acquiring artworks that reflect diversity in style, scale, media, and artistic sources as well as diverse cultural communities and perspectives. The Arts Commission also encourages exploratory types of work as well as established art forms.   
  
• Meaningful Connection: Applicants will briefly describe their meaningful connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

How To Apply

Applications are available through SlideRoom, an online application system for calls for entry. There is no charge to artists for using SlideRoom. Please be sure to allow adequate time to submit your application as technical difficulties can occur. Applications that are mailed, emailed, faxed, or hand-delivered will not be considered.

Applications will not be accepted after Friday, April 17, 11:59 p.m. (PDT) deadline.

Application materials include:

1. Letter of Interest

• 2,000 characters maximum.
• Provide a description of your artistic focus, career highlights and qualifications.
• One paragraph briefly describing how you might approach the poster series theme.

1. Meaningful connection to the San Francisco Bay Area

• 600 characters maximum.
• Please describe your connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. An example of this connection may include if you currently reside, or have resided in the San Francisco Bay Area, or have another significant connection to the San Francisco Bay Area.

1. Resume

• 25,000 characters maximum.
• If you are applying as a team, please include your team/studio resume. If that is not available, please combine the individual resumes (one right after the other) of each team member into one document.

1. 10 images of previous work

• SlideRoom accepts all image file types up to 5MB. Images should be at least 72 dpi and no larger than 1280 x 1280 pixels
• For team application, please indicate the lead artist for each project.

1. Image descriptions

• When you upload your images, SlideRoom will prompt you to fill out image descriptions. Please include the title, medium, dimensions, and year for each work. You may also include a brief statement (2 sentences maximum) about each work.

Check out our "How to Apply to Calls" for helpful tips on how to submit the most competitive application.

Please note that Arts Commission staff will be available to answer questions about this call until 5 p.m. (PDT) on the deadline date, Friday April 17. Please contact Paris Cotz at paris.cotz@sfgov.org, or 415-539-6213.

SlideRoom technical support is available Monday – Saturday by email, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. (CDT) support@slideroom.com.

Project Timeline

• Qualification Panel Meeting
  Late April 2026
• Review Panel Meeting 1
  Early May 2026
• Visual Arts Committee Approval
  May 20, 2026
• Applicant notification via email
  Mid May 2026
• Finalist Orientation
  Late May 2026
• Review Panel Meeting 2
  Mid-Late July 2026
• VAC approval of recommended artist
  July 15, 2026
• Full Commission approval of recommended artist
  August 3, 2026
• Artist under contract
  September 2026

Eligibility

Eligibility is open to professional, practicing artists who reside in the United States or have representation from a US based gallery willing to contract with the Arts Commission on the artist’s behalf.  Entries not meeting eligibility guidelines will be withdrawn from consideration. 

Additional policies

Contact information