Calls for Artists

Mural at Wonder World Park

The City of San Marcos supports public art and graffiti-abating murals through various grants. Calls for artists for projects will be listed below as they become available.

Call for Artists: Downtown Mural Gallery

The City of San Marcos Mural Arts Committee and the San Marcos Main Street Program are partnering to commission local visual artists to design and paint 4’x 8’ panels to be displayed at an outdoor mural gallery on 111 MLK Street in San Marcos.

The project must display imagery that expresses the theme of Downtown’s vibe and vibrancy – past to future.

The artist stipend for this project is $1,000, inclusive of materials. Panels for the project will be provided by the City of San Marcos; artists will take them to their homes or studios to paint the mural panel, then deliver to the City at a designated time and location. The application deadline is June 16, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

Full details, including submission guidelines and instructions, are listed in the link below.

  1. Call for Artists: Downtown Mural Gallery (PDF)

Call for Artists: Downtown Traffic Boxes - CLOSED; EVALUATIONS IN PROGRESS

The City of San Marcos invites artists to apply for a public art project to create “Mini Murals” via their original art on traffic control boxes located on the edge of the Downtown district in San Marcos, Texas. The boxes are located at the intersection of Moore and Hutchison and Hopkins and Comanche in San Marcos. The selected artists’ designs will be digitized and printed on a vinyl wrap to be installed on the boxes.

Artists are invited to submit designs for one or both boxes; if submitting entries for both, the City is looking for a design series that will adhere to a common theme. Artists should note that the back panels of the boxes are obscured by various signs and equipment, so the main artistic elements of the design should not placed there. 

The honorarium is $400 for the selected design; the submission deadline is Friday, June 4 2021 at 5 p.m. Central. Full details, including submission guidelines, can be found in the call for artists document below.

  1. Call For Artists: Downtown Traffic Boxes

Call for artists: mural at 216 E Hopkins - CLOSED; FINALISTS ARE BEING NOTIFIED (5/27/2021)

The City of San Marcos Mural Arts Committee seeks to commission a professional visual artist or artist team to design and paint a mural located at 216 E Hopkins Street on the alley side wall.

The project must display imagery that expresses the theme in line with the philosophy of “Innovation.”

The artist stipend for this project is $8,000, inclusive of travel and lodging. Materials for the project will be provided by the City of San Marcos. The application deadline is Monday, April 5, 2021 at 5 p.m. Central Time.

Full details, including submission guidelines can be found in the call for artists document linked below.

  1. Call for Artists: Papa John's wall mural UPDATE (PDF)

2020 call for artist selections

  • RR 12 Traffic Control Box Mini Murals: Ksenia Nation 
  • CM Allen Bridge Barrier Walls Mural: Felipe Gomez & Buddy Pajak artist team
  • Cheatham St. Bridge Barrier Walls Mural: Sarah Farah & Topher Sipes artist team
  • Bishop at Hopkins Street Traffic Control Box Mini Mural: Jake Prendez
  • McCarthy at Barnes Street Traffic Control Box Mini Mural: selection in process

2019 call for artist selections

  • Sessom Drive Retaining Wall Mural: Jake Wagoner
  • Conoco Gas Station Mural: Jennifer Khoshbin
  • Wonder World Mural: Christopher Rodriguez 

Previous calls for artists

  1. 2019 Traffic Box - Call for Artists (PDF)
  2. Sessom Dr Retaining Wall Call for Artists (PDF)
  3. Conoco Gas Station Mural Call for Artists (PDF)
  4. Wonder World Mural Call for Artists (PDF)
  5. CM Allen Bridge Barrier Walls - Call For Artists