Maryland Public Art Initiative Public Artist Roster FY2026 - FY2028 (Due June 30)
Maryland Public Art Initiative Public Artist Roster FY2026 - FY2028
Deadline: June 30th, 2025
The purpose of the Maryland Public Artist Roster is to establish a pre-qualified list of public artists who are interested in creating new, original, and site-responsive artworks for Maryland’s college and university campuses, laboratories, courthouses, police barracks, administrative offices, treatment centers, and other buildings and facilities owned and operated by the state of Maryland. All works commissioned through this program become a part of the State of Maryland’s contemporary public art collection.
The Public Artist Roster will include artists and studios working in a wide variety of artistic mediums and representing a diverse range of backgrounds and approaches to creating public artwork. The Maryland State Arts Council and Maryland Public Art Commission use the Roster as the primary method of reviewing portfolios and selecting artists for permanent public art commission opportunities. This allows for a streamlined selection process and reduces the number of applications an artist or studio needs to submit throughout the year. In addition, the roster will be available through MSAC.org as a publicly accessible resource to find and connect with artists.
The Public Artist Roster will be used to select artists for eligible state capital projects with Public Art Premiums, or budgets, between $50,000 and $1,500,000. The following outlines the types of public art projects open to Public Artist Roster artists:
Site-responsive commissions: All of our projects are site-responsive. Artists will work with the project’s public art steering committee to design, fabricate, and install permanent artwork specific to the site and community.
Architecturally integrated projects: Artists will work closely with the building’s design team to combine artwork with the architecture or landscape to create permanent site-responsive artwork.
Community-engaged commissions: Artists will engage with the community as part of their process. Artist-led dialogue and engagement with local stakeholders will contribute to the research that shapes the design of permanent site-responsive artwork.
Roster Cycle
This application is for those seeking to join the Maryland Public Art Roster; there is no financial grant or financial compensation provided for joining the Roster.
The Maryland Public Art Roster is the primary method of soliciting qualifications and interest from artists and studios wishing to be considered for opportunities related to the Maryland Public Art Initiative. MPAI is the state of Maryland’s program to commission and purchase public artwork to accompany capital construction or major renovations of eligible state-owned buildings and facilities Independent artists and studios included in the Roster are eligible to be considered for, and contracted to produce public artwork for the State of Maryland if they are recommended by an Artist Selection Committee for a particular project.
Roster Period
The Maryland Public Art Roster will be in use from FY2026 (starting in October 2025) through FY2028 (September 2028). The roster is available for use by MSAC and MPAC for artist selection processes occurring during this time.
While the roster will be the primary method of artist selection throughout this period, MSAC and MPAC reserve the right to issue calls for artists, calls for artworks, or requests for qualifications based on parameters and circumstances of specific projects.