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Late Afternoon by Jeff Whipple - Volusia County Agricultural Center, DeLand

The selection process

There are three project categories:

The direct selection method is permitted for projects with art allocations between $5,000 and $25,000. The selection committee includes a
member of the Cultural Council, the designated program administrator, the user agency repre-sentative and two visual arts representatives.  

The invitational method is used for projects with art allocations of $25,001 to $50,000. The selection committee is the same as the Direct Selection Method with the addition of the building's architect or an additional visual arts representative.  

The open competition is permitted for projects with a budget of $50,001 or more. The selection committee consists of the architect, a member of the Cultural Council,the designated program administrator, the user agency representative, and three visual art representatives. The recommendations from each selection committee are forwarded to the Cultural Council who in turn makes a recommendation to the Volusia County Council for final approval.




Terra cotta clay pieces
by Sang Parkinson Roberson
Ocean Center, Daytona Beach


Frederick DeBary
by Anna Tomczak
Historic Courthouse, DeLand

  Criteria for submission and consideration

 To be considered, professional artists must meet at
 least three of the five criteria listed below:

  • The artist has completed other public commissions on a similar scale.
  • The artist has received awards, grants, or fellowships within the past five years.
  • The artist’s works are in major private, corporate or museum collections.
  • The artist has had at least one one-person exhibition at an American Association of Museums’ accredited institution within the past five years.
  • The artist has had at least one exhibition at a public art institution.

What to submit
To be considered, professional artists must meet the above standards of criteria and submit the following for consideration:

  • A letter of interest which includes how the artist meets the above criteria, how the artist’s work relates to the project and what direction the artist’s work might take in response to the project.
  • A current professional resume, with emphasis on public art experience.
  • Images of all proposed work to be considered on DVD or CD. All images should be in .jpg format and no larger than 4" x 5" and 250 dpi resolution. In the case of proposed pieces, original studies may be submitted, but images of the studies must be provided on disk as well. Five images of similar existing work should also be included. Disks and/or studies should be labeled with the artist's name.
  • A slide identification sheet that includes:
  • Artist’s name, address and phone number
  • Corresponding slide number
  • Title of work
  • Medium of work
  • Dimensions of work
  • Date of work
  • Price of work
  • A proposal that can be a sketch or written description of proposed artwork.
  • A self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the artist’s slides. If you would like your slides to be scanned into our artist’s database, please indicate this in your letter of interest.

Incomplete submissions will not be considered and will be returned without review by the APPC. Incomplete submissions will be determined by the Public Art Administrator in Volusia County Parks, Recreation and Culture.

Cultural Council  

 (An advisory board to the
Volusia County Council)

 Jim Ward, Chair
John Wilton, Vice Chair
Ann Brady
Bob Dahlen
Bill Dreggors
Kelly Parsons Kwiatek
Brad Strickland
Julia Davidson Truilo
Sandra Wilson

Staff members
Nancy Maddox
Mike Fincher



Cherries and Brass by Deborah Elmquist
New Smyrna Beach Regional Library

If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact Mike Fincher at 386-736-5953, ext. 15872, or mfincher@co.volusia.fl.us.



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