Professional artists are encouraged to apply for the position of monument designer with the Santa Maria Japanese Community Center, which is accepting introductory applications through Monday, Jan. 31. Five finalists will be notified on Friday, Feb. 4, and assigned to submit their monument proposals on Monday, April 4. The final selection process will conclude on Friday, April 15.
Applicants are asked to include a statement of interest, a résumé, three examples of previous art installations, three references, and contact info in their introductory applications, which they can submit to weskoyama@gmail.com and fruit01@msn.com. Finalists will be tasked with proposing and designing a monument to honor first-generation Japanese immigrants who migrated from Japan to settle and start a new life in the Santa Maria Valley.
At the end of the selection process, the chosen artist will have a maximum budget of $50,000—including artist fees, fabrication, lighting, supplies, labor, insurance, delivery, installation, and more—to complete the monument.
This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 3, 2022.