Four finalist proposals revealed for Bloomington Convention Center art, public input sought
The Monroe County capital improvement board has released four finalist proposals for public art at the Bloomington Convention Center expansion and is inviting community feedback. People can review the proposals and submit comments online through May 1.
Clockwise from upper left: Racing with the Clouds (Kipp Kobayashi), Petals (Hou De Sousa), Form of Connection (Benjamin Ball), and Digital Tapestry (Jason Bruges). These are the four finalist proposals for the Bloomington Convention Center expansion public art project. Images are from the online survey that the Monroe County capital improvement board is asking people to complete.
In a news release Monday morning (April 20), the Monroe County capital improvement board revealed four finalist proposals for the public art project to be installed at the expansion of the Bloomington Convention Center. The board is asking for public feedback on the four proposals.
The announcement of the five artists, from the 180 who applied, was made in the second week of January.
The five were each invited to make proposals specific to the Bloomington Convention Center site.
Monday’s news release notes that the CIB formed a Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (BEAD) advisory group to give the CIB input on the expenditures for the public art component. The group was chaired by Galen Cassady, co-owner and manager of the Uptown Cafe. Cassady has since been named to the CIB as the county council appointment to the seven-member board, replacing Geoff McKim who resigned when he took the job of controller for the city of Bloomington.
The group BEAD advisory group gave advice on spending $520,000 of the expansion’s $52 million construction budget for public artwork. The one-percent figure is not arbitrary. CIB is following guidelines in the city’s “percentage for the arts” ordinance. But the winning art installation chosen from the four finalists will not have the whole $520,000 for a budget.
Of the $520,000 budget for the convention center expansion public art project, honoraria and travel were allocated $32,000. Artists who made the final cut were to be paid a $5,000 honorarium, and also have their travel to Bloomington covered.
The project itself is allocated $400,000, which will cover the selected artist’s fee, fabrication, installation, insurance, shipping, and contingency. An additional $87,500 is being allocated for adding to the existing collection of art for the convention center by local artists.
The news release indicates that just four of the five finalists were “selected to advance to the next phase of the process based on completed proposals submitted by the April 10 deadline.” According to CIB president John Whikehart, Mazzotta submitted materials by the deadline, but had left unresolved some engineering and architectural issues, which made the proposal functionally incomplete.
According to the CIB’s news release feedback from the public can be submitted through Friday, May 1, 2026.
Comments ()