The Augusta Sculpture Trail - Jan 2027- December 2028

The Greater Augusta Arts Council, as the public art agency for the City of Augusta, Georgia, is seeking ten (10) leasable, pre-existing, outdoor sculptures to be installed for two years in Downtown Augusta, GA for the Augusta Sculpture Trail. This will be a temporary (2 year) installation in Downtown Augusta. All of the ten (10) sculpture sites will have a 4'x4'x4" concrete base, and are fully accessible.

The sites are spaced in a manner to promote walking from one sculpture to another, creating a trail to follow. Other public art installations already in place will augment the walking tour experience. All works will be heavily promoted as an arts destination attraction with online, printed, and in ads. A digital walking tour will be created and all artists will be requested to submit content to be placed in that online platform.

We will regularly bring public attention to the Augusta Sculpture Trail through in-person and online events. We will additionally promote the availability of the sculptures for purchase. Selected artists will receive a stipend of $3,000 for the 2-year lease of their work ($1,500 upon installation, $1,500 upon de-installation). There will be a purchase of artwork at the end of this temporary art installation to add to the City of Augusta's permanent public art collection.

Installation: January 2027. De-installation: December 2028. Artists may apply up to 5 times with separate sculptures. Please do not submit different sculptures in one application. Each application will be for one, individual sculpture.

The Augusta Sculpture Trail is part of a larger Public Art Master Plan for the City of Augusta. It is intended to create a walkable and promotable art trail to attract local and regional visitors to the Downtown Augusta area. The Arts Council is seeking original, pre-existing art works in any media suitable for outdoor public space. The work must be of a size so as to be secured to a 4' W x 4' D x 4" H concrete pad with anchor bolts or similar devices, and not extend significantly beyond that boundary.

The project must be of a scale large enough to be clearly visible from a distance of 50 feet. The work must be structurally sound and capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions common to the Augusta area, including hot summers, cold winters, humidity, heavy rain, wind, thunder storms, and occasional snow. The work must be suitable for pedestrian interaction with a low exposure to injury.

The public must be protected from possible injury from materials and the work must not include pointy, sharp or easily climbable parts. If the artwork is a functional piece, such as a bench, made to be sat upon, it must not present a public hazard. Any sculptures deemed unsafe will be removed from scoring consideration. The work must be available for a period of two years, from installation in January 2027 to removal in December 2028.

Selected Artists are responsible for transportation of their work to and from the site and are encouraged to be on site to oversee installation and de-installation. Installation costs regarding site preparation will not be the responsibility of the Artist. A professional sculpture installation expert will install and de-install all sculptures.

All individual pieces will be scored by the Public Art Advisory Panel. The top ten scoring pieces will be offered a place in the Augusta Sculpture Trail. No one artist will have more than one piece selected, regardless of scores. We strongly recommend entering a high quality image of the sculpture, preferably more than one image to show the work from multiple angles, as sculpture is a 360 degree visual experience.

• Notificationto selected artists: Oct 30, 2026