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New York City artists, unite!
The Department of Transportation (DOT) just put out a request for proposals (RFP) from creatives to "beautify" the legendary 1,000-foot-long underground tunnel that connects Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue to the 191st Street subway station in Washington Heights.
Known as "Tunnel Street" and sitting 180 feet below street level (it's one of the deepest stations in our transportation system!), the passageway was painted white just a couple of months ago, spurring a rush of criticism from locals who accused the city of "whitewashing" the area, which used to be covered in murals and graffiti, as reported by Gothamist.
"Proposed designs should reflect the local community and the rich cultural identity of Washington Heights," reads the official RFP.
In addition to focusing on the folks that call the neighborhood home and being aesthetically pleasing, the Department of Transportation is seeking designs that consist of a "simple, bold pattern that can be painted using stencils over a two-day period" through the use "of a maximum of four colors, including [a] background [one] and three colors for design later."
Up to four artists will be selected to develop a design treatment that will then be executed with community and volunteer support. The chosen creatives will receive a $5,000 honorarium to complete the final design and the agency itself will for the various supplies needed.
You can submit your idea until April 14 and read through the entire RFP right here.
A bit of context to perhaps help you come up with an awesome idea: almost a decade ago, back in 2014, the local community asked the DOT for help to improve the tunnel, a request that resulted in updated signage and lighting.
Just a year later, five selected artists were given a 200-foot section of the area each to paint large-scale murals over. Unfortunately, the entire passageway was covered in graffiti shortly thereafter, a development that led the city to paint the entire tunnel white this past January.