Perot Museum Seeks Next Designer for Staircase Project
In partnership with the African American Museum, Dallas, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science announced a call for entries for a staircase commission to create a vibrantly colored and eye-catching site-specific creative design that celebrates African-American leaders in science – from history and modern-day – who have made significant contributions to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
The Staircase Project is presented by Kroger.
To spotlight the artistic talent in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, the Perot Museum will commission an African-American creative designer who resides in North Texas to design the image.
The winning designer will be awarded a prize of $5,000. The deadline to enter is Oct. 30, and the winner will be notified of his or her selection by no later than Dec. 1. There is no submission fee. For rules, details, and submission instructions, as well as images and videos of past installations, click here.
The creative design will be reproduced on weatherproof, vinyl materials and professionally installed on the Perot Museum’s large, multi-story outdoor staircase facing Field Street, a main thoroughfare into Downtown Dallas.
Entrants will be provided a suggested list, compiled by the African American Museum, of extraordinary scientists, inventors, and innovators to inspire creativity for the design. These leaders include famed agricultural inventor and “Wizard of Tuskegee” George Washington Carver, NASA’s Mary Winston Jackson (who was portrayed in Hidden Figures), father of the blood bank Dr. Charles Drew, and telecommunications inventor Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African-American woman to earn an MIT doctorate. Other noteworthy African-American STEM leaders also may be included, and a mix of men and women leaders from both history and modern-day is recommended.
The panelists are Dr. Lauren Cross, program coordinator and assistant professor, interdisciplinary art and design studies, College of Visual Art and Design at the University of North Texas; Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney, deputy director and chief operating officer of the African American Museum, Dallas, and former chairman of the history department at The University of Texas at Arlington; Byron Sanders, president and CEO, Big Thought; Dr. Linda Silver, Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer, Perot Museum of Nature and Science; and Arthur Simmons, quality systems management, processes and analytics, Texas Instruments.
Participants must be a U.S. citizen 18 years of age and older, and collaborations of up to two individuals are allowed. Submission requirements include an overall image and detailed specs, artist statement, short bio and photo for promotional purposes. Finalists will participate in mandatory interviews – conducted in person or virtually – with the judges.
Because the Perot Museum and the African American Museum are both 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, entries must be non-political and non-violent in nature.
The Perot Museum is located at 2201 N. Field Street in Dallas. For rules, details, and visitor information, go to perotmuseum.org.
