Sculpture Artist Application

Juried Open Call for

American Indian and First Nations

Sculpture Artists Application

THIS APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY
November 4, 2026 by 9pm AZ MST.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Heard Museum is launching an open call for American Indian and First Nations sculpture artists in the United States and Canada that will be juried by a committee. The selected artist will be asked to create a sculpture that honors the annual Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest. The sculpture will be installed outside on the museum's campus in Phoenix, Arizona.

This open call application is for artists to submit their portfolios and examples of their previous sculpture work to be considered. Do not submit ideas or concepts for the sculpture yet. Three semi-finalists will be selected from this application, and they will be asked to draft concepts for the committee to select from.

The 3 semi-finalist Artists selected will receive a $2,000 honorarium.

The final Artist Selected will have a project budget of $100,000.

This will be awarded in 3 separate installments based on the artist's submitted budget.
The final installment will be upon delivery of the sculpture to the Heard Museum in December 2027.
A minimum of 50% of the project budget must go towards all fabrication costs.

The 3 semi-finalist artists will be asked to draft their sculpture concept, create a budget, and then present their sculpture concept and budget to the juried committee through a Zoom Call. For those who do not have access to Zoom, another option will be discussed with the artist.

The finished sculpture must be one-of-a-kind and a minimum of 5 feet in its largest dimension.

During the process of creating the sculpture, there will be a minimum of one mutually agreed upon studio visit.

The Heard Museum will pour a custom concrete base for the sculpture, so the selected artist does not need to consider that cost for their budget.

The sculpture will be installed outside, so it must be able to withstand the intense temperatures and climate of Phoenix, Arizona. Annually, there is extreme temperatures exceeding 100°F (~38°C), intense and prolonged direct sun exposure, seasonal monsoons, dust storms, and peak wind speeds.

A physical application can be provided upon request. It may be returned to:

Attn: Sculpture Call
Heard Museum
2301 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

TIMELINE

November 4, 2026	Application Closes
November 2026	Committee reviews applications
Beginning of December 2026	3 Semi-finalists are notified
December 2026 - January 2027	Semi-finalists draft concepts for their sculpture
February 2027 - weeks 1-3	Semi-finalists meet with committee to present their concepts
February 2027 - week 4	Finalist is notified
March 2027 - October 2027 (8 months)	Selected artist creates their sculpture
November 2027	Sculpture is shipped to museum
early December 2027	Completed sculpture at museum

Questions? Email ArtCall@heard.org or call (602)251-0210

Office Hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm AZ MST

Contact Information

A confirmation email will be sent to the email address that you provide below.

List your name as you want it to appear on any materials, including future labels and press.

First Name

Last Name

Mailing Address:

City:

State or Province:

Zip/Postal Code:

Country:

Email:

example@example.com

Preferred phone number to contact you:

Area CodePhone Number

Eligibility

The Heard Museum complies with the requirements of the Indian Arts & Crafts Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-644) which makes it illegal to market an art or craft item in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian-produced. Under the Act, an Indian is defined as a member of any federally or officially State recognized Indian tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian by an Indian Tribe. For information, visit www.doi.gov/iacb/act

Applicants from the United States must submit a copy of their tribal enrollment form or Artisan Letter from a Federally or officially State recognized tribe with this application. Applicants from Canada must provide a copy of a Canadian Indian Status Card.

Tribal Affiliation(s):

Tribal Enrollment Number

Upload your Tribal Documentation here:

OR you may email Tribal Documentation to ArtCall@heard.org OR mail a copy to the below address. Document will not be returned so please make sure it is a copy and not the original document.

Attn: Sculpture Call

Heard Museum

2301 N. Central Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85004

INSTEAD of uploading my Tribal Documentation, I will submit the file separately.

CV or Resume

Please upload your CV or Resume below. You may also submit the file by email to ArtCall@heard.org OR mail a copy. Label the email title with your name and "Heard Sculpture Call."

Upload CV or Resume

INSTEAD of uploading my CV or Resume, I will submit the file separately.

Medium

Do you have experience creating outdoor sculptures?

Select the mediums or materials you primarily use to create your sculpture artwork.

If you would like to elaborate on the materials you use, please use the description box:

Links to your website and social media pages that relate to your artwork portfolio (optional):

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Other Social Media Page

Digital Images

ALL APPLICANTS must submit 6 images of artwork with up to a maximum of 10 images.

6 of the images must be of separate works. Any extra images may be of additional separate works or close-ups of one of them.
It is preferred the image files uploaded below do not exceed 10 MB (10,000 KB) each.
You may also submit your images by email to ArtCall@heard.org OR by mailing a CD or flash drive containing the images. Label the email title, CD, or flash drive with your name and "Heard Sculpture Call." Include a copy of the same information about your artwork as requested below. CDs and flash drives will not be returned.

INSTEAD of uploading my images below, I will submit the images separately.

IMAGE # 1 INFO

TITLE