Seaport Art Walk 2025: Revolution/Evolution

Overview
The Seaport Art Walk is an annual outdoor public art exhibition that takes place along the waterfront and in the Seaport Cultural District in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This year, artists are invited to submit a proposal for a new or existing outdoor temporary sculpture or mural, or digital photography of other genres of work, inspired by the theme “Revolution/Evolution.” This is a juried show, with reviewers from the partnerships listed below.

New Artwork: Call for Art Proposals (receive up to $2,500 in funding per artwork)
 Artists may submit up to three (3) proposals and need to include the following materials:

• Basic information: include your name, phone, email, website or social media, title of project, narrative description of the project addressing the theme (see below for more details), and anticipated dimensions of the artwork.
• Schematic design: address how your artwork will sustain the high winds and high traffic area along the waterfront (for those submitting mural proposals, refer to the approved locations below).
• Schedule of maintenance: address how your artwork will be maintained in pristine condition for a minimum of four months in a high wind, high traffic area.
• Budget: include cost of estimated fabrication, construction, and installation/de-installation, as well as total cost of value and/or sale price.
• Artist credentials: include resume/CV (required) and artist statement (optional).
• Past work: upload at least three (3) images (best to include past public art).

Existing Artwork: Call for Art Proposals (receive up to $1,000 in funding per artwork)
 Artists may submit up to three (3) proposals and need to include the following materials:

• Basic information: include your name, phone, email, website or social media, title of project, narrative description of the project addressing the theme (see below for more details), and dimensions of the artwork.
• Photos of proposed work: upload up to three (3) images (best to include different angles if possible).
• Schedule of maintenance: address how your artwork will be maintained in pristine condition for a minimum of four months in a high wind, high traffic area.
• Budget: include cost of installation/de-installation, as well as total cost of value and/or sale price.
• Artist credentials: include resume/CV (required) and artist statement (optional).

Featured Digital Photography: Call for Art Proposals (receive up to $250 in funding)
 Artists may submit up to three (3) digital photographs of artwork, and need to include the following additional materials:

• Basic information: include your name, phone, email, website or social media, New Bedford address, title of project, narrative description of the project addressing the theme (see below for more details), and medium of the original form of artwork. 
• Artist credentials: include resume/CV (required) and artist statement (optional).
• Photographs: upload a minimum of three and up to six photos with a minimum resolution of 3300 x 5100 at 72ppi.

Deadline: Proposals are due Sunday, February 23, 2025 by 11:59PM EST.

Timeline

• Deadline for proposals: February 23, 2025
• Artist notifications sent: March 21, 2025
• Installation dates: June 23–July 2, 2025, coordinated with Jessica Bregoli-Sparling, curator
• Exhibition dates: official opening is Thursday, July 10, through October 31, 2025. If accepted, please save 5-8pm on 7/10/25 to participate in a walking tour on AHA! Night.
• Take-down dates (responsibility of artists): October 27–31, 2025, to be coordinated with Zane Cox, project manager.

Total Project Award

• Artist stipend for new outdoor artwork is up to $2,500 per artwork. Artist stipend for existing outdoor work is up to $1,000 per artwork. Artist stipend for featured digital photography is up to $250. Insurance is not provided.
• Invitation to present your art on the official opening night on AHA!, the evening of Thursday, July 10, 2025.
• All winning projects will be featured in print and online media, and a profile piece featured on social media platforms, including New Bedford Creative.

For examples of work from previous years and locations where artwork is usually installed, please visit newbedfordcreative.org/seaport-art-walk.

2025 Theme: “Revolution/Evolution”
 New Bedford’s evolution is a powerful narrative of revolution and innovation—rooted first in the ingenuity of the Wampanoag peoples who thrived here long before colonization, pioneering sustainable fishing, agriculture, and land stewardship. From its founding role in the nation to its impact on whaling, textile advancements, and social justice, New Bedford has continued to shape industry, arts, civil rights, finance, and science. Figures like Massasoit Ousamequin, Martha Bailey Briggs, Paul Cuffe, Eliza Bierstadt, Cecil Clark Davis, Mary “Polly” Johnson, Frederick Douglass, Hetty Green, William H. Carney, Henry Martyn Robert, and countless others have left enduring legacies, with innovations spanning from Lewis Temple’s toggle harpoon to Robert’s Rules of Order and pivotal contributions to the Underground Railroad.

In 2025, we invite artists to creatively interpret the many revolutionary ideas, people, and moments that have shaped the unceded lands of New Bedford and the region into what they are today. Tying into MA250, celebrating the birthplace of Liberty, we are most interested in receiving proposals with a special focus on untold stories of the Black and African diaspora whose historic network to freedom saved countless lives, the Indigenous populations who have served as stewards and interpreters of the land for millennia, and other underrepresented communities who have played a vital role in New Bedford’s cultural tapestry.

Artists are encouraged to put their own spin on these two ideas – revolution, a rapid transformation, and evolution, a gradual development – and to examine the juxtaposition between them. This year’s featured works will carefully consider both sides of the theme, contributing to the ever-evolving story of New Bedford.

History
Founded in 2013 by artist and curator Jessica Bregoli-Sparling, the Seaport Art Walk is the city’s first large format outdoor temporary public art installation. Each summer, sculptures and murals are strategically placed along New Bedford’s working waterfront and Seaport Cultural District. 

Seaport Art Walk is facilitated by New Bedford Creative, housed at the New Bedford  Economic Development Council, and a collaboration with the New Bedford Creative  Consortium, the City of New Bedford’s Parks, Recreation and Beaches and Tourism and Marketing Departments, Massachusetts Design, Art, and Technology Institute (DATMA), New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, UMass Dartmouth College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and Bristol Community College (BCC) Visual and Performing Arts Department. 

This program is supported in part by a grant from the New Bedford Cultural Council, a local  agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, as well as the City of New Bedford’s Arts, Culture and Tourism Fund, with additional support from Bristol County Savings Bank and Barr Foundation.