Call for Artists: Maryland Department of Agriculture Salisbury Animal Health Lab

This call to artists, seeks to commission either a two or three dimensional original and unique public artwork for the new Salisbury Animal Health Laboratory. An all inclusive total budget of $70,000 has been identified for this opportunity.

Maryland Department of Agriculture & The Salisbury Animal Health Lab
The Maryland Department of Agriculture's (MDA) Animal Health Program prevents and controls infections and contagious diseases in Maryland livestock and poultry. The MDA works closely with state and federal counterparts, as well as private and commercial veterinarians, to protect Maryland’s agriculture industry against infectious diseases that threaten public health, endanger food supplies, or threaten the economic security of the animal industries.

The Salisbury Animal Health Lab plays a key role in the agriculture industry on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The new lab building will replace the department's original lab that was built in 1953, and has been in need of major renovation.

Specializing in poultry disease, the new Salisbury Lab will play a critical role in regional efforts to safeguard the health of millions of birds on the Delmarva peninsula. At nearly 20,000 sq. feet, the new lab will provide larger work areas, public meeting and training spaces, and a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory for advanced diagnostic work. The Lab had been designed with energy efficiency in mind and will be a certified LEED Silver building when completed.

The Lab will be frequently visited by local farmers and those in the poultry industry delivering samples for testing. In addition to serving the poultry industry, the lab also provides veterinary services to regional facilities such as the Salisbury Zoo.

Artwork Locations
The facility has two proposed publicly accessible artwork locations for either the exterior or interior of the Lab complex.

The exterior site is located within a landscaped median or “turn around” outside of the front building entrance. The location would lend itself to a free standing three-dimensional artwork. A conduit has been run to this site to accommodate power for lighting.

The interior location is a long wall within a large conference room. The wall will be viewable from the Lobby through a glass curtain wall and visible to all employees and visitors. The conference room will be used regularly for public meetings, convenings of the agriculture industry and other uses.

For either the interior or exterior sites, the artwork will be seen by all employees and visitors entering and exiting the building. The exterior location will also be visible to those driving by on Nanticoke Road in west Salisbury, Maryland.

The scope and location of the artwork will be proposed by selected semi-finalists in their concept proposal submission. No artwork proposals are submitted at this time. Please reference the Attachments for the architectural plans and renderings.

Visit https://msac.org/programs/public-art/artwork-commissions for more information.