Jobs

RFQ: Create Birmingham

Listing Start Date: May 7, 2025Expires: May 30, 2025n

Request for Proposals 

Deadline: May 30th, 2025 

Project dates: Open to discussion and weather-dependent (outdoors) 

Location: An African Village in America Birmingham, AL  

Scope of Services:  

An African Village is America by Joe Minter (1943-) is considered the last true yard show, a primarily Southern Black American cultural and artistic expression that created art environments from found and repurposed materials. Regarded as Minter’s magnum opus, the Village has been growing and evolving since the late 1980s on Minter’s Titusville property, which Mr. Minter still occupies. The overriding message of the work is to provide recognition for the 388,000 enslaved Africans shipped to America and their descendants, some of whom are buried in the historic cemetery that abuts the Village. Other themes addressed are prayers of solidarity, hope for the future, recognition of tragedies such as the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, and Hurricane Katrina.  

Create Birmingham, a local arts non-profit organization, is working with Mr. Minter to define the future of the site, including its legal status and a preservation plan through a Mellon Foundation grant. The first step in this plan is to complete a condition assessment of the entire site, and each artwork within the site. Mr. Minter will be present to provide additional guidance and context about his work. The site is entirely outdoors and expansive, approximately ½ acre property (see the included Google Map link to get some visual sense of the scale).  

The selected conservator will:  

  1. Meet with the team at Create Birmingham and LaStarsha McGarity to determine the best dates to complete on-site work.  

  1. Visit An African Village in America for at least two days. 

  1. Develop a condition assessment of the site.  

  1. Provide overall treatment recommendations for the site. 

  1. Deliver a final report that includes a hard and digital copy of the assessment, all photodocumentation, and treatment recommendations. 

Project Timeline:  

Proposal deadline: May 30th, 2025 11:59pm CST 

Selection and Notification:  June 9th, 2025 

Initial Meeting with Create Birmingham: June 2025 

Initial visit: Negotiable  

Scope of Services Complete: January 2026 

Proposal Contents: 

Conservators interested in submitting a proposal should include the following information in an email with the Subject Line: African Village Conservator to Imani Richardson at [email protected] and cc LaStarsha McGarity at [email protected]. 

  1. Letter of interest (1 page)  

  1. Proposed project calendar based on the provided timeline above. 

  1. Resume of lead/ primary conservator. 

  1. A budget for the services including all associated costs.  

Submissions can be in PDF or Word Document format.  

Questions: 

Please contact LaStarsha McGarity, Conservator and Co-Director of the Tuskegee University Legacy Museum, via email at [email protected] or Imani Richardson at [email protected]. 

 

Links to additional information:  

Article about Joe’s working practice:  

https://wbhm.org/2024/from-scrap-to-sculpture-joe-minters-art-reflects-birminghams-pain-and-joy/ 

Google Maps: 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bG6bii2pdtEYTYXz7 

Create Birmingham:  

https://createbirmingham.org/about/