A $60,000 contract for a new mural on a ground storage water tank in downtown Ocala will come up for a final vote during Tuesday’s meeting of the Ocala City Council.
The contract with Stanley Creative, LLC, for the mural at the water tank located at SE 3rd Avenue and SE 5th Street in downtown Ocala will be decided by the council as part of its consent agenda on Tuesday, November 19.
Consent agenda items are enacted with one vote.
The contract is 56 days in length with a five-year “artist warranty.” In total, the artist will be compensated with an “amount not to exceed $60,000.”
In total, the city says the water tank cleaning and new mural cost $80,000. Approximately $50,000 of the cost will be funded through the city’s general fund.
The other $30,000 will be funded by two organizations: Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation and Fine Arts for Ocala.
Both organizations gave $15,000 in grants for the project.
The previous mural, Natural Flow, was removed from the structure in the days leading up to the Ocala Arts Festival. That mural was painted in 2016 by Eduardo Mendieta.
It was deaccessioned in August by the Ocala Municipal Arts Commission after the group determined it would be too costly to repair or repaint the artwork.
Shortly after Natural Flow was deaccessioned, Ocala Cultural Arts issued an open call for artists to create a new “flora and fauna” themed mural to cover the entire tank, which holds a million gallons of the city of Ocala’s drinking water.
During that open call, a jury of eight individuals representing each partnering organization behind the project participated in selecting the muralist for the project.
Out of 65 qualifying applications, that group selected Stanley Creative, LLC, which is owned and operated by husband and wife Christian and Jessica Stanley, for the artist’s overall score, theme of native Marion County wildlife, and experience working on large mural projects.
Stanley and his wife, Jessica, met in 2017 and formed C. Stanley Creative shortly thereafter. The couple has painted dozens of murals across the United States, including many in Central Florida.
Last month, the city unveiled the new mural design for the water tank.
During the unveiling ceremony, local residents and city officials used ceremonial paintbrushes to splash a community canvas and symbolize the start of the project.
A budget submitted by the artist shows an “artist production fee” of $29,153.59 and an “artist assistant fee” of $15,000. The “artist fee” incorporates “business expenses including insurance, meetings, and any public presentations,” according to the budget.
The budget also calls for just under $4,000 in equipment rentals, over $5,000 in paint and supplies, and $1,000 as a “pressure washing fee.”
Additionally, the contract calls for $4,480 for 28 nights of lodging and $1,000 for four weeks of meals.
The Ocala City Council regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at Ocala City Hall (110 SE Watula Avenue).
