Duke Engineering Mural RFP

Could your artwork inspire and empower the Duke Engineering community?

In 2021, Duke Engineering opened the doors of its new 150,000-square-foot Wilkinson Building, located at the heart of Duke University’s West Campus. The Wilkinson building’s five floors were designed to maximize collaboration. In three research “neighborhoods,” faculty and students tackle innovative projects focused on human health, the environment, and computing. Flexible teaching spaces and design labs offer students spaces in which to dream, design, and iterate as they devise solutions to real-life problems. Comfortable common areas and a coffee bar ensure that our engineering community feels at home, even as it strives to change the world. And on its ground level, there is a space devoted to entrepreneurship— where new, tech-driven startups are fostered and engineering students become lifelong innovators.

Art@DukeEngineering seeks proposals for a mural to be installed on a wall adjacent to the headquarters of Duke Engineering Entrepreneurship, or EnGen. The wall is approximately 30 feet wide by 9 ½ feet tall.

glass-walled entrepreneurship suite in the Wilkinson Building, with blank wall

The ideal proposal will seek to accomplish the following:

  • Increase Duke Engineering’s visibility through the acquisition and promotion of signature works of art that reinforce the identity of the school as a nexus of creativity and engineering knowledge.
  • Contribute to educating the “whole” engineer by fueling students’ curiosity and creativity.
  • Motivate and expand the horizons of students, visitors and Duke Engineering stakeholders.
  • Leverage art to activate the architectural space and create impactful first impressions of Duke Engineering.
  • Mirror the values embodied in Duke Engineering curricula and/or entrepreneurship programs: curiosity, innovation, resilience, impact, diversity, empathy and stewardship.

Here’s how:

Proposing your idea for a mural is easy. Simply fill out the short form below. If the work meets both the thematic and physical parameters of the identified space, a representative of Art@DukeEngineering will contact you for further discussion.

Thank you for your time!

Propose your idea

Deadline for proposals: Aug. 31, 2022