Entry Deadline: June 3, 2024 to allow for time to install before the De Soto Days festival (held Labor Day weekend).

Installation Window: before August 23, 2024

Elgibility: Regional artists are given preference

Images/ Minimum: 2

Call Type: Public Art, outdoor sculpture

Committee Chair: Diana Zwahlen

One outdoor art sculpture will be selected and placed at locations agreed upon by the De Soto Arts Council (DAC) and the De Soto City Council.

The sculpture will be on loan to the city for a stipend amount of $2,000, payable to the artist for a 1-year lease with consideration for possible purchase by the city at the end of 1 year at a predetermined amount.

Submissions will be reviewed by both the DAC and City Council for final selection.

Artists must sign a loan agreement in which they agree to:
1) Permit the City to install the artwork
2) Promise that the artwork will remain on display for the duration of the exhibit, and
3) recognize that in the interest of public safety and community priority, if damaged, the city has the right to remove damaged sculpture unless promptly and satisfactorily repaired by the artist. Work will be insured by the city against property loss up to a maximum of $5,000. The governing body shall direct the City Attorney to commence negotiations with the artist(s) or agent to agree on contract terms for loan of the public art display. The City Attorney shall draft and issue the contract.

A jurying committee of local artists and citizens will make selections based on the following criteria:

• Special attention will be given to artwork that generates a sense of community history.

• However, sculptures will be considered which exhibit other artistic merit.

• Sculptures must be suitable for long-term, year-round display.

• Sculptures should be as vandal proof as possible and safe to the public.

• The sculpture must be considerable in scale as many sites are viewed from a distance.

• One outdoor art sculpture will be selected and placed at a location agreed upon by the De Soto Arts Council (DAC) and the De Soto City Council.

• The durability and size of the piece will be a consideration for selection.

• Sculptures must be capable of being properly secured to the ground or concrete.

• Preference will be given to works fabricated within the past 3 years.

• Local artists are encouraged to submit.

• Each artist may submit up to 6 sculptures for consideration and must include 2 images of each work. Please label each view with the name of the sculpture. Please email photo files to desotoartsks@gmail.com.

• All entries must be original work. Please include dimensions of each project submitted as well as the materials used.

• An entry fee of $10 per submission is required.

• Open to all artists 18 years of age or older.

• All entries must be original work.

• Delivery and Return of Selected Artwork is the artist’s responsibility.

• Submissions currently accepted. Deadline is June 3, 2024.

• Sculpture to be installed before August 23, 2024 to be in place before the De Soto Days festival held Labor Day weekend.

• Register and pay online using the form below.

• Call 913-349-2250 with any questions or email us.

History of De Soto’s Founding

De Soto was founded in 1857 on the south bank of the Kansas River. The surrounding country was a rolling, partially timbered, fertile prairie.

Great herds of buffalo grazed contentedly. If you visited in the 1800s, you would likely have arrived by foot, stagecoach, boat or horse-drawn ferry.

A large part of the land was inhabited by the Shawnee Indians prior to the development and De Soto, and the area was considered quite the trading post.

The railroad eventually came through and brought the town into being. The rich, fertile prairie land provided space for abundant wheat fields and massive pumpkin fields in the bottom lands.

The Sunflower Army Ammunition plant was constructed nearby after the attack on Pearl Harbor pushed the United States into World War II. It was the largest ammunition plant in the world during operation, and it made De Soto a boom town. When the plant closed, De Soto took on a new identity as peaceful, small town.

Current Happenings in De Soto

Today, De Soto is one of the fastest growing communities in Johnson County. Last year, with the annexation of Sunflower Ammunition Plant, the city doubled in size. It will soon be home to the massive Panasonic Plant and others.

The riverside that once bustled with ferries transporting people and crops is now home to Riverside Park where people come to enjoy summer concerts, celebrate Independence Day and enjoy the great outdoors.

Homes old and new populate the area and we are once again on the edge of becoming a boom town.

The De Soto Arts Council and the City of De Soto are excited to embark upon the THIRD iteration of the Rotating Public Art Program.

The City and DAC will select one sculptural/three-dimensional public work of art, considering a variety of styles, materials, and approaches.

This opportunity seeks both existing and loaned artworks, as well as proposals for new commissioned, site-responsive artworks from a diverse pool of professional artists/artist teams.  

This opportunity is open to all artists artists/artist teams but preference given to local artists. All artworks (both loaned and commissioned) will be exhibited for a 12-month period.

Artists will receive an honorarium of $2,000 for existing loaned artworks. A predetermined amount will be negotiated should the artwork be selected for permanent purchase.

Artworks to be installed at various locations throughout the City.