Yokna Sculpture Trail

How to Apply

2025 Yokna Sculpture Trail

CALL TO ARTISTS FOR OUTDOOR SCULPTURE

All works must be original and completed by artists 18 and older.
Application Submission Deadline: Monday, January 21, 2025

Application Fee: No Entry Fee

About the Yokna Sculpture Trail

The City of Oxford, The University of Mississippi and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council announce the 2025 prospectus of the outdoor sculpture program throughout the area of Oxford, Mississippi. The collaborative program, called the Yokna Sculpture Trail, provides between 15 and 20 large-scale sculptures throughout the local campus and community. The program selects approximately half its exhibition annually which then rotates on a staggered two year exhibition schedule.
The 2025 call for entries welcomes submissions from locally, regionally and nationally exhibiting artists.
The sculptures selected for 2025 will be exhibited in four distinct locations throughout Oxford, MS from April 15, 2025 to March 1, 2027.

Exhibition locations:

Pat Lamar Park - Lamar Park is designed as an outdoor arboretum to be enjoyed for its greenery, lovely walking trails, garden features, and quiet lakes. The mission and use of the park is to enhance the lives of its patrons through quiet outdoor pursuits with focus on individual or family activities and enjoyment.

The park, which was once a golf course, is located within a short walking distance of the downtown Oxford Square and The University of Mississippi. This location provides nine of the pads for sculptures on the Yokna trail.

Powerhouse Sculpture Garden – This garden offers four large pads for outdoor sculpture. It is located just off the Square in downtown Oxford. The garden is positioned outside Oxford’s historic Powerhouse Community Arts Center which is home to the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. The Building was originally built in 1928 as the city’s main power supply until 1952 when TVA replaced it as the main source of power for the area. In 2008 the old power plant became the Powerhouse Community Arts Center, and it is now the home of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. It now serves as an integral venue for theater and art classes, performances, and community events.

UM Sculpture Park – This park is located in the heart of The University of Mississippi’s campus which is renowned for its beautifully landscaped gardens and greenery. The campus draws a student population of around 15,000 annually and continues to grow with each passing year. The campus site offers three sculpture pads in a large triangular shaped courtyard directly in front of Meek Hall which is home to the Department of Art and Art History.

The University of Mississippi Museum – The University of Mississippi Museum serves as a cultural and educational hub for the University and Oxford communities. It boasts collections that include Southern folk art, Greek and Roman antiquities, American fine art, 19th century scientific instruments, the Walton-Young Historic House and William Faulkner’s Rowan Oak. The museum site offers three sculpture pads located in front of the main museum complex at the western entrance to the University of Mississippi campus.

Selection Process

The selection committee is composed of representatives from The City of Oxford, The University of Mississippi, The University of Mississippi Museum and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. This committee will make exhibition selections from the submitted digital entries. The committee will also select the location for installation of each sculpture. Notifications of selected works will be emailed to all entrants by February 10, 2025.

Honorarium

Each artist whose work is selected and installed for the duration of the contract will receive a stipend of $2000 per sculpture to defer any travel and transportation costs for delivery and removal of the sculptures. $1000 will be given upon the successful delivery and installation of the sculpture to the selected site. $1000 will be given to the artist upon the successful removal of the sculpture from the site on the agreed upon and scheduled date. Artists are responsible for any removal and storage fees incurred after April 1, 2027. All travel, lodging and transportation arrangements are the responsibility of the artist.

Exhibition Guidelines

The Yokna Sculpture Trail submission process is open to artists 18 years of age or older who are legal residents of the United States. All applications must be received by the application deadline. Late or incomplete entries will not be considered. Sculptors may enter up to three existing works per year in their application. Three views of each work will be accepted. All works entered must have been created within the last five years or may be subject to omission from the selection process.

Approximately 8-10 works will be chosen for installation each year and will be exhibited at the discretion of the selection committee in The University of Mississippi Museum, Pat Lamar Park, the Powerhouse Sculpture Garden or UM Sculpture Park. The selected works must be able to be exhibited and remain on loan from the artist from April 15, 2025 through March 1, 2027. All selected works must be able to be on display for the duration of the exhibition without maintenance.

All accepted works must be suitable for outdoor installation and durable enough to withstand adverse weather conditions including high winds, extreme temperatures as well as rain, snow and ice storms.

All works must be professionally constructed of durable materials with no easily damaged elements and be suitable enough for exterior public display with no maintenance required during the exhibition period.

All of the Yokna Sculpture Trail sites are in moderate to heavy pedestrian traffic areas. Works submitted must take into account the safety of this pedestrian traffic. All works must be securely attached to a durable steel mounting plate in order for the piece to be bolted to a concrete slab.

Yokna Sculpture Trail is able to provide equipment and personnel for assistance in securing the works on each site. Specific installation dates will need to be arranged if a crane or lifting devise is needed for installation. Please note weather or not you will need a crane in the application process for each piece.

The City of Oxford, The University of Mississippi, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, The University of Mississippi Museum and the Yokna Sculpture Trail reserves the right to document all work submitted for educational and publicity purposes without additional compensation.

Shipping and Delivery

The Yokna Sculpture Trail exhibition will open to the public on April 15, 2025. Each artist is responsible for all shipping and delivery arrangements to and from the designated installation site within the scheduled installation dates and with approved appointments. Artists unable to meet the scheduled installation and removal requirements will not be considered. The artist is responsible for all additional costs incurred outside the Yokna Sculpture Trail’s scheduled installation or removal dates. Artists who are unable to install or remove their work within the scheduled dates are subject to omission from the exhibition or loss of the second installment of their honorarium.

All accepted artwork will be subject to inspection upon arrival for durability and security for the proposed installation site. Artwork that has been misrepresented in the application process, is deemed unsafe for the public, or reviewed as structurally unreliable will be withheld from the exhibition at Yokna Sculpture Trail’s discretion. Yokna Sculpture Trail will not be required to provide compensation if artworks are reviewed and then omitted from the exhibition at the time of arrival.

 Sales and Commission

Exhibited works may be for sale during the exhibition period, but the work must remain on site for the duration of the exhibition. Yoknapatawpha Arts Council will receive a 15% commission on any sales handled through the Yokna Sculpture Trail program. The artist will receive the remaining 85%.

Insurance

All Yokna Sculpture Trail sites maintain liability insurance for the public. The artist will accept all other responsibility of their artwork for loss, vandalism or damages incurred from weather, natural conditions, and acts of god. The artist may choose to provide their own insurance. Please provide certificate of insurance to the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council at the time of installation.

Commitment

Submission of a completed application to the Yokna Sculpture Trail establishes an agreement by the artist with all conditions outlined in the 2025 Yokna Sculpture Trail prospectus and contract. Substitutions for entries sold or committed prior to acceptance are not permitted.

Schedule

January 21, 2025 – Application Submission Deadline (No Fee $0)

February 10, 2025 – YST notice of acceptance to artists by email
February 17, 2025 – Artist’s deadline for acceptance of YST invitation by email

March 1 - April 15, 2025 – Installation of works contracted for 2025-2027 (by appointment only)

March 8 - March 20, 2025 – Tentative crane installation window. (by appointment only)

April 15, 2025 – March 1, 2027 – Exhibition Dates
Late April, 2025 – Tentative Yokna Sculpture Trail reception.

March 1 - April 1, 2027 – Removal of works contracted for 2025-2027 (by appointment only)

Entry Procedure

Artists may submit up to three completed outdoor sculptures per application with a total of three views per piece. All applications must be completed and received by midnight on the deadline date listed in the schedule. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. One application may be accepted per year even if artist is already exhibiting in a previous year’s exhibition. All images must be 300 DPI in resolution with the largest pixel number being 1024 for either length or width. All images must be saved as JPEGs. Image files should be labeled using the following structure and category key:

All image entries must be labeled as follows:

FIRST NAME_LAST NAME _ ENTRY NUMBER _TITLE.jpg

Entries that do not follow the image guidelines are subject to omission form consideration for the exhibition.

Questions

Any general questions regarding Yokna Sculpture Trail program should contact the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council at (662) 236-6429 or email yacdirector@gmail.com.

Additional questions regarding the Yokna Sculpture Trail’s application process or the installation and removal procedure should contact Durant Thompson at: durant@olemiss.edu.