CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati announces an open call for artists to submit applications to design and build an outdoor public memorial to honor civil rights icon and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The memorial will be located at the northeast corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive East and Reading Road in Uptown’s Avondale neighborhood. City council passed an ordinance approving $1 million for the project in May.

“We are proud to announce this project as a lasting way to honor Dr. King and to highlight his significant connection to Cincinnati,” said City Manager Paula Boggs Muething.  “His local ties included a partnership with Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, pastor of Revelation Baptist Church. Together, Dr. King, Rev. Shuttlesworth and others formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 to better coordinate civil rights protest activities across the South.” 

The application requires artists, individually or as a team, to submit details about their qualifications in a formal RFQ. The deadline to submit the RFQ is Thursday, Oct. 14.

An evaluation committee will narrow the list to a select number of artists or teams who will develop design proposals with public input. The short list of applicants is expected to be announced in mid-December. The finalist is expected to be announced in early May 2022.

The memorial is slated for completion and a public dedication in August 2023 to coincide with the 60th anniversary of King’s “Dream” speech.

Read highlights of the project and following the link to the RFQ.