Applications Coming In For Mural At Burnsville's New Fire Station

BURNSVILLE,MN— Applications have been coming in for the mural that has been commissioned for Burnsville's newest fire station.

The new fire station will be located near Rose Park, which is less than 1.5 miles from the current station, located at West 140th Street. The current station will remain open until the new station is ready, and the city is still discussing what to do with the current station once the new station opens.

The selection committee has already received a few applications, according to the owner of Mueller Studio, Greg Mueller.

Mueller Studio, located in Lutsen, Minnesota has paired up with the city to search for an artist or team of artists to paint the mural at the fire station. Artists have until March 15 to apply.

Applicants must submit five images of previous mural work, a resume of the lead artist, a “first draft” drawing which illustrates general ideas of the applicant's idea for the mural, and a one page letter of interest.

The committee will begin reviewing the applications on March 15 and two finalists will be selected by the end of March. They will be awarded $500 to modify their preliminary drawings for a Zoom interview presentation.

A final decision is expected to made in late April.

Mueller said a mural group from Minneapolis has seemed quite interested in the project.

“They’ve had experience with murals, they’ve even done some work with some of the George Floyd art that was done in Minneapolis a while ago,” Mueller said.

However, artists from Burnsville are highly encouraged to apply as well.

Mueller told Patch that he will be looking for a few things when reviewing applications. He would like the ideal candidate to have experience with murals, the ability to come up with unique concepts, willingness to work collaboratively, and knowledge of painting on different outdoor surfaces.

The space that the artists will have to work with is 27 feet wide and 11 feet tall, but not all the space needs to be used, Mueller told Patch.

“Not every inch has to be covered,” Mueller said. “It doesn’t have to be rectangular at all, that is just the footprint to work in. It could be very organic and borderless.”

Despite living in Lutsen, nearly five hours from Burnsville, Mueller told Patch he hopes to visit once a month. As of right now, he is doing many Zoom meetings to work out structural details, but has been down to the Twin Cities quite a few times already.

The mural would ideally represent the community-drivenness of the firefighters that work at the station, Mueller told Patch.

“Some of the content we’re looking for is a mural that has contemporary energy to it but also addresses ideas like sacrifice, bravery, trust, dedication, hope, camaraderie, and education,” Mueller said. “The fire department is very educational, and we want to make sure the City of Burnsville knows what the fire department does and how they’re trying to proactively trying to keep the city safe.”