The WM Indianapolis Recycling Facility, located on the southwest side of the City along Stout Field Road, is set to open in early 2026. It is one of several state-of-the-art recycling facilities WM is investing in to update and provide an opportunity to increase the amount of materials that can be recycled and reused in other packaging and products. WM is North America’s leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions — with the largest disposal network and collection fleet in North America.
The WM Indianapolis Recycling Facility will be capable of processing 200,000 tons of material a year, potentially giving materials a second life, and providing greater opportunity for local solutions for single stream recycling.
WM is seeking an artist to design and paint a mural that will visually represent the main drivers of sustainability:
- Material is repurposed
- Energy is renewable
- Communities are thriving
Themes of this mural are to showcase WM’s commitment to social impact, circularity of materials, the environment, and the local community. The mural will be displayed on the exterior wall of the education center that will be housed on the recycling facility’s grounds. It will serve as an entry point for external stakeholders and students in the area to learn more about the operations and sustainable practices showcased at the Indianapolis Recycling Facility through tours and presentations.
ARTIST FEE: $20K-$25K depending on the scope and detail of the completed work.
ELIGIBILITY: Artists age 18+ and currently living in Marion County, Indiana
DEADLINE TO APPLY: November 21, 12:00 noon
The dimensions of the available facade space are roughly 20’ wide x 16’ tall (west facing side) and 25’ wide by 16’ tall (south facing side). Estimated dimensions of final mural: 16’ wide X 12’ tall (west side) and 21’ wide x 12’ tall (south side).
SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA
Artist will be selected based on following criteria:
1. The strength and taste of the applicant’s previously completed work.
2. The applicant’s demonstrated interest and approach to showcasing WM’s commitment to our drivers of sustainability within their letter of interest.
3. Completion of all requested information.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
- Contact information:
- General contact information: home or studio address, county of residence, phone, email
- Social Media handles (if applicable)
- Letter of Interest, including but not limited to, describing why they are interested in creating original artwork for the
project’s intended purpose and their approach to showcasing WM’s sustainability themes via public art. - Brief Biography, describing the artist’s personal interests and artist statement or mission
- Estimated Timeline the artist proposes they can begin and finish painting the designed mural
- Current Artist’s Portfolio via a link WM can access, to review previous work. Artist must provide a minimum of 5 examples of prior completed works in the form of a virtual link. Artist can host their images on sharable Google drive, artist’s webpage, or other image hosting platform.
HOW TO APPLY
Artist is directed to submit the above information via the link here: WM Indianapolis Recycling Facility Muralist Application .
QUESTIONS? Contact Ginny Zimmerman, vzimmerm@wm.com