Artist Sought To Paint Wall Mural At Planned Bark Social Dog Park In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Bark Social seeks an artist to help create a large-scale painted mural on a wall outside their planned Columbia dog park.

All artists are invited to apply for the role and if chosen, will receive a stipend, an annual membership with Bark Social, a swag package from Bark Social and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Bark Social will open in the spring or summer of 2024 with 25,000 square feet overall, with the indoor area and covered patio totaling about 5,000 square feet. They're hoping to find an artist who can "evoke our purpose - Unleash Joy - in the piece," Bark Social founder and CEO Luke Silverman told Patch.

Silverman told Patch that they hope the artist can communicate Bark Social's qualities:

• Love: Like you, we are gifted with heroic levels of dog-love. We honor the values dogs teach us.
• Connection: If you love dogs, you belong here. Your people are here.
• Respect: We welcome everyone to come as they are. Please…be yourself.
• Kindness: Our community is kind and friendly. In fact, we consider it a cost of entry.
• Comfort: This is a safe and comfortable place for dogs (and humans). Relax and enjoy. We will do the rest.
• Humor: Dogs remind us to loosen up, play, be silly, and have a laugh with our neighbor.

"We're looking for an art piece that is more abstract than realistic, that captures the joy that Bark Social brings to the world. Show us what you're made of Maryland," Silverman said.

The Columbia location will be next to Merriweather Post Pavilion and offer two-legged customers a beer wall and bar, Adirondack chairs and a covered patio, plus a retail area called Frankie's House. Four-legged customers will appreciate the expansive turf to play on as well as dog-friendly snacks at the cafe.

The dog bar will offer a "clean, monitored and gated dog park that serves coffee and breakfast items in the morning and beer, wine and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and lunch items in the afternoon and evening." They also will serve dog treats like doggy ice cream, pupsicles, etc.

"We love to offer events and happenings that humans like to do, but at Bark Social we offer those everyday things to be done with your furry friend. We host a variety of events, such as trivia nights, movie nights, drag events, game watch parties, breed meetups, paint-your-pup and Puppcaso nights, plus so much more," Silverman said.

Artistic work should be submitted by the end of August to info@barksocial.com. Silverman said artists should use the following PMS as their main colors in the art piece:

• PMS: 3252 C / 3252 U
• PMS: 3945 C / 3945 U
• PMS: 806 C / 806 U
• PMS: 3395 C / 3395 U
• PMS: 2592 C / 2592 U
• PMS: 375 C / 375 U
• PMS: 627 C / 627 U

"We would like to see the above as the main elements of the art piece, but more color is welcome. The final mural will be 63 feet, 4 inches long by 10 feet high, so please submit your digital artwork with those ratios in mind," Silverman said. "The final artwork will be painted on brick.

For more information, check Bark Social's website at https://barksocial.com/blogs/news/mural-project.