In an effort to find an artist for King Memorial Commons, NIU is sponsoring a nationwide sculpture contest.

Anyone who is a resident of the United States can enter the contest, said NIU Art Museum Director Lynda Martin.

“The panel will try to choose the sculpture that best represents Martin Luther King Jr.‘s contribution to the civil right’s struggle, ” Martin said.

The competiton will be announced in magazines, museums, art galleries, studios, professional journals and universities, said Eddie Williams, vice president of finance and planning.

The sculptures can be of anything and can be abstract, impressionistic, representational or architectural, Martin said.

“The only requirement is that the sculpture have fairly low maintenance and that it be permanent,” Martin said.

Williams said there is a committee, consisting of five faculty and five students, established for judging the competition.

The committee will choose up to five finalists based on prior works of the artists, Martin said.

The artists need to send in slides of their previous works to show they are capable of creating large sculptures. They should have made at least five large sculptures in the past, Martin said.

It is important for the sculptor to have some experience. “This is not amateur hour,” Williams said.

Once the finalists are chosen, they will visit the campus to look at the site. They will then receive a designer’s fee to create a small model of their sculpture, Martin said.

The models will be put on exhibit at NIU from February to March along with the artists’ drawings of the sculpture and pictures of their previous work.

The winner will be chosen by prominent outside sources. The committee for the final project has not yet been chosen, Martin said.

Williams said the winner will receive $75,000 for the piece. “We’ll get some really nice competition,” he said.

The sculpture might be installed by September, 1991.