Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the fourteen cities selected as finalists for its 2018 Public Art Challenge.

More than two hundred cities applied to the program, which aims to foster creative collaboration, address civic issues, and support local economies through public art. Finalists include Camden, New Jersey, which proposed transforming lots currently used for illegal dumping along highways running through the city into spaces with arts programming; El Paso, Texas, which is seeking to develop a large-scale sound installation highlighting the connections between it and its sister city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on the other side of the Rio Grande; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, which hopes to create a public art project that celebrates the city's historic Greenwood district, home to dozens of thriving African-American businesses in the early years of the twentieth century that were later destroyed in one of the worst outbreaks of racial violence in the country's history.

Other finalists include Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Coral Springs, Florida; Holyoke, Massachusetts; Honolulu, Hawai'i; Jackson, Mississippi; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Santa Rosa, California; Seattle, Washington; and St. Louis, Missouri. 

Part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' American Cities Initiative, the Public Art Challenge will announce at least three winners in the fall, with the winning cities having two years in which to execute their plans. Grants will cover all expenditures related to the development, execution, and marketing of the projects, but will not fund 100 percent of total project costs.

"This year's applications reflect a diversity of creativity and exciting experimentation for the public to experience, and the willingness of civic leaders to embrace artists in addressing complex urban challenges." said Kate D. Levin, head of Bloomberg Philanthropies' arts team. "We are grateful to the cities that applied to this year's Public Art Challenge and look forward to learning more about our finalist projects."