As much as £100,000 could be spent funding artists, designers and arts organisations to add a splash of colour to Aberdeen’s physical distancing measures.
The council is offering three commissions for temporary art installations to go alongside the timber pavement extensions, cones and barriers.
Work in Union Street could be worth up to £50,000, while projects in the West End or Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate could pay as much as £25,000.
Artists with previous experience in large scale installations or street art and murals are to be sought out for the project.
The cost of the work would be covered by the Spaces For People scheme, a ring-fenced £1.76 million Scottish Government grant to create space for physical distancing.
Artists could take up work by August 3 and will be given only weeks to complete the job.
Council transport spokeswoman Sandra Macdonald said: “In addition to the pavement extension benches and planters full of flowers, the art installations will help make the new pedestrianised areas more attractive when people come into the city centre for shopping and leisure.
“We know from projects such as Nuart, Look Again and Spectra, how much residents and visitors enjoy public art, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing the proposals that come forward from our arts community to help make the city a vibrant and brighter place to live in and visit.”