Call Detail
City of Denver: Parkfield Lake Park
Entry Deadline: 6/8/12
Application Closed
Work Sample Requirements Images:8

Call Type: Unspecified
Eligibility: Unspecified
State: Unspecified

Arts & Venues Denver is seeking an artist, or artist team, for a site-specific public art commission for the third phase of improvements at Parkfield Lake Park. This commission is open to Colorado artists/artist teams working in all media. Estimated budget for artwork is $70,000. The park is adjacent to the heavily used Montbello Recreation Center, which provides lighted, multipurpose soccer and football fields, baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, playground, an urban skate plaza, splash pool and other facility improvements. The park was designed to comply with the City’s Executive Order 123, which mandates sustainable or “green” building practices in all publicly funded projects.

Montbello is one of Denver’s largest neighborhoods, located in northeast Denver. Development began in 1966 and continues to grow to this day with new subdivisions including Parkfield and Deer Trail. Parkfield Lake Park is a regional park and will serve the neighborhoods of Montbello and Green Valley Ranch, as well as fulfill a citywide park function. Adjacent to the park boundaries is an elementary and middle school.

Art Opportunities and Locations
Art & Venues Denver is seeking artists working in any medium, including sound, earthen works and interactive sculpture, for an original, site specific artwork. The selected artist will be working with the design team to incorporate artwork at the primary site next to the splash pool where children can dry off while interacting with the artwork. This site has water and electricity available to the artist(s). The south facade of the recreation center is also a possibility for murals our sculptural elements.

The commissioned artist, or artist team, will be encouraged to host a community workshop or demonstration in conjunction with the commissioned artwork at the Montbello Recreation Center.

Applying for these opportunities
In response to this RFQ, applicants will be asked to submit eight digital images, a résumé, and a statement of interest of no longer than 2000 characters via www.callforentry.org (CaFÉ™). From these applications, the selection panel will choose one to three semi-finalists who will be invited to interview with the panel. If a formal proposal is requested, the artist will be provided a $500 honorarium to prepare and present the proposal in person. Semi-finalists will be expected to pay for travel expenses from the honorarium. From the interview or proposal, artists will be selected for this commission.

Please visit www.denvergov/publicart for examples of recent commissions.

Can a team apply?
Applicant(s) may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaboration. In the case of teams, please submit a single résumé for the whole team (see details below).

Selected artists for the commission will collaborate with the Public Art Program staff and the design team for Parkfield Lake Park when finalizing their designs for installation.

Budget
The budget for this commission is approximately $70,000 USD which will be allocated to the artists/team selected by the selection panel. This contract amount is inclusive of all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to, the artist’s design fee, other consultation fees such as structural engineering consultation, insurance-including Colorado Workers Compensation, small tools, materials, fabrication, transportation and installation, including any building or site modification required, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, contingency to cover unexpected expenses and any other costs. For all work done on City property, prevailing wage requirements will be applied.

Tentative Time Line
(Except for online application deadline, timeline is subject to adjustments):
Thursday, May 24th 5:00 p.m. MDT Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system)
June 2012 Semi-Finalist Selection
July 2012 Finalist Selection
August 2012 Finalist Notification

Pre-Submission Meeting
Additional information about the Parkfield Lake Park project and application procedures will be provided during a pre-submission meeting on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 1:00 - 2:00pm. at the Parkfield Park. Please RSVP by emailing amanda.renaud@denvergov.org if you are interested in attending this meeting. If you are unable to attend this meeting, please direct all questions about the project to the Public Art Staff (email Amanda Renaud directly--do not call architects, please). Arts & Venues Denver will be continually updating information about this project and the pre-submission meeting on the website: www.denvergov.org/publicart.

Eligibility
This project is open to artists who currently live and work in Colorado, regardless of race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation or mental or physical handicap. Artists working in any media are eligible to apply. Artists are not required to have previous experience in public art. Emerging artists are encouraged to apply for this commission.

Maintenance and Durability
All applicants are expected to consider the issues of long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, along with time and budget. Public art projects are in the public realm and may therefore be exposed to weather, physical stresses and subject to vandalism. Public art projects should be fabricated of highly durable, low-maintenance materials. Semi-finalists are encouraged to consult with a professional conservator prior to the submission of a final proposal. Artist proposals awarded contracts will be reviewed by the City of Denver’s Public Art Subcommittee and the Department of Construction and Engineering to ensure conformity with City standards of maintenance and durability and ADA standards. All finalists are expected to stay on budget and to complete work in an approved time frame.

Project Selection Panel
According to Denver’s Public Art Policies, the Project Selection Panel plays an active role in the acquisition of public art for Denver. The Parkfield Lake Park selection panel is comprised of nine voting members and additional non-voting advisors. The selection panel is responsible for reviewing the site, establishing criteria and writing a call for entry, reviewing applications and selecting and interviewing semi-finalists and finalists. Please read each project description carefully as each selection panel will recommend different criteria and review procedures.

Selection Process
Between one and three artists/artist teams will be selected as semi-finalists, depending on the number of responses to the RFQ. Those selected will receive more specific information regarding the site and have the opportunity to meet with Park representatives, the design team and public art staff members. The selection panel will interview and/or review proposals from the semi-finalists and recommend finalists for the commission. The final recommendation of the selection panel will be presented to the Public Art Subcommittee, the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs and Mayor Michael Hancock for final approval. All decisions of the City and County of Denver are final.

Materials to be Submitted
Please read this section carefully. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered. The applicant’s name must appear on all materials submitted.

All materials must be submitted online, via the CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system.

Digital Images—In order to be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit eight digital images of previously completed artworks through the CaFÉ™ system. Artists who wish to submit kinetic, sound or media works must submit a complete CaFÉ™ application including eight still images and written materials and then send an additional DVD of no more than five minutes to:

Arts & Venues Denver
Public Art Program: Parkfiled Lake Park
Attn: Amanda Renaud
1245 Champa Street, First Floor
Denver, CO 80204

Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found at http://www.callforentry.org/imaging_tips.phtml. Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available during regular business hours by calling 303-629-1166 or 1-888-562-7232, or via e-mail at cafe@westaf.org. If an artist does not have access to a computer, s/he may call 720-865-4302 to make arrangements to use a computer at Arts & Venues Denver.

Statement of Interest—Please submit a statement of interest briefly outlining your interest in the Parkfield Lake Park project and experience working on projects of this kind (2000 character maximum) via CaFÉ™.

Résumé—Submit a one- to two-page current résumé, via CaFÉ™ that highlights your professional accomplishments as an artist. Please name your résumé file accordingly: Last name.First initial (i.e. Smith.J.doc). Résumés over two pages will not be downloaded. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé with one to two pages per team member.

For additional information contact:
Rudi Cerri
720-865-4307
rudi.cerri@denvergov.org
Fax: 720-865-4315
www.denvergov.org/publicart
www.westaf.org

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria