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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center Mural
Budget: $20,000 USD
Eligibility: Artists residing in the State of Colorado
DEADLINE: Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, 11:59 pm MST

Introduction 
The City of Denver's Public Art Program seeks to commission an artist or artist team for an interior mural above the reception desk at the Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center, located at 4890 Argonne Way in Denver. The goal of this public art commission is to create an inspiring, welcoming experience for the users of the recreation center. Artists should consider how the artwork will enhance and celebrate the neighborhood culture, and understand and respect the community's diversity. The commission will require community engagement by the selected artist.

Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center and Swimming Pool. 
Green Valley Ranch is a local level recreation center in northeast Denver used by many students of nearby schools. Its facility features include:

• Large multipurpose community room
• Weight and cardio room with new equipment
• Fitness and dance room
• Functional fitness space
• Gymnasium – shared with Omar D. Blair School during the day
• MY Denver – a free youth membership program

The 16,000 square-foot addition will include two pools — one for swimming laps with four lanes and reaching a depth of nine feet, and a "leisure pool" that will be shallower and include a 100-foot-long lazy river for floating. Both pools will be available for water sports and aerobics.

Neighborhood
Green Valley Ranch has a very diverse population. The community is 31 percent Hispanic or Latino, 28 percent African American, and 23 percent White. Twenty-seven percent of the community is foreign-born; a third of the community speaks Spanish; a third of the population is under 18.

Maintenance & Durability 
All applicants are expected to consider the issues of long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, along with time and budget. These projects are located in the public realm and will be exposed to physical stresses, as well as be subject to vandalism. Public art projects should be fabricated of highly durable, low-maintenance materials. Finalists are encouraged to consult with a professional conservator before the submission of a final proposal. The chosen proposal will be reviewed by the City of Denver's Public Art Committee to ensure conformity with city standards of maintenance and durability, as well as ADA standards. The selected artist/team is expected to stay on budget and to complete work in an approved time frame.

Eligibility
This project is open to artists residing in the state of Colorado. The City and County of Denver is committed to building a public art collection that represents a broad diversity of artists based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender variance, sexual orientation, national origin, age, and disability. The selection panel is interested in artists who can demonstrate an understanding of the area's residents, culture, and surrounding neighborhoods. Emerging artists are encouraged to apply.

Artwork Location
Finalists will be asked to create an interior mural above the reception desk at the Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center, located at 4890 Argonne Way.

Can a team apply?
Applicants may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaborative group. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé for the team, with no more than one page per team member.

Applying for these opportunities
In response to this RFQ, applicants will be asked to submit the following items via www.callforentry.org (CaFÉ™). 
1. Six digital images of past work
2. Résumé 
3. Statement of interest no longer than 2,000 characters

From these applications, the selection panel will choose three to five finalists who will create site-specific proposals and be interviewed in person or virtually. Artists will be paid an honorarium for this work. Artists/teams selected as finalists will be required to submit a Diversity & Inclusiveness Form for their proposals to be considered, which will be provided upon notification. As directed by Executive Order 101, this form must be submitted for all city solicitations of proposals. Denver Arts & Venues Public Art Program staff can provide guidance on filling out this form.

Based on the interview and proposal, an artist or artist team will be selected for this commission. The selected artist or artist team will work with the Public Art Program staff, and Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) staff when finalizing their designs for installation.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Denver Executive Order No. 101 establishes strategies between the City and private industry to use diversity and Inclusiveness to promote economic development in the City and County of Denver and to encourage more businesses to compete for City contracts and procurements. The Executive Order requires, among other things, the collection of certain information regarding the practices of the City's contractors and consultants toward diversity and Inclusiveness and encourages/requires City agencies to include diversity and inclusiveness policies in selection criteria in solicitations for City services or goods where legally permitted. Diversity and Inclusiveness mean inviting values, perspectives and contributions of people from diverse backgrounds and integrating diversity into its hiring and retention policies, training opportunities and business development methods to provide an equal opportunity for each person to participate, contribute and succeed within the organization's workplace. "Diversity" encompasses a wide variety of human differences, including differences such as race, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, physical disabilities, appearance, and historically underutilized and disadvantaged persons, as well as social identities such as religion, marital status, socio-economic status, lifestyle, education, parental status, geographic background, language ability, and veteran status.

Budget
The budget for this commission is $20,000.00 USD which will be allocated to the artist/team selected. 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), tools, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, any building or site modification required, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, a contingency to cover unexpected expenses, and any other costs. For all work done on city property, prevailing wage requirements will be applied.

Timeline
(Except for the online application deadline, the timeline is subject to adjustments)
Monday, August 15, 2022, 11:59 pm MST              Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system) 
September 2022                                                            Finalist Selection 
October 2022                                                                 Selected Artist or Artist Team Notification

Project Selection Panel
According to Denver's Public Art Policy, the art selection panel plays an active role in the commission and acquisition of public art for Denver. The Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center Mural art selection panel is comprised of 11 voting members and additional non-voting advisors. The selection panel is responsible for reviewing the site, establishing criteria for a request for qualifications, reviewing applications, selecting and interviewing finalists, and selecting an artist or artist team for the commission.  

Selection Process
1. Three to five artists/artist teams will be selected as finalists. Those selected will receive more specific information regarding the site and have the opportunity to meet with community members from the art selection panel, Denver Parks and Recreation and public art program staff.  The finalists will receive an honorarium to prepare the proposal and present it in person or virtually. 
2. The selection panel will review the proposals, interview the finalists and recommend an artist/artist team for the commission. 
3. The final recommendation of the selection panel will be presented to the Public Art Committee, the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, and the mayor of Denver 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—To be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit six 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 and will have the opportunity to upload up to two video files.
 

Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found at https://www.callforentry.org/uploading-images-audio-and-video-files/. Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available here: https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/.

If an artist does not have access to a computer, s/he/they may call 720-865-5575 to make arrangements to use a computer at Denver Arts & Venues.

To request this RFQ in an alternate format (such as Braille, large print, or accessible electronic format) please contact DisabilityAccess@denvergov.org

Statement of Interest—Please submit a statement (2,000 character maximum) outlining the following:
• Your interest in the Green Valley Ranch Recreational Center Mural public art project and why it is of special interest to you.
• Your design approach/general concept 
• Please also include information on your experience working with diverse communities and stakeholders

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.PDF). Résumés that are more than two pages will not be downloaded. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé with one page per team member.

Survey – Applicants will also be required to fill out a short demographic survey that will be sent via the Survey Monkey website to the email on file from the CaFÉ™ application.

References – Applicants who are selected to be finalists will be required to provide three professional references.

Please direct all questions about the project to:
Rudi Cerri, Public Art Program Administrator, rudi.cerri@denvergov.org , 720-865-5562.
 

Application Requirements

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 six digital images of previously completed artworks through the online CaFÉ™ system. Artists who wish to submit kinetic, sound or media works must submit a complete CaFÉ™ application and will have the opportunity to upload one video file.

Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found at https://www.callforentry.org/uploading-images-audio-and-video-files/.

Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available here: https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/.

If an artist does not have access to a computer, s/he/they may call 720-865-5562 to make arrangements to use a computer at Denver Arts & Venues. To request this RFQ in an alternate format (such as Braille, large print or accessible electronic format) please contact DisabilityAccess@denvergov.org.

Statement of Interest—Please submit a brief statement (2,000-character maximum) outlining the following:

• Your interest in the Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center Mural Public Art project
• Description of your general concept and design approach
• Please also include information on your experience working with diverse communities and stakeholders

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.pdf).  Résumés that are more than two pages will not be downloaded. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé with no more than one page per team member.

Survey – Applicants will also be required to fill out a short demographic survey that will be sent to the email on file from the CaFÉ™ application.

References – Applicants who are selected to be finalists will be required to provide three professional references.

Denver Public Art is also hosting a virtual pre-application meeting on Wednesday, July 6, 5:30-6:30 p.m. for interested applicants. The meeting will cover project backgrounds and goals, and the application process for these three Requests for Qualifications: Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center Mural. Attendees will also get information on CallForEntry.org through which artists may apply. This event will be hosted on Zoom. Interested applicants are asked to register to get information on how to join prior to the event.

Eligibility Criteria

Who May Apply
This project is open to artists residing in the state of Colorado. The City and County of Denver is committed to building a public art collection that represents a broad diversity of artists based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender variance, sexual orientation, national origin, age, and disability. The selection panel is interested in artists who can demonstrate an understanding of the area's residents, culture, and surrounding neighborhoods. Emerging artists are encouraged to apply.

Can a team apply?
Applicants may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaborative group.  If applying as a team, please submit one résumé for the team, with no more than one page per team member.