In partnership with the City of Frankfort, Josephine Sculpture Park is seeking to commission an original outdoor site specific sculptural bench commemorating the historical location of racial terror lynchings in Frankfort, KY. The work of art will be permanently installed in downtown Frankfort at the north end of the Singing Bridge. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This project is part of a multi-year public art initiative, installing sculptures, murals, and sidewalk poetry in historic Frankfort in an effort to make Frankfort the “Public Art Capital of Kentucky.”  Contemporary art will transform empty walls and infrastructure into public canvases, showcasing what’s unique about Frankfort. This artwork will provide a sense of place, inviting people to slow down and appreciate the city's cultural heritage and history.

Frankfort, located between the state’s two largest cities, Lexington and Louisville is the capital of Kentucky.  It is a small historic town with a population of 28,000 in the city and 50,000 in Franklin County. It lies in a verdant landscape of bluegrass fields and forested hills and is bisected by the Kentucky River, which has carved a sharply defined geography through limestone palisades. 

The project is a collaboration between the City of Frankfort and several community organizations, including the Josephine Sculpture Park (JSP) who manages and curates the project. JSP is a 30 public sculpture park in Frankfort open to visitors for free from dawn until dusk 365 days per year with the mission of connecting people to each other and the land through the arts. JSP will serve as the main point of contact for all aspects of this project.

LOCATION

The sculpture will be a permanent installation on the sidewalk at the north end of the Singing Bridge. The sidewalk at this location is triangular in shape with a rock wall bordering one side.  It varies in width and contains a planter that is maintained by a local garden club. The exact location of the sculptural bench within this space will be determined in partnership with the selected artist based on the size and form of the selected design. The closest building to the site for google earth images is 126 St. Clair St, Frankfort KY, 40601. Photographs of the site are included and should be reviewed before submitting a design.

THEME

The Singing Bridge is a 125+ year old two-lane vehicle and pedestrian truss bridge that connects the South Frankfort and Downtown Frankfort neighborhoods over the Kentucky River. It received its name because of the humming sound it makes when cars drive over the open-grate steel. The Bridge is also the historical site of at least two racial terror lynching victims in Franklin County: Marshall Boston in 1894 and John Maxey in 1909, both black men from the Frankfort community.

During the period between the Civil War and World War II, thousands of African Americans were lynched in the United States, many in Kentucky. Lynchings were violent and public acts of torture, largely tolerated by state and federal officials. These lynchings created long-lasting terror and trauma. As a community, Frankfort has been engaged in active community remembrance work in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative. A historical marker memorializing Marshall Boston and John Maxey will be installed in this location in 2022.  The bench will be installed in close proximity, creating a space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terrorism and its legacy.

To learn more about the site, the history, current remembrance work, and to understand the depth of the theme, please read the information at these links:

https://www.focusonracerelations.org/lynching-memorial

https://eji.org/news/eji-joins-frankfort-kentucky-to-confront-history-of-racial-injustice/

https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be appropriate for the depth of the subject matter and meet the objective of the project.
• Must be suitable for a hands-on outdoor exhibition in a public space and designed with consideration of the safety of the public.
• Capture attention, engage the public, and be appropriate to this historical location.
• Aesthetically enhance the surrounding area and otherwise interact with its surrounding environment.
• Must be functional in some way as a seat.
• Must be able to be anchored to prevent from being removed, tipped, broken or overturned.
• Be constructed of permanent, durable materials and preferably be maintenance-free.
• Be capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions including high winds, high temperatures, heavy rain, storms, etc.

BUDGET

The purchase price for the sculpture is $15,000. This includes all costs related to the artist’s design, supplies, materials, fabrication, site visit, transportation and delivery of the sculpture and all other costs associated with the art project up to receipt of the sculpture by the City. Installation, sign, and ongoing maintenance costs will be the responsibility of the City and Josephine Sculpture Park.  JSP can provide professional installation of sculpture with crane service available. 

Payments will be made directly to the artist(s) using the following schedule:

• 30% of total agreed upon fee is paid when contract is signed.
• 30% of total agreed upon fee is paid upon approval of final design.
• 40% of the total agreed upon fee is paid within 30 days of receipt of sculpture in Frankfort.

SELECTION PROCESS

Submissions will be judged/scored on the following,

• Artistic quality of proposed artwork.
• Appropriateness of proposed artwork to the site and objective of the project.
• Experience with public art installations.
• Permanence, durability, maintainability and use of high-quality materials.
• Absence of hazards to the public.
• Innovation in use of materials and techniques.
• Ability of the artist to create and install the artwork within the established timeframe.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Timeline and Process Notes

Artist/artist team must be able to adhere to the above project timeline. After being awarded the commission, the selected artist/artist team will be provided with input and feedback from the selection committee on the submitted draft design.  The artist/artist team is encouraged to visit the site and collaborate with the committee prior to submitting a final design for approval. Installation date will be determined based on the established  timeframe of the selected artist.

CONTACT

Please direct all questions or requests for assistance to:

Josie Kirker, Grants Manager josie@josephinesculpturepark.org

Application Requirements

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION

Submissions may only be submitted electronically through the CaFÉ website (callforentry.org). An artist may submit up to 3 designs. To aid the jury process, each design must be submitted in CaFÉ as a separate application.  Artist submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of art and design professionals, key funders/sponsors, community members, and property owners.

• Current CV/resume. Teams must submit one resume/CV per team member. PDF preferred.
• Artist Statement. Limited to 2000 characters including spaces.
• Draft conceptual design of proposed artwork. Acceptable formats include sketches, image of maquette, computer generated drawing, or other comparable media. This must be submitted as the first work sample. An artist may submit up to 3 designs. To aid the jury process, each design must be submitted in CaFÉ as a separate application.
• Document with details of proposed design, including dimensions and weight of proposed artwork, description of materials, explanation of maintenance requirements, and timeframe in which you would be able to complete or deliver the sculpture, from award of contract to installation. PDF preferred.
• Work Samples in addition to draft design.  Min of 4, max of 8.  Up to 8 images max of previously completed work. Strongly encouraged to include work that is similar in size and nature to this project.  Please review and follow the printable image preparation guide on the CaFÉ website and provide work sample details as outlined in CaFÉ upload process including: title, media, dimensions, date, etc.
• Three (3) professional references. Please include name, title, address, affiliation, phone number, and email address. PDF preferred.
• Optional. Artists may include up to three (3) selections of support materials such as reviews, news articles, and other related information. PDF preferred.

Eligibility Criteria

The project is open to all established and professional artists in the United States, age 18 and over, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical or mental disability. Artist teams are eligible to apply, including teams of artists from multiple disciplines.

Applicants should have experience creating, fabricating and installing public art. Only artists with reviewable portfolios are eligible to submit proposals. Applicants who wish to be considered for this project should have experience creating durable outdoor public art pieces, working within the public process, proven ability to fabricate their own work/designs or to work with fabricators and installers. Artists working in a variety of materials are encouraged to apply, including but not limited to stone, metal, wood, concrete, found objects, natural materials, plastics, fiberglass, light, sound, etc.