REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Public Art Project

Bear Valley Park

Budget: $17,000.00 USD

Eligibility: Open to artists or artist teams residing in the state of Colorado

DEADLINE: November 1, 2022, 11:59 P.M. MST

Introduction

The City of Denver’s Public Art Program seeks to commission an artist or team of artists to create an original public artwork, or series of artworks, for Bear Valley Park located at 6802 E. Yale Avenue, Denver, CO 80224. An 11-member selection panel of community representatives, arts and culture professionals, and civic leaders has been assembled to identify art opportunities, and to select and recommend an artist or artist team for this project. The selection panel has identified one outdoor location for potential art opportunities and will select one artist or artist team for the allocated total budget of approximately $17,000.00 USD.

Bear Valley Neighborhood

The Bear Valley Neighborhood, located in the southwest area of Denver, is bounded by Yale Avenue, Sheridan Boulevard, Wadsworth Boulevard, and Kenyon Avenue. The neighborhood is just north of Marston Lake at the southern end of the Denver County Line. The neighborhood is well established and features large residential areas with mixed-use corridors along major roads and larger centers at key intersections. Several schools and commercial/retail uses are found within the neighborhood, and the major recreational amenity is Bear Valley Park.

Bear Valley Park

Bear Valley Park is a linear park that runs east to west from Wadsworth Boulevard to Sheridan Boulevard, encompassing natural areas, soccer and ballfields, tennis courts, pickleball courts, exercise stations, a playground, and several biking and walking trails, including the Bear Valley Park Trail. The Tennis Court Project consisted of reconstructing the six tennis courts at Bear Valley, one of the most utilized tennis facilities in southwest Denver. The small existing tennis courts were recently replaced with six new regulation-sized courts with improved posts, netting, chain-link fencing and LED lighting. Additional site improvements were funded by Denver Parks and Recreation and included four new pickleball courts, site furnishings, landscape and irrigation.

The community representatives on the panel described the park as being the gateway to the suburbs and the natural areas in the region.

Goals, Site, Media & Materials

The selection panel members have set forth specific goals and parameters for this public art project with the hope of creating unique and inspiring works of art for park users, passing motorists, and pedestrians and bicyclists along Dartmouth Avenue.

Goals:

The panel is very invested in celebrating Bear Valley Park and creating artwork that appeals to all ages, particularly younger audiences. The panel is interested in artwork that engages multiple senses and that provides a tactile component. Bear Valley Park is considered by residents and park users to be a gateway to nature and the panel sees an opportunity for the artwork to enhance this characteristic.

Site:

The panel has identified an area just south of the park entrance off West Dartmouth Avenue and East Reed Street as the preferred location for public art. This site provides high visibility for park users, pedestrians and bicyclists on West Dartmouth Avenue, and motorists. Artwork could be located to the east of the path that enters the park off South Reed Street or in the small triangular strip at the junction of two park paths.

Media & Materials:

Artworks could be created using diverse media including, but not limited to, paint, sculpture and mosaic applications. Works that are engaging and help to tell the story of the park, neighborhood and surrounding communities are encouraged. The selection panel is open to artwork in all media and materials that are suitable for outdoor display.

Maintenance & Durability

This artwork will become a permanent addition to the Denver Public Art collection. All applicants must consider the issues of long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, along with time and budget. These projects are 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 prior to the submission of a final proposal. Artist proposals awarded contracts 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. All finalists are expected to stay on budget and to complete work in an approved time frame.

Budget

The budget for this commission is approximately $17,000.00 USD which will be allocated to the artist/team selected. These funds come from the City of Denver’s 1% Percent for Public Art Ordinance resulting from improvements made to the Bear Valley Park tennis courts. 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, 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 online application deadline, timeline is subject to adjustments)

November 1, 2022 11:59 P.M. MST                        Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system)
December 2022                                                      Finalist Selection
March 2023                                                             Selected Artist or Artist Team Notification

Project Selection Panel

According to Denver’s Public Art policy, the project selection panel plays an active role in the acquisition of public art for the City and County of Denver. The Bear Valley Park art selection panel is comprised of 10 voting members and one additional non-voting advisor. The selection panel is responsible for reviewing the site, establishing criteria for a request for qualifications, reviewing applications, selecting and interviewing finalists, and finally for 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, Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Denver 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.

Application Requirements

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 staff when finalizing their designs for installation.

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.

IMPORTANT: if submitting audio or video files, do not use them as your very first image. They must be submitted last in your image sequence.

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 720-865-5564 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 Bear Valley Park 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.

Please direct all questions about the project to:
Megan Deffner, Public Art Program Administrator, megan.deffner@denvergov.org, 720-865-5564.

Eligibility Criteria

Who May Apply

This project is open to artists who reside in the state of Colorado. The selection panel is especially interested in artists who can demonstrate a deep understanding of the park, its users and the neighborhood, as well as the area’s history and urban landscape. Denver Arts & Venues is committed to building a public art collection that represents a broad diversity of artists and encourages applicants from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities including artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino/x, People of Color (BILPOC), people with disabilities, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersexual, asexual, + (LGBTQIA+) communities. Denver Arts & Venues also encourages applicants at various stages in their career and applicants practicing a variety of artistic disciplines.

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.

Denver Public Art is also hosting a virtual pre-application meeting on Thursday, Oct. 6, 6:00 p.m. for interested applicants. The meeting will cover project backgrounds and goals, and the application process. 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 on Eventbrite to get information on how to join prior to the event.