Who We Are

Art in Public Places is a non-profit organization that has donated public art throughout the city of Bend, Oregon since 1973. For over 40 years Art in Public Places has created an enhanced visual environment for Bend residents and promoted tourism and economic vitality through the artistic design of public spaces. AiPP’s ongoing efforts have steadily increased the public art collection in Bend for everyone to enjoy.

AiPP has donated large scale sculptures to the City of Bend for 20 roundabouts as well as numerous other works of art to Bend Park & Recreation District, Central Oregon Community College, Deschutes Public Library and St. Charles Foundation. Bend’s public art collection is a permanent part of what makes Bend so unique and a wonderful place to visit and reside. 

City of Bend 

Residents and visitors are drawn to Bend for its high desert climate and rich and varied year-round recreation: skiing, cycling, hiking, fly fishing, climbing, kayaking, rafting and golf. Now, with more people working remotely, Bend has grown and flourished, truly a community with diverse backgrounds and a shared love for the place and lifestyle. Bend is home to nationally recognized breweries, Mt. Bachelor ski area, High Desert Museum, Central Oregon Community College and the Oregon State University- Cascades Campus. Today, Bend is the largest Oregon city east of the Cascades with a population nearing 100,000.

Site Context

The Columbia Street & Colorado Avenue Roundabout connects drivers coming from downtown Bend to the westside of town over the Colorado Bridge where the Bend Whitewater Park is located on the Deschutes River. Along Colorado Avenue is The Pavilion (Bend Park & Recreation District ice skating rink for the community) and Deschutes Brewery Warehouse & Tasting Room.

This roundabout also provides direct access to the Old Mill District, Riverbend Park and Hayden Homes Amphitheater one mile away. The roundabout is near numerous office buildings and a half mile from Century Drive which is a main thoroughfare for the westside of Bend filled with restaurants and shops.

Since Century Drive is also the road to Mt. Bachelor Ski Area this roundabout is situated in a section of town that is a mix of new development and older neighborhoods for residents and vacation rentals. In the last year two large apartment complexes have opened nearby and the surrounding streets are filled with breweries, ski rental shops, industrial park buildings and the Park & Float (parking lot and tube rentals in the summer months) and the new Oregon State University (OSU-Cascades).

The Columbia Street & Colorado Avenue Roundabout is located in the Southern Crossing neighborhood which is known for the Old Mill District and the former location of the Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon lumber mills. Today, this neighborhood is centrally located in town and a mix of residential and commercial properties as well as several parks along the Deschutes River. The volume of cars on 14th Street/Century Drive is estimated at over 15K car per day and approximately 20K cars cross the Colorado Bridge daily.

Several of the nearby roundabouts in this section of Bend already have a work of art including Colorado Avenue & Simpson Avenue that was installed in 2001 and in just over 2.5 miles four other roundabouts all along Century Drive (at Newport Avenue, Galveston Avenue, Simpson Avenue and Mt. Washington Drive) have sculptures that were installed in 2001-2002.

The overall size of the roundabout is 80 ft. in diameter. There are several large areas available for sculpture footings at this roundabout location. The northern edge of the roundabout offers an area (17 ft. x 8 ft.) and the available space on the southern edge (19 ft. x 10 ft.) There is also a large area in the center of the roundabout (18 ft. x 17 ft.) which is often not available given the underground utility lines. The available space on the eastern edge (15 ft. x 18 ft.) and western edge (8 ft. x 16 ft.)

The width of the truck apron is 11 ft. wide. There are utility lines running through the roundabout and it important to note that the sculpture footings cannot span across any utility mainlines or the designated areas for footings. The footings must be 5 ft. away from all underground utilities.

Application Requirements

Requests for Qualifications (RFQ)

Project Budget
The total project budget for this commission is $130,000, including City of Bend permit fees, stamped engineering drawings, subcontractors, footings/excavation, delivery, insurance, travel, restorative landscaping, installation and a traffic mitigation plan (signage and flaggers) as per the City permit requirements. Only Finalists will submit an itemized budget for the proposed project.

Only the Artist that receives the Commission (if out-of-state and/or using a business name) will need to secure a Registered Agent (an official address in Oregon) and then register with the State of Oregon as a Domestic or Foreign entity (anyone outside Oregon) and provide a certificate of good standing from the State that you reside in. This is standard practice for most public entities and will be a necessary step and expense as we finalize the Commission Contract.

Artist Submission Requirements
Artists and Artist Teams applying must submit all of the following information by January 4, 2023. Please do not submit a design or concept at this time. Artist Teams please submit only one application. Late applications will not be considered.

•Letter of Interest – One (1) PDF upload

1.       Contact Information (name, address, phone, email, website).

2.       Description of most relevant comparable project experience from the last 12 years.

3.       Description of your interest in working on this specific project.

•Six (6) digital images of completed past works of art or public art. With each image, please include title, medium, dimensions, year completed, budget and city/state. Work examples must be from the last 12 years showcasing sculptures/installations in outdoor spaces. (Do not submit images of indoor works of art).

Finalists Selected Based on the Following:

Letter of Interest

Comparable Project Experience

Artistic excellence on image samples

The selection committee will evaluate all submissions based on artistic excellence, innovation, interactivity, originality and the work’s ability to enhance the natural landscape and enliven this public space. Our selection criteria will require artists to demonstrate experience with public art projects, using materials suitable for public outdoor settings, site-specific design, and collaborating with other artists, architects, engineers, fabricators and City government administrative staff. The potential to create an impactful design for this public art project will score highly on our evaluation criteria.

Selection Process

Phase 1: A selection committee consisting of the AiPP Board and a representative from the City of Bend Engineering department will select 3-4 Finalists. The stipend for travel and design time is $1,500. Finalists are encouraged to use the stipend for a Site Visit to Bend early in the design phase to see the roundabout and, as schedules allow, meet key players from the AiPP Board and an Engineer with the City of Bend.

Phase 2: Each of the 3-4 Finalists will present their design renderings to the selection committee via Zoom. The overall proposal will include design renderings, a detailed budget and a conservation maintenance plan. Public input will be gathered during the phase. Finalists will submit a presentation poster 10 days in advance of the Zoom meeting. The selection committee will make their decision based on eligibility and the scoring criteria described above.

Project Timeline 
Call to Artists announced: November 8, 2022

Application Due: January 4, 2023

Notification of Finalists: Late January 2023

Design Time and Site Visit: February to mid-March 2023

Artist Presentation of design rendering proposals via Zoom: mid-March 2023

Public Input (two weeks): Late March to Early April 2023

Commission Selection: Late April 2023

Installation: Spring 2024

Questions
Questions about the project may be directed to Marcelene Trujillo, AiPP Project Coordinator via email at artinpublicplacesbend@gmail.com. Assistance in using the CaFE system is available via email at helpcafe@westaf.org.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility

Open to Artists and Artist Teams residing in the Northwest and Southwest United States, specifically Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Women, LGBTQAI+ community members are highly encouraged to apply. Artists living in Oregon are highly encouraged to apply.