1.  Overview 

1)     Land Acknowledgement

It is important to acknowledge the land on which this public art will be located.  Napa has a rich cultural heritage, which began with the inhabitation by Native Americans of the Wappo people along the Napa River over 10,000 years ago.  It was followed by the Mexican settlement beginning in the 1820s and early American settlement between 1846 to 1849.  Due to the abundant natural resources in Napa Valley, the Wappo inhabitation was one of the longest indigenous inhabited regions in California.  The City of Napa recognizes the tribal nations who first lived in the Napa area and believes it is important to preserve their history, identity and culture as part of the Napa community. 

2)     About the City of Napa
Napa is the seat of Napa County and the gateway to the legendary Napa Valley wine region. The City has recently experienced a development renaissance, and Downtown Napa offers many shopping, entertainment, and dining opportunities.  In addition to tourism, Napa is also known for its late-1800s and early-1900s architecture, a riverfront promenade, active arts scene, musical entertainment venues and nationally recognized annual events (e.g., BottleRock, Festival Napa Valley, Napa Lighted Art Festival).

3)     About the Project

In 2018, the City of Napa completed adding medians along Soscol Avenue between Gasser Drive and Sousa Lane with the additional development along this corridor to enhance safety and overall traffic flow (see project site maps Attachment 1 and Attachment 2).

The Public Art Steering Committee (PASC) and City Council identified the the Soscol Avenue medians as a priority and the project was approved in April 2022 . 

The south Soscol Avenue is an important corridor within the City of Napa and is a significant roadway into the City from the south entrance from Highway 221/121.  With the gateway project at the 1st Street and California Street Roundabout under development, this project would complete another important public art project in the community.  This project will be adding to other public art projects along this corridor including projects under development at Chrysler and Soscol Square properties (see Attachment 3).  The proposed City project will augment and strengthen the other public art installations nearby and continue to enhance the aesthetics along this commercial corridor.

In addition to diversifying more projects within the overall public art program, this project would also support one of the overall goals of the Public Art program which is to support more projects outside of the downtown area as well as provide more access and equity to public art throughout the community. 

4)     Project Location

Soscol Avenue between Gasser Drive and Sousa Lane.

5)     Project Goals

The City aims to accomplish five primary goals via this project:

1.     enhance Napa’s image as a world-class art destination;

2.     be site specific and original

3.     be inviting and aesthetically appealing; and

4.     be viewable as a drive-by experience

6)     Project Constraints

Some restrictions the artist should be aware of include the following:

a)     Height/Transparency
The artwork as a whole must be 50% transparent. This can be measured perpendicular or at right angles to median allowing some visibility and light to shine through the art OR there must be frequent spacing between non-transparent artwork to achieve the transparency requirement. Artwork should not exceed 15 feet in height and width requirements are explained in Attachment 4.There is no power to this project site and there will be no evening lighting with this project. 

b)     Medians Completion

The City of Napa will complete the medians with stamped concrete around the artwork with Belgian Block pattern.  The color shall be Bomanite’s dessert tan or QC Construction Projects Durango tan or approved equivalent.  The completion of the medians will be closely coordinated with the artist to be completed shortly after the installation of the artwork. 

c)     Understanding Permitting Requirements

The final artist will be required to furnish all plans, tools, equipment, labor and materials necessary to perform and complete the project in a good and workman-like manner.  This will include acquiring a City of Napa building permit which will include stamped engineering drawings for the proposed public art and the site, an installation and lift plan, an erosion sediment control plan, and a traffic control plan.  This project will be subject to City of Napa’s public works project requirements including ensuring prevailing wage rates for all contractors and subcontractors and compliance with Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). In addition, other submittals will include a City of Napa business license, project schedule, insurance, bonds, list of materials, and maintenance warranty for 1-year. 

d)     Public Art Master Plan

This project should also comply with the goals stated in the City’s Public Art Master Plan.

7)     Call for Artists

This RFQ is part of a multi-phase process by which the City of Napa seeks to identify and select a qualified public artist to create and install a site-specific artwork in the Soscol Avenue medians.  The City seeks qualifications from experienced public artists (or artist teams) who specialize in site specific sculpture.  This individual or team of individuals must be able to:

a)     design a unique artwork

b)     work within multiple, complex physical constraints (e.g., structural considerations, environmental restrictions, and various permitting requirements); and

c)     collaborate with agency staff to ensure the pragmatic design and successful installation of the project; and

d)     design and implement the project within a budget.

8)     Public Art Budget

The budget is a not-to-exceed figure of $200,000.  This amount includes all costs related to the artist’s design and project management fees; all subcontracted and consultant costs, including engineers, electricians, fabricators, studio and overhead costs; fabrication, transportation, delivery, storage and installation of all art components; liability insurance and bonds as required; and all other costs associated with the art project including a minimum budget contingency of 15%.

Application Requirements

2.  Submission Requirements

Incomplete Submissions will not be considered. Complete Submissions must include the following:

1.     Letter of Interest

A letter stating the artist’s interest in the project;

2.     Images

Artists may submit between 5–10 images maximum. Images should accurately represent the artwork size, including height, span, and ground clearance.  The artist must include at least one image per listed project.  Images submitted will only be used for evaluation purposes. 

3.     Image list & Description

For each artwork submitted, please provide a short description (up to 5 sentences) of the piece and any aspects of the work that may not be obvious in the images, or any other relevant information.

Artists should provide an image list including the following for each artwork:

○    Title

○    Date of Completion

○    Medium (Please Be Specific)

○    Dimensions (Height X Width X Depth)

○    Project Budget and Actual Cost

4.     Resume

A resume outlining the respondent’s experience, the experience of key team members (if applicable) and a brief response to the qualification review criteria.

Eligibility Criteria

3.  Request for Qualifications

The City of Napa believes the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized groups should be centered in the arts. We encourage artists who identify with these communities to apply.

3.1  Eligibility

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to professional artists or teams with experience in the design, fabrication, and installation of public. Artists must have experience in producing a minimum of two permanent, exterior public artworks similar in scale and complexity to this project. The artist must demonstrate:

a)     a history of professional activity and achievement as an artist;

b)     experience managing a project of this complexity including technical competence with fabrication and installation procedures; and

c)     the ability to procure and direct the work of subcontractors/consultants.

3.2  Submission Deadline 

Complete responses must be received before 5 p.m., on Friday, March 17, 2023

3.3  Projected Schedule 

The City has tentatively set the following schedule:

RFQ Release:                                                                        Monday, January 30, 2023

RFQ Submission Deadline:                                   

        Friday, March 17, 2023

RFQ Review by staff and panel deadline:                      on or before Friday, April 14, 2023

Finalist(s) invited to respond to RFP:                             on or before Monday, April 28, 2023

Finalists proposals due:

        Friday, June 9, 2023

3.4  Qualifications Review

City staff will screen applications to ensure compliance with the minimum qualifications stated in this RFQ.  Following this preliminary review, a selection panel comprised of representatives from the City of Napa and arts professionals will review qualifying submissions and will select up to 3 artists (or artist teams) who will be invited to prepare proposals for the project. 

3.5  Review and Selection

This RFQ is being used for pre-qualification purposes.  The qualifications review panel will check responses against the evaluation criteria (see Section 3 below). Responses not meeting all mandatory evaluation criteria will not be considered for review. Qualified respondents will be provided with a copy of the RFP when one is issued.

3.6  Inquiries

All inquiries related to this RFQ are to be emailed to:

Kerri Hurtado, Artsource Consulting

Email: kc@artsourceinc.com