Qualifications are requested from artists or artist teams interested in creating a public artwork or artworks for the Health Sciences Annex building addition and renovation project at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – ABOUT ARAPAHOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE & THE HEALTH SCIENCES ANNEX BUILDING

Arapahoe Community College (ACC), founded in 1965 as Arapahoe Junior College, was the first 2-year college in the greater Denver metro area. The college grew out of a grassroots effort by Littleton residents who wanted to provide post-high school education in the area. In addition to the Littleton Campus, ACC offers certificate and degree programs at the Sturm Collaboration Campus at Castle Rock, and has strong partnerships with Douglas County School District and CSU.

This project is a renovation and small addition to an existing building on ACC’s Littleton campus. The goals of the project include an update of the facilities in order to increase clinical opportunities and accommodate growth in the Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, Nurse Aide, Allied Health, Physical Therapy Assistant, and Medical Office Technology/Medical Assistant pathways; an integration of the building’s disciplines; attract and retain faculty and staff; improve accessibility and wayfinding to increase the sense of identity for the departments; provide formal and informal student gathering and study areas; and create a new secondary entrance that will serve as a beacon visible from Santa Fe Drive, a large thoroughfare that runs next to the College.

Changes to the space will integrate the health programs, promote health and wellness, create indoor and outdoor student spaces, provide resources for workforce development all while being flexible and adaptable to future needs of the building and the ACC campus as a whole.

Approximately 17,000 square feet of the total 80,000 square feet of the building will be impacted by the project. The building currently houses a community fitness center, a large area for the automotive department, an art gallery and teaching spaces for ACC’s Health programs. The renovation will add an elevator, improve pathways for ADA compliance, and upgrade and expand classrooms, along with technology upgrades. A 70-seat classroom will be added, which will better accommodate some of the larger programs.  Another goal of the renovation is to create a sense of entering into a hospital space to further a simulation concept for the programs that fill out the behind-the-scenes medical jobs.

There are two entrances to the building; the primary entrance is on the north side of the building, closest to the main parking lot and the main building on campus. The secondary entrance is located on the south side of the building and will likely remain the secondary entrance for the time being, though its usage will likely increase as the campus grows. A building addition at this secondary entrance will add an elevator to improve accessibility and will serve as a new “beacon” for the campus.

BUDGET: $64,500

All costs associated with the public art project including, but not limited to, artist design fee, structural engineering, insurance, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, building or site modifications, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, contingency to cover unexpected expenses and any other costs related to the project are covered by this budget.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC ART

The committee is looking for artworks that address one or more of four potential locations within the Health Innovation Center within the Annex building.  Each of the four locations have wall-mounted opportunities and three have ceiling-hung locations available for artworks. The building cannot accommodate three-dimensional, sculptural artworks.

Location 1 is a breakout lounge space on the northeast part of the Annex, near the connection to ACC’s main building. An artwork at this location would encourage movement between buildings and serve as a visual “surprise.” Both the wall and ceiling of this student-geared break out space are open for artwork.

Location 2 is within the vestibule at the primary entrance, near the existing art gallery and the main parking lot on campus. Opportunities include the ceiling and both walls, including the glass wall that looks into the building from the vestibule. An artwork in this location will be both visible from the interior and exterior.

Location 3 is in the lounge located near multiple skills rooms and large classroom, which will be highly frequented by health programs’ students. This will both be a high-traffic area and a location where people congregate for extended periods of time. The wall behind the seating area and the adjacent hallway’s wall are available for artwork.

Location 4 is in at the secondary entrance area on the south side of the building. This addition has the opportunity for a wall-mounted or ceiling-hung work. While there are two floors of the addition, there is not a two-story volume to the space. The second level has a breakout space for students. This entrance/addition will be lit at night and will be visible from a distance.

Thematically, the committee does not want an artwork that literally addresses healthcare or the sciences, but rather an artwork that creates an experience that replicates a calming healthcare environment. Please refer to the provided renderings and site plan on this full version of the RFQ here to see images of each of the four locations.

The Selection Committee will consider the following:

• Artistic excellence
• Scale, material, form and content
• Safety of materials
• Appropriate relationship to the function of the site
• Resistance to general wear, vandalism, or theft
• Ease of maintenance, minimal and low-cost   maintenance

This call is open regional artists from the following states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas.

COLORADO ART IN PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM

In 1977, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Art in Public Places Act requiring that 1% of the construction costs of new or renovated state-owned buildings be used to acquire works of art for permanent installation at the project site. Colorado Creative Industries is responsible for implementation of this statute. All works of art commissioned pursuant to this request are owned by the State of Colorado via Arapahoe Community College.

SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE

The Art Selection Committee will review all complete and eligible submittals. A short list of semifinalists will be invited to prepare and present a final proposal in person and be paid an honorarium of $1,000 for in state semifinalists and $1,500 for out of state semifinalists. Final selection(s) will be made from the semifinalists’ proposals. The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, March 8th, 2023, 11:59 pm MST – Deadline for receipt of submittal via CaFÉ™ system

April 2023 – Selection committee meets to select semifinalists

May/June 2023 – Artist presentations to the Art Selection Committee

Summer 2024 – Scheduled completion of construction

QUESTIONS

If you require more information or clarification, please contact Ruth Wilson, Public Art Program Manager, at 303-880-6671 or ruth.wilson@state.co.us.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

https://www.arapahoe.edu/

https://www.arapahoe.edu/academics-programs/programs?pathway=25

https://www.arapahoe.edu/about-acc/locations/littleton/annex-remodel

Full RFQ with images and additional information can be found here. Site plans and renderings provided by Anderson Mason Dale. Aerial images provided by ACC.

Application Requirements

APPLICATION PROCESS

All applications for this project are being accepted through the online platform, CaFÉ™ (www.callforentry.org ). No hard copy or emailed submissions will be accepted. The applicant will be asked to submit digital images of art, a resume, and a brief statement of interest. There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available during regular business hours by calling 303-629-1166, 1-888-562-7232 or email cafe@westaf.org.

Digital Images. In order to be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit, via the CaFÉ™ system, no less than six (6) and no more than eight (8) digital images of previously completed artworks.

Resume: Submit a current résumé, via CaFÉ™, that outlines professional accomplishments as an artist.

Statement of Interest: A statement of interest of 250 words or less must be submitted via CaFÉ™. It should briefly outline the interest in the specific opportunity and highlight which of the four artwork opportunities the artist is most interested in addressing.

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must be residents of one of the following states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas.  Any applications submitted with addresses outside of one of the above states will be disqualified and not reviewed. The Program is open to all artists regardless of race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical handicap.