MUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE  

Request for Proposals 

Public Art Program | Public Works  

PO Box 196650 

Anchorage, AK  99519-6650 

(907) 343-6473  

Port of Alaska – Administration Building 

Deadline for Entries: July 13th, 2023 11:59 PM MST 

Contact: Curator of Public Art, Public Art Program, (907) 343-6473 

Amount of Commission: $64,700; Location 1: $32,350, Location 2: $32,350 

Eligibility: Open Entry, National 

Code 

In accordance with AMC 7.40, the Municipality of Anchorage is inviting qualified artists to create public artwork proposals for the Port of Alaska’s Administration building located in Anchorage, Alaska.   

Project Information  

The Port of Alaska’s Administration building is scheduled for substantial completion of construction by February of 2024. The installation of artwork will be coordinated with the Curator of Public Art and the Port of Alaska.  

Site Description 

The art selection jury intends to commission two separate works of art to be permanently installed at the Port of Alaska’s new Administration building. The total budget for commissioned artwork is $64,700 for two commissions, totaling $32,350 each. Location 1 ($32,350) is limited to the observation deck railing, located on the third floor of the building. Location 2 ($32,350) encompasses the facility’s exterior façade. There are two preferred sites to be addressed for location two: the southeast face of the building and the wall that is situated within the observation deck area. 

Located at 1857 Anchorage Port Road, Anchorage, AK 99501, the Port of Alaska is a marine industrial zone with controlled access and accounts for 50% of all freight shipped into Alaska. The impact of weather and environmental conditions on materials should be given consideration in the development of proposals for art. Important factors to be considered include Alaska’s harsh winters and the port’s high salinity. 

Past renovations at the port resulted in one commissioned work of art: Beckoning, by Melanie Eberhardt, a gouache painting that creates a humorous narrative depicting people and animals. 

About Port of Alaska 

Port of Alaska is a Municipality of Anchorage-owned and -operated facility that serves Anchorage, the State of Alaska and the nation. It opened with the “Port of Anchorage” name in 1961 to support regional economic development. Anchorage Assembly renamed “Port of Alaska” in October 2017 to reflect its regional, state and national significance. 

Further information on the Port of Alaska can be found on the web at: https://www.portofalaska.com/about-us/ 

A location guide is attached here for reference: 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5wvhtzivhkq51t4/AADgERNALyrwgYY4gf9cnjS3a?dl=0  

LOCATIONS 

Location 1:  

Observation Deck Railing: $32,350 

The observation deck is an exterior area located on the third floor of the administration building, facing northwest and looking out onto the Knik Arm, Point McKenzie, and Denali. Proposals for this location are limited to the observation deck railing. 

The metal railing is composed of vertically oriented bars and is situated on the north and west facing sides of the facility. The base of the railing attaches just above the flooring, which will be composed of concrete pavers. The railing is approximately 3’6” in height, the south-facing railing is approximately 25’4” long and the east-facing railing is approximately 64’7” long. Note that the secondary site for location two (exterior facility façade) is prominently situated within the observation deck area. 

There are no limitations on mediums or styles, but proposals should be durable and capable of withstanding Alaska’s winter climate and the high salinity present in the port area. Proposals may include a complete replacement of the railing or a retrofit that incorporates artwork into the existing railing. All proposals must meet building code requirements. Preliminary factors to be considered include a minimum height requirement of 42” above the walking surface and a maximum opening width of 4” in diameter in any area.  

Location images can be found at the following link: 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/taz7gjzcgh3eywg/AADT_QJ38ytbBMtEjGVp8t7sa?dl=0  

All dimensions are approximate 

Please see THEMES below for additional guidance. 

Location 2: 

Facility Exterior Façade: $32,350 

While this location incorporates the entire facility exterior as option for artwork placement, there are two specific sites of preferred interest. The primary area of interest is the East Elevation, which faces the Government Hill community. The secondary area is the wall space located within the observation deck. The intent that supports interest in the two specific areas is visibility: visibility for the neighboring community, port users, and visitors to the administration building. Proposed concepts that address the interest in visibility while incorporating artwork on more than one wall throughout the facility’s exterior façade are encouraged.  

The jury is interested in seeing murals proposed for this location. To clarify this interest, murals may incorporate a wide variety of mediums in addition to paint such as metals, woods, composite materials, lighting and light responsive materials, etc. and may include low relief. Successful proposals will consider visibility from a distance and opportunities to make the facility stand out and be visible all year.  

The exterior walls are composed of insulated metal panels and cannot be pierced or punctured for the installation of art. Proposals should consider application of materials directly onto wall surfaces adhesion, mechanical fastening, or a combination thereof as methods of attachment. 

Location images can be found at the following link: 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3e06v9gssiefs38/AADXut6QU-ZZjFX8sQRMshM7a?dl=0  

All dimensions are approximate 

Please see THEMES below for additional guidance. 

The Art Selection Jury is interested in seeing proposals from artists or artist teams and welcomes proposals for more than one location. Proposals for each location should be submitted separately. 

THEMES  

For both locations, the Art Selection Jury is interested in seeing proposals that incorporate marine and maritime themes. Thematic topics may explore a wide range of interests including but not limited to western and Alaska Native maritime histories and practices, references to constellation charting, Alaska’s connection to a global network of harbors, and the prominence of surrounding wildlife and ecosystems. Regarding representations of wildlife, facility users confirm that a vibrant ecosystem is present and visible at the port including land and sea life such as beluga whale, otter, salmon, eagle, seagull, raven, moose, fox, lynx, wolf, and many others.  

With these commissions, the jury seeks to make the new administration building stand out from the industrial aesthetic of other facilities and structures throughout the port. Successful proposals will consider opportunities for enhancing the facility’s visibility all year. Visibility should be considered from multiple perspectives including ships coming in and out of port, Government Hill residents, Downtown Anchorage, facility staff and other port users, as well as overhead flights. Means of addressing this interest include specific placement, mediums, and design.  

There is a strong interest from the jury to see contemporary proposals that introduce color and vibrancy to the area and incorporate lighting and/or light responsive materials. Please note, incorporation of lighting should be done with consideration for the surrounding area users and residents. Strong uplighting, whether direct or indirect, is not permitted as there is impact to military flights overhead. Similar considerations should be given to lighting elements with directional orientation towards the neighboring community, Government Hill. Where possible, there is interest in seeing proposals for works that are dimensional in nature.   

There are no restrictions on the types of mediums that can be proposed. The jury believes strongly in providing artists with the greatest latitude of creative freedom to explore the expressed thematic interests while addressing any technical requirements specific to each location.  

For consideration of color palette choices, the facility color scheme includes Pearl Gray and Royal blue. 

REQUIREMENTS 

There are no restrictions on style or the design of artwork, but the proposal must provide assurance that the artwork will be durable and routine maintenance requirements will be minimal. Also, surplus materials (2%) will be required for future maintenance needs, if appropriate. The installation must be permanent and must be designed to last the life of the facility. This is an earthquake area and artwork needs to meet standards in the IBC 2018 building code as amended by the Municipality of Anchorage. All commissioned artwork is subject to municipal permitting requirements, and any such requirements must be met prior to artwork installation. 

Artists are required to submit the following items:  

1. Six digital images from your artist portfolio should be loaded into CaFE (callforentry.org) following the guidelines on that site. 

2. Each image should be identified with title, materials, dimensions, and value.  

3. Current 1-2 page resume, including 3 professional references. 

4. Your artist statement should include a description of why you are interested in or particularly qualified for this project. Your statement should also address any experience or work sample deficiencies in relation to your chosen medium.  

5.  A brief conceptual proposal which identifies location, medium, and thematic relevance. 

BUDGET  

The total budget for artwork is $64,700. This includes two separate project locations: $32,350 for location 1, and $32,350 for location 2. Budgets are to cover all costs associated with the commissioning of artwork, including but not limited to design, fabrication, any travel and accommodations, transportation, installation, photographic documentation, catalog documentation and an identifying plaque. Any permitting, or engineer fees required must be paid by the artist. Any structural or engineer fees for approved structure modifications, must be paid by artist. State laws related to public construction, including licensing, insurance, bonding, and payment of prevailing wage rates, may apply. 

SELECTION CRITERIA 

Artists will be selected to develop proposals with the project team based on: 

Artistic Merit as evidenced by representation of relevant past work in images.   

Appropriateness of the artist’s medium, style and previous experience in relation to the project goals and setting. 

Experience with projects of a similar scale and scope including familiarity with the public art process, the public review approval process, and/or collaboration with high schools, design agencies, and art selection juries.   

Artists must have good communication skills and be able to work with diverse community members.  

The program goal to reflect a diversity of artists and media through representation of new and traditional artforms practiced in local, regional, national, and international arts communities in a range of style, scale, media, form, and intent. Artists with no prior public art experience will be seriously considered.  Artists with strong bodies of work, with little public art background are encouraged to apply and will be given equal consideration.   

ART SELECTION JURY 

Jason Arnold is the Owner and Principal Architect at RIM Architects and sits as the design representative on the jury. Cheryl Becham is the Port of Alaska’s Finance and Admin Manager and represents the facility. Representing the Municipality of Anchorage are Brian Weigand, Port Engineer Manager and Ronnie Poole, Operations and Maintenance Superintendent for the Port. Stephen Gerlek is a 40-year resident of Government Hill and represents the Anchorage community. Andrea Reynolds and Susan LaGrande are visual artists and Government Hill residents representing the community. Non-voting members include Gideon Gerlt, the Curator of Public Art and David Ames, Project Manager with Jacobs. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  

Requests for additional information may be directed to the Curator of Public Art, Municipality of Anchorage, Public Art Program. The Public Art office can be reached by phone or email at: 

Phone - (907) 343-6473  

Email - gideon.gerlt@anchorageak.gov  

Please visit Anchorage’s Public Art Program on the web at: 

https://www.muni.org/Departments/Public_Works_Administration/PublicArt/Pages/default.aspx 

Application Requirements

REQUIREMENTS 

There are no restrictions on style or the design of artwork, but the proposal must provide assurance that the artwork will be durable and routine maintenance requirements will be minimal. Also, surplus materials (2%) will be required for future maintenance needs, if appropriate. The installation must be permanent and must be designed to last the life of the facility. This is an earthquake area and artwork needs to meet standards in the IBC 2018 building code as amended by the Municipality of Anchorage. All commissioned artwork is subject to municipal permitting requirements, and any such requirements must be met prior to artwork installation. 

Eligibility Criteria

National