Project Description:

The City of Lewisville, Texas, is currently constructing the Tittle McFadden Public Safety Center (description below). Completion is expected to be during the first quarter of 2025.  The City Council, city management, and the appointed Arts Advisory Board have a strong desire to accent the new facility with a visually striking exterior public art installation outside the building’s entrance. The placement and vision of the project lends itself to sculpture or similarly durable artwork in a range of materials proven able to withstand the extremes of Texas weather, with sufficient visual appeal to be seen from nearby streets and to complement the scale and architecture of the building.

Eligibility: This is a national and international call and request for proposal. Artists may apply as a single artist or as a multi-person collaborative group. In the case of a group, please apply under one single application.

Entry Deadline: September 30, 2023, 11:59 pm (Mountain Time)

Agency: City of Lewisville, Arts Advisory Board

Selection process:  Through review of the applications by staff, the construction project architect, and Arts Advisory Board members, up to 3 artists will be identified as finalists and will be invited to give an online presentation to the selection team. Through this presentation process, one artist or artist group will be selected to complete the project. Target date for these presentations is early November 2023, with notices going out by mid-October 2023. All decisions of the City of Lewisville are final.

Background and Context:

• Lewisville, Texas

Lewisville was formed in 1844 and incorporated in 1925. Located north of Dallas along Interstate 35E in the bustling DFW Metroplex, the city currently has a culturally diverse population of more than 130,000 residents and is a major retail and employment center for the region. Key features include Lewisville Lake, LLELA Nature Preserve, and historic Old Town Lewisville.

• Tittle McFadden Public Safety Center

This state-of-the-art 116,000-square-foot facility replaces the now demolished Police Department building and Fire Station #1, which included Lewisville Fire Department administration. The new facility also will include a hardened emergency operations center. Construction will cost more than $100 million funded through a voter-approved bond election. The building is named after former Lewisville Fire Chief Tim Tittle and former Lewisville Police Chief Steve McFadden, in honor of their many years of public service. Preliminary construction began in late 2022 and is expected to be completed in early 2025.

• Lewisville 2025

In 2014, a group of 50 resident volunteers were appointed to a committee charged with developing a vision for the kind of city they wanted Lewisville to be when it turned 100 years old in 2025. The result is a comprehensive vision plan that presents a set of key Big Moves, along with general and specific action steps to accomplish each of these ambitious goals.

• Public Art Master Plan

As a key component of the Lewisville 2025 plan, adoption of the city’s Public Art Master Plan occurred in January 2018. The plan sets out a vision for the role that public art can play in Lewisville’s future as a successful city. The City of Lewisville views the public art program as a valuable way to express civic pride, an extension of Lewisville’s commitment to provide residents and visitors with access to arts and cultural experiences, and as a means to visually make strong connections to the city’s growing diversity, especially cultural and economic diversity.

Project Parameters, Goals and Other Details:

· The selection panel is looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind, monument-sized artwork that is appropriate for placement in front of a public safety facility and for the diverse Lewisville community. Our vision is for something in a contemporary style that is visually striking and can be seen from the nearby intersection of Main Street and Valley Parkway. It is not required that the theme of the artwork be directly connected to public safety functions and imagery, or to Lewisville or Texas history.

· The location for this artwork is outside the front entrance of the Tittle McFadden Public Safety Center, located at the northeast corner of Main Street and Valley Parkway (approximate address 1101 W. Main Street.)

· A concrete pad is planned near the front entrance and adjacent to a walkway between the front entrance and nearby parking and pedestrian areas. The specifications of the concrete pad can be adjusted in consultation with the building architect and construction team. There is an overhang from the second floor of the building that must be accommodated.

· All exterior public art projects in Texas are exposed to weather and physical stresses and can be subject to vandalism. The artwork can be fabricated from any combination of metal, stone, glass, or other high-durability, low-maintenance material proven able to withstand the extremes of Texas weather, from ice storms in the winter to hail and high winds in the spring to 100-degree heat in the summer.

· The incorporation of lighted elements with the artwork is desired, but not required.

· The selected artist will be expected to coordinate with the building architect and construction team as needed. This includes deciding details about the installation site (pad thickness, concrete patterns or colors, power needs, etc.) and about the timing of the installation itself.

· The selected artist will be expected to receive curated input from users of the new facility through a short online survey or other method to be coordinated through the City.

· Building completion is currently projected to be sometime during the first quarter of 2025. It is the strong desire of City officials that the artwork be unveiled at the same time the building opens to the public. The ability to meet that deadline will be a factor in selecting the artist for this project.

Selected artist will be expected to provide and adhere to an agreed-upon timeline of project benchmarks and deadlines, including artwork specific site preparation needs assessed and confirmed with architects early on in the project after contract execution and coordinated delivery of the work in connection to the completion of the facility construction. The selected artist will be expected to make at least one additional trip to Lewisville for a site visit and for planning for fabrication and installation details.

Other Resources

· Site map: https://www.cityoflewisville.com/home/showdocument?id=27061&t=638288214269767327

· Rendering: https://www.cityoflewisville.com/home/showdocument?id=27059&t=638288214261017122

· Lewisville 2025 vision plan and annual reports (Lewisville 2025 | City of Lewisville, TX)

· Public Art Program and Public Art Master Plan (Public Art | City of Lewisville, TX)

Budget

The budget for this commission is up to $320,000 USD 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, 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.

*Travel expectations to Lewisville include a minimum of two visits: one being for planning and input on the project, the other being for installation. Additionally, the selected artist will be expected to participate in several conference calls with city representatives during the planning and fabrication phase to provide regular updates. 

Tentative Timeline

(Except for online application deadline, timeline is subject to adjustments)

Saturday, September 30, 11:59 MT Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system)

October- Finalist selection made.

November- Finalist presentations and notification of selected artist. 

Installation of finished work is expected during the first quarter 2025.

Eligibility

This project is open to any artist regardless of race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical handicap. Artists are not required to have previous experience in public art, but experience creating large-scale monument-sized artworks is preferred. Emerging artists are welcome to apply for this commission.

Maintenance & Durability

All applicants are expected to consider the issues of long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, and address those issues along with time and budget. These projects are located in the public realm and may therefore be exposed to weather and 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 will be reviewed by the City to ensure conformity with standards of maintenance and durability, as well as ADA requirements. The selected artist is expected to stay on budget and to complete their work within the approved time frame.

Selection Process

Through review of the applications by city staff, building architect, and Arts Advisory Board members, up to three artists/artist teams will be selected as finalists. Selection will be based on artist experience, quality of previous works, and creativity and originality of previous work.

The finalists will then be invited to give an online presentation to the selection committee to share more about their artistic process, past work, and plans, inspiration, materials and possible concept for this commission.  Additional detailed guidelines and expectations of materials to prepare for the finalist presentation will be provided to the selected finalists. Professional references will also be expected to be provided by each finalist. Each finalist will receive an honorarium of $1,500 to prepare the presentation for the committee. The commission will be awarded to one of the three finalists. All decisions of the City of Lewisville are final.

Application Requirements

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. Artists without access to a computer can call 972.219.8446 to make alternate arrangements.

Digital Images—In order to be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit up to eight digital images of previously completed artworks through the CaFÉ™ system. Artists who wish to submit kinetic, sound or media works must submit a complete CaFÉ™ application and include links to the work uploaded online, such as through YouTube or Vimeo. Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found at https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/uploading-media/ Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available during regular business hours by calling 303.629.1166 or 888.562.7232, or via email at cafe@westaf.org. Artists without access to a computer can call 972.219.8446 to make alternate arrangements.

Statement of Interest—submit a statement of interest and explanation of why this project interests you. The statement of interest  should not be longer than 3,000 characters and be submitted via CaFÉ™.

Résumé—Submit a current résumé (maximum of two pages) 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 reviewed. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé with 1-2 pages per team member.

Please direct all questions about the project to Denise Helbing at dhelbing@cityoflewisville.com or 972.219.8478.

Application Deadline: Saturday, September 30, 11:59 MT Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system)

Eligibility Criteria

This project is open to any artist regardless of race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical handicap. Artists are not required to have previous experience in public art, but experience creating large-scale monument-sized artworks is preferred. Emerging artists are welcome to apply for this commission.