The City of Redondo Beach and its Public Art Commission invite artists to participate in the City’s continuation of its Utility Box Art Program. The City and the Commission are seeking artists to showcase their original designs on utility boxes located throughout the City of Redondo Beach. The goals of the program are to use public art to contribute to the vitality and attractiveness of the City’s streetscapes and bring art to unexpected places.

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION OF UTILITY BOXES AND VINYL WRAPS

The City’s utility boxes vary in size and are currently gray or green. The preparation of the utility boxes and fabrication and installation of the vinyl wraps will be completed by a company that specializes in those processes. The vinyl material used will have a coating that protects the design from graffiti and U-V damage.

Utility boxes are located throughout Redondo Beach, but not every utility box belongs to the City, and at the present time we are unable to provide a list of those boxes that are owned by the City. Artists may identify one or more utility boxes for which they would like to create a design(s). The City, however, makes no guarantee to artists that their selection(s) will be honored. Which designs will be wrapped on which boxes will ultimately be decided by the City Council upon recommendations from the Public Art Commission. Once installed, the design is considered a long‐term installation and will become the property of the City of Redondo Beach.

 SCOPE OF SERVICES

• Designs selected to become vinyl wraps for utility boxes must be submitted according to the specifications of the fabricator. These will be included in the Artist License Agreement.
• The installed wraps should enliven the area and transform the street.
• Designs must be family-friendly and suitable for viewing by all ages.
• Because designs will frequently be observed by passengers in moving cars, they should be able to be appreciated quickly and from a distance. For this reason, simple designs and bold colors are recommended. Text is not recommended.
• Designs using a majority of dark colors will not be considered due to the potential for overheating the utility boxes.
• Designs may not restrict any vents or airflow through the boxes, thus necessary layout edits to designs may be made by the City.
• The City must be able to fully access the box and the components inside the box at all times.
• In the event the utility box is mounted on a base of concrete or other material, the base shall not be included as part of the available area for a public art design.
• Any nearby protective poles, bollards, planters, etc. are not included as part of the available area for a public art design.
• Designs must be original by the artist and may not use any copyrighted or trademarked image.
• Designs must not be plagiarized, stolen, or copied from any other source.
• Designs must not defame or invade the rights of any person, living or dead.
• Additional consideration may be given to designs that showcase Redondo Beach’s cultural diversity, historic heritage, or popular activities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The design may include the name of the artist and, if applicable, the sponsor of the specific utility box in no larger than a 3” x 5” space on one of the box’s 4 side panels.

MULTIPLE DESIGNS

Artists may submit multiple designs. Each design, however, is required to have its own application.

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed and selections will be made on a rolling basis beginning November 29, 2023.

The selection process will consist of a preliminary review and recommendations by the Public Art Commission followed by approval by the City Council. Artists will be notified by the City if and when their designs are accepted.

If selected, artists will be required to sign an Artist License Agreement with the City of Redondo Beach prior to installation of the design. Artists will receive a $500.00 payment for each original design that ultimately becomes a vinyl wrap on a utility box.

Once an Artist License Agreement has been signed by all the parties, the final design must be submitted according to the fabricator’s specifications within thirty (30) days.

SELECTION CRITERIA

When reviewing submissions, the Public Art Commission will consider the following:

• Artistic excellence, innovation and originality.
• Does the artist have the experience to complete the project within the timeframe?
• Does the art meet the goals of the project?
• Does the art transform the project area?
• Does the art portray the City’s cultural diversity, historic heritage or a key activity?

Application Requirements

This is an online-only application process. 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™ system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of Redondo Beach Request for Designs for Utility Box Vinyl Wraps.”

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

MEDIA (Choose Work Samples in the Application)

• A conceptual image formatted according to the provided design template (please see the template provided under "View Site Details"). Please note that utility boxes differ in size, so your conceptual image may not be to scale. Conceptual images may be hand drawn, however digital design is recommended.
• Five (5) detailed images (one of each of the four sides plus the top).
• A sample of the artist’s previous work including a brief description. A maximum of 3 samples will be accepted.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

• An Artist Statement (2,000 characters maximum) that describes why the artist is interested in designing a utility box, previous experience working on public art projects and how the artist believes the art will transform the street and/or enliven the area.
• A resume that includes exhibition history, past projects or a brief description of cooperative, community‐based projects. Resumes should be limited to four pages.
• Agreement with legal requirements

Eligibility Criteria

Because funding for this program comes out of the City’s John Parsons Public Art Fund (a “percent-for-art” public art fund established by ordinance), selected artists must meet the Public Art Ordinance’s definition of artist: “Artist means a person who has a reputation among peers as a person of artistic excellence, through a record of exhibitions, public commissions, sale of works, or educational attainment as judged by the reviewing body with final design review authority for the development project.”