To view this call in PDF form, please click here. 

PROJECT SCHEDULE**      

• Request for Qualifications Opens - November 2, 2023
• Virtual Info Session for applicants* - November 16, 2023 at 12:00 pm MST
• RFQ Submission Deadline - December 6, 2023 by 11:59 pm MST
• Notification of finalist selection - Early January 2024
• Required finalists meeting - Mid-to-late January 2024
• Proposal development - January – March 2024
• Required finalist proposal presentation - April 3, 2024
• Commissioned Artist Contracting - Spring 2024
• Park Design Development & Artwork Integration - Summer 2024
• Park Construction - Fall 2024 – Spring 2025
• Artwork Fabrication & Installation - Fall 2024 – Spring 2025
• Installation Completion & Ribbon-Cutting - Spring/Summer 2025

* Attendance to Virtual Info Session is encouraged but it is not an application requirement. 

** Dates provided are estimates based upon current knowledge of preliminary project schedules and are only intended to assist artists in determining their own availability to participate. The above dates in no way represent final approved schedules and are subject to change through future iterations of design and construction phases.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Situated in the Salt Lake Valley at the base of the Wasatch foothills, Donner Trail Park is a 14.27-acre park in the East Bench neighborhood of Salt Lake City. It is located in the easternmost community within Salt Lake City, known for its residential neighborhoods comprised of older, distinctive homes in the western area of the community and new homes of contemporary design on the slopes of the eastern foothills. The area is also home to regionally significant institutional facilities and employment centers, such as the University of Utah, Research Park, and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Attractions—such as Hogle Zoo, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, This is the Place Heritage Park, the Natural History Museum of Utah, and Red Butte Gardens—and the abundance of open space and recreational opportunities are enjoyed by residents and bring visitors from all over the City and region. The adjacent foothills and the natural streams that bisect the community provide opportunities to enjoy the City’s natural resources while also providing a critical habitat for wildlife.

Using funds from the Parks, Trails, and Open Space General Obligation Bond (approved by Salt Lake City voters in November 2022), Donner Trail Park will be “reimagined” to better reflect neighborhood needs and identities. Based on the feedback collected by the Public Lands Department, it is evident that community members value being able to connect to nature, experience solitude and quiet, and enjoy the views of the Salt Lake Valley that Donner Trail Park has to offer. Any improvements made to the park will need to maintain the views of the valley and the peaceful environment. From May to September of 2023, Public Lands conducted the first phase of comunity engagement to understand the community’s desires for the park and how they wish to see it improved. The feedback collected will to help inform decisions on how to proceed with the design phase, and ultimately implementation of the collective vision. Click here to read this Community Engagement report. The inclusion of a public art installation(s) within this site is supported by the voter-approved Parks, Trails, and Open Space General Obligation (GO) Bond.

Salt Lake City Public Lands, in collaboration with the Arts Council’s Public Art Program, is pleased to provide an opportunity for artists and artist-led teams based in the United States to submit qualifications for the Donner Trail Park public art project. This opportunity will allow for the integration of an artist or artist-led team’s artwork and concepts into the overall renovations of the park, in collaboration and consultation with the project’s landscape architects.

A “reimagined” Donner Trail Park may include revamped amenities, new wayfinding signage, and new landscape architecture elements, including the planning and addition of a Memorial Tree Grove, designed to enhance the natural and contemplative elements found within the environment. This Memorial Tree Grove will allow community members to honor their loved ones and will create a needed tree canopy and wildlife habitat within the city. The Grove will establish a design that will tell a story over time as it grows, creating a contemplative space removed from distracting outside stimuli that is more secluded space that will promote a state of connection with nature and contemplation. The public art installation ultimately chosen through this RFQ process will serve as a centerpiece for this reimagined effort, symbolizing an arrival or destination that will enhance these elements. A final location for the artwork within the park has not been selected, allowing the selected artist and/or artist-led team to have creative direction in determining how their artwork should be integrated into the park’s landscape architecture.

Currently, the park is primarily used by adults and seniors walking the loop sidewalk around the perimeter of the park. Apart from the loop trail, park users highlight the open space and nature setting of the site, in addition to the stunning views of the Salt Lake Valley experienced from the park, particularly during sunsets. Families and children visiting the park mainly use the west playground within the park. The park is also used for small gatherings like picnics, light exercise, and dog walking.

Donner Trail Park is named for the infamous Donner-Reed Party that blazed a trail through Emigration Canyon (and through present-day Donner Trail Park) on their way to California from the Midwest. During their westward journey, the Donner-Reed Party elected to follow an alternate route, the Hastings Cutoff, instead of the typical route. In doing so, they lost valuable time, eventually leading to the fateful 1846-47 winter in the Sierra Nevada that they became known for. The Mormon pioneers would use this same route in 1847 as they trekked to what was then a territory of Mexico. The arrival of these pioneers to what would come to be known as Salt Lake City led to the displacement of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Indigenous tribes from their traditional homelands. Shortly thereafter, the Salt Lake Valley became a U.S. territory upon the ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, following the invasion of Mexico by the United States Army in 1846.
 

ARTWORK GOALS

The Salt Lake Art Design Board seeks to create site-specific artwork that meets some or all the following conceptual and/or aesthetic goals:

• Is visually engaging and reflects, but doesn’t detract, from the natural environment of the site and the views of the Salt Lake Valley seen from the park;
   
• May serve multiple purposes (examples: artwork that provides shade or seating, encourages contemplation, emphasizes the natural environment, or enhances improvements of the park, etc.); 
   
• Responds to the park’s contemplative setting, and/or the unique history of the site;
   
• Exemplifies strong, imaginative design and content and is integrated into the broader design of the park;
   
• Considers and incorporates sustainable concepts and materials;
   
• Does not require the use of electricity, audio/visual technology, water or other ongoing resources;
   
• Meets all public safety, structural, and maintenance standards and complies with the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA), Salt Lake City requirements, and all other applicable laws, codes, and regulations.
   

PROJECT BUDGET

The total commission for this project is $107,500 and is inclusive of all artist’s fees and related expenses for design, artwork engineering, materials, fabrication, insurance, transportation, travel, and installation of artwork on site. The artist should include a contingency plan of at least 10% of the project’s commission in the budget for their final proposal.
 

FINALIST SELECTION CRITERIA

The Salt Lake Art Design Board, in consultation with project stakeholders and Public Lands representatives, will choose up to three finalists to prepare an artwork proposal for integration into Donner Trail Park.

The selection of an artist or artist-led team is subject to, but not limited by, the following qualifications:

• Artist’s professional experience represents a developed and successful body of site-specific public art projects of a similar scope and scale as demonstrated by visual documentation;
   
• Ability to meet deadlines and budget and to perform work in a timely, professional manner;
   
• Willingness of the artist to consult and work collaboratively with the Art Design Board, community stakeholders, and City partners to successfully integrate the work into the site;
   
• Ability to understand sense of place and design in a context-sensitive manner as demonstrated by visual documentation;
   
• Artist’s process and work reveals something about the world, communicating unique perspective/s, inviting the viewer to question, discover, explore new ideas—the storytelling is compelling, and exploration feels relevant and deeply considered;
   
• Artist has created works of permanent nature that do not require excessive maintenance or repair costs and meet public safety requirements (including transportation safety requirements), Salt Lake City requirements, and Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. 
   

PROPOSAL/DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & ARTIST SELECTION

Finalists will be required to participate in at least two (2) meetings. The first meeting is meant to orient the selected artist/team with the project, meet with and ask questions to Public Lands staff, the contracted landscape architecture consultant, and other project stakeholders. During this initial meeting, the finalists will receive more site-specific information and supplemental documents to aid in the proposal development.

During the second meeting on April 3rd, 2024, the finalists will present their conceptual proposal to the Salt Lake Art Design Board and project stakeholders. The site-specific proposal should convey their ideas and plans through scale designs, renderings and/or scale models with a statement that describes, in detail, the project’s intent, proposed materials, fabrication and installation methods, project schedule, and an itemized budget.

After proposal presentations, the Art Design Board will recommend an artist or artist-led team, and one alternate, for the commission to the Mayor for final approval. Only the selected artist or artist-led team will enter into an Artist Commissioned Work Agreement with the City. The alternate will enter into a commission agreement only in the case that the City and the selected artist are unable, for any reason and in City’s sole discretion, to enter into the commission agreement.

After the artist/team’s proposal is accepted by the Mayor of Salt Lake City, the artist/team and the City will enter into the second two-party Artist Commissioned Work Agreement. The selected artist/team will be required to provide General Liability and Auto insurance as specified in the Agreement. The selected artist/team will be required to be present for installation and to remain on site for the duration of the installation, which will be coordinated by the Public Art Program Manager and Public Lands. The selected artist or artist-led team will be responsible for all expenses incurred for travel for the installation of the artwork and should budget accordingly from the awarded commission.

Finalists will receive a $2,000 honorarium to prepare and present their proposals. Stipend is inclusive of any travel expenses, hotel, shipping, etc.
 

ARTIST AGREEMENTS & PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS

Finalists will sign a Design/Proposal Development Agreement. If selected for commission, the artist/team will enter into a two-party Artist Commissioned Work Agreement with Salt Lake City Corporation. The selected artist/team must carry general liability and auto insurance and must either provide proof of Workers’ Compensation Coverage or apply for a Workers’ Compensation Coverage Waiver. The artist/team must submit engineering drawings for approval prior to the start date of fabrication.

Salt Lake City will retain the right to remove or relocate the artwork as may be deemed necessary in the future. The selected artist/team will retain copyright to their work but will grant Salt Lake City right to reproduction. In the performance of this project under agreement with Salt Lake City, artist/team shall comply with all applicable Salt Lake City requirements, laws, codes, ordinances, and regulations.

View a sample a sample Artist Commissioned Work Agreement here.
 

RFQ INFORMATION SESSION, QUESTIONS, AND APPLICATION SUPPORT

All questions regarding this Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) may only be directed to Salt Lake City Public Art Program staff at the email address listed below. Artists may be disqualified if any unsolicited contact related to this RFQ is made with a member of the Art Design Board or project stakeholders other than the Public Art Program staff during the selection process.

We do our best to respond to inquiries quickly, however we may not be able to respond in a timely manner during the final days prior to deadlines stated above. Please give yourself ample time to consider your participation in this project and reach out to our staff, at any stage in the process, with any questions or concerns.

Contact: publicartprogram@slcgov.com

Website: https://saltlakepublicart.org/for-artists/calls-for-artists/

If you do not have access to a computer or WiFi to apply, the Salt Lake City Public Library branches offer free computer and WiFi access. If you require further resources or accommodations to complete the application materials, such as translation and interpretation services to other languages, please email publicartprogram@slcgov.com for assistance.

Information session: Interested applicants are invited to attend an online info session, via Webex, on Thursday, November 16th, 2023 at 12:00 pm MST:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82107674108

Attendance at this meeting is not required to apply. A recording of the info session will be published on our website afterwards.

Application Requirements

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Artists may apply individually or as a team. Submissions that arrive on or before 11:59 pm MST on Wednesday, December 6th, 2023, and meet all the application requirements will be reviewed.

The applicant’s full name and contact information must appear on all submitted materials. If applying as a team, indicate the name and contact information of the team’s representative. Artist-led team applications are welcomed. Each team must be led by a person with a demonstrated history of professional activity as an artist. Teams may not substitute team members after submission unless the Public Art Program consents to any proposed substitution. An artist may not apply as a member of more than one team and may not apply as an individual artist if already applying as a team – one person/one application.

To be considered for this project, applicants must submit all the required materials via the CaFÉ (www.callforentry.org) website. There is no application fee. No other method of submission will be accepted. Assistance using CaFÉ is available online, by email, or by calling 303-629-1166 during business hours.

Any materials not specifically requested as part of this application or exceeding the maximum page length or format requirements will not be considered or reviewed by the Art Design Board and may result in disqualification. Notifications of disqualifications will not be made.
 

1. LETTER OF INTEREST

A letter not to exceed one page (500 words) outlining your interest, perspective, strength, and experience for this project. Letter must include address, email, phone number, and website of artist.

• Describe how your previous work addressed site and similar goals as stated for this project;
   
• Provide concrete examples of previous experience in collaborating with design and construction teams;
   
• Do not submit a proposal for the commission at this time.
   

2. RÉSUMÉ OR CV

A résumé or CV, not to exceed two pages, that outlines professional accomplishment and includes two professional references (name, affiliated organization, email address and phone number) for both individual applicants and teams (two per team).

• If applying as a team, submit a two-page résumé for each team member combined into one PDF.
   
• References will only be contacted during the interviewing process for the artists/teams selected as finalists.
   

3. IMAGES OF PAST WORK

These images are the primary way the quality of your work is judged. Five to ten (5-10) visuals (up to two videos) of past artwork that demonstrate your qualifications for this project.

• Provide the following information for each: title, year produced, dimensions, budget, medium, location, and a brief description.
   
• Images of designs for previously proposed projects that were not developed to completion may be submitted but should be clearly marked as such. Previous proposals cannot account for more than 3 of the requested 10 images.
   
• If applying as a team and the team has not collaborated previously, images of work from all team members as appropriate should be included (please note that teams are limited to 10 visuals total).

Complete all fields in the CaFÉ portfolio section and upload through the "CHOOSE WORK SAMPLES" section. Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ specifications may be found at https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/uploading-media/

Eligibility Criteria

ELEGIBILITY

This Call for Artists is open to all professional artists or artist-led teams currently residing in the United States regardless of race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical disability.