Project Description

The City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Commission seeks to commission a professional visual artist, or artist team, to create an outdoor, site-specific, or site-responsive art piece for public view to be placed at the new Downtown Market Plaza’s main entrance. This location is the first space visitors will see when approaching the facility from Third Street to the south of the Plaza and Farmer’s Market. It will be highly visible to pedestrians and vehicular traffic. It will be the primary entry point and gathering/meeting space on the facility’s southern boundary. It is anticipated to be a high-photographic area.

The selected art piece will be located at the main entrance to the facility’s Plaza at the intersection of Third Street and Green Streets. The art piece may include illumination. Visitors will be able to touch or interact with the art piece. This piece is meant to serve as an iconic beacon and gateway installation for the Downtown Market Plaza development. The art piece should maintain views of the Market and Plaza features.

Downtown Market Plaza Background

Located in the City of Lee’s Summit, a southeastern suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, the Downtown Market Plaza development is an ambitious mixed-use project in the heart of downtown Lee’s Summit. The project centers around a new farmer’s market and event space, outdoor performance area and creatively streetscaped pavilion. This new, dynamic project will complement the historic Downtown Lee’s Summit district as a long-lasting asset to the Lee’s Summit community.

This public-private capital development project broke ground in October 2023 and is scheduled to open in late spring 2025.  A detailed overview of the Downtown Market Plaza development project and available public art opportunities can be viewed on the Downtown Market Plaza website. This call packet, in addition to information related to the facility's public art projects, can be viewed at the City of Lee's Summit Public Art website. 

Total Public Art Project Budget

Not to exceed $100,000, all-inclusive. The budget includes but is not limited to, design fees, travel, fabrication, supplies, material costs, delivery, approval by a Missouri-licensed engineer, lighting materials, installation, etc.

Application Requirements

Submission Materials

Please upload and submit the following information via this Call for Entry RFQ no later than Monday, March 25, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. MST. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered. The Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Division reserves the right to conduct on-site or telephone interviews to clarify submission materials as needed. Hard copies or emailed submittals will not be accepted. If you require accessible options for submission please email LSAC@cityofls.net or call 816-969-1028.

Letter of Intent, up to 1 page

• Clearly describe your interest in the project and how you will be able to contribute to its success.
• Articulate your interest and/or experience in public art design, fabrication, and/or project collaboration.
• Summarize your experience in developing and/or executing creative projects of this scope in the public realm in the Kansas City metropolitan area (if applicable) and beyond (e.g. site-responsive art pieces or projects, interactive and participatory artworks, multimedia projects, creative placemaking events, festival, etc.)

Professional References, 3 references, up to 1 page

• Listing three professional references of recently completed projects.
• Please include contact information including name, commissioning entity, commissioned piece or project title, phone, email, and address.

Resume or Biographical Information, up to 3 pages

• Artist’s Experience: List your professional experience including any commissions, residencies, exhibitions, collaborations, and projects involving the community and work in the public sector.
• Experience working with organizations, institutions, developers, locally and beyond.

Work Samples, Images, Video, Audio, or Multi-Media

• A relevant body of work that demonstrates conceptual, aesthetic, and technical mastery in at least one artistic medium. Attach up to 10 images and/or up to 6 audio and/or video files.
• Follow CaFE image requirements: JPEG format only, 1200 pixels on the longest side, less than 5MB in size. Visit CaFE Help Page, for more information on image requirements or for help resizing images.

Image List

• Provide a list of details for your portfolio images
• Please include the following information as applicable: title, year made, materials, dimensions, budget, commissioning agency, and location.

Evaluation Criteria

The Selection Panel will use the following evaluation criteria to select an artist or artist team as finalists:  

• Artistic Excellence: Works of art in the portfolio are original, innovative, of exceptional quality, and enduring value.
• Relevant prior experience: The artist has created projects of a similar scale and budget and has experience coordinating with multiple stakeholders; or is jointly submitting the qualifications of a collaborator that has created such projects and has such experience.
• Clear understanding of the project: Works of art in the portfolio indicate that the artist is likely to be sensitive to the social, economic, cultural, historical, and physical context of the site and the surrounding neighborhood, either existing or planned.
• Durability: Works of art in the portfolio utilize materials and processes likely to contribute to the longevity of public works of art, especially for projects that will be located outdoors. Or artist is willing to adopt such practices by collaborating with a partner with relevant specialized expertise.
• Ability to meet the project timeline and project budget. The applicant understands the scope of the project and is capable of completing the project within the timeline and budget included in this RFQ.

The City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri seeks a diverse, equitable, and inclusive group of artists to produce public art for the Downtown Market Plaza project. Selection panelists will consider diversity, equity, and inclusion when evaluating artists in conjunction with the City’s policies on contracting and hiring practices.

Selection Process

Round 1: Call for Artists Qualifications (RFQ) February 22- March 25, 2024.

The City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts Manager, in conjunction with the City of Lee’s Summit Cultural Commission, will convene a selection panel to evaluate eligible submissions. Selection panels are comprised of area project stakeholders and community members. 

Selected finalists will be notified by April 5, 2024.

Round 2: Finalists create and present a Concept Proposal to the Selection Panel. (Tentatively planned for the week of May 20, 2024.) 

Three to five finalists will be selected and paid a $1,000 stipend to develop a Concept Proposal to present to the Selection Panel. The Selection Panel will review finalists’ proposals, budgets, and qualifications (images of work, resume/CV, letter of interest, references, and select one artist or artist teams, and one alternate. 

The selected proposal will be presented to the Lee’s Summit Cultural Commission for final approval before the development of a contract. All contracts may be subject to approval by the Lee’s Summit City Council.

Timeline and Benchmark Dates

(All dates are subject to change.)

• Late May 2024 - Final approval of concept proposal by Cultural Commission
• June 2024 - Approval of concept proposal and contracting by City Council.
• June/July 2024 - Artist contracting.
• July 2024 - April 2025  - Final design and fabrication.
• April/May 2025 - Artwork installation.

Eligibility Criteria

This public art opportunity is open to professional visual artists and artist teams residing in the United States and at least 18 years of age. We are seeking experienced public artists and artist teams with backgrounds in a variety of mediums specific to this project site. All applicants submitting a design for consideration should possess an understanding of, or experience with, outdoor installation that considers the climate and ecosystem specific to Missouri (high winds, hail, extreme hot and cold temperatures, humidity, etc.). Applicants should have experience executing ideas from concept to completion and meeting a specified budget and timeline. Previous experience working in the public realm and with a public agency is preferred. Experience involving community members in the visioning and creation of artwork is also preferred. Finalists must be able to attend a virtual interview and presentation of design. Full-time, permanent City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri employees, project consultants, project contractors, and their employees and sub-contractors are ineligible to apply.