The City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art program seeks to commission a U.S.-based professional visual artist or artist team to design art for the southwest corner lawn of City Hall grounds, located at 414 E 12th St, Kansas City, MO 64106. Preference will be given to artists based in the Kansas City, Missouri Combined Statistical Area. This project is being funded by one percent of project costs of renovating the City Hall parking garage, with an estimated completion date of July 2025.

Three semifinalist artists will be asked to propose designs. All semifinalist proposals must be designed to be installed on the southwest corner lawn of City Hall grounds. The southwest corner lawn measures approximately 90’ x 30’. All art must fit within these dimensions.

All artistic elements may be required to comply with applicable building codes, such as but not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2018 Uniform Building Code (UBC). The garage renovation project team may review proposed elements relative to such requirements, including potential safety and/or security considerations.

Budget

The budget available for this project is $140,000, all inclusive.

Question and Answer Period

Questions related to this project for the KCMO Public Art Administrator or the Garage Renovation Project Manager should be emailed to the Public Art Administrator at james.martin@kcmo.org by Monday, March 25, 2024, 5:00 p.m. Central. Questions received by this deadline will be answered in writing through an addendum on this CaFÉ Call for Artists after the Artist Q&A videoconference described below. Answers to written questions also may be answered during the Q&A session if time allows.

Virtual Q&A Sessions

• Monday, March 25, 2024 5:30 p.m. Central Click here to join the meeting
• Tuesday, March 26, 2024 5:30 p.m. Central Click here to join the meeting

Evaluation Criteria

The Public Art Administrator will review all semifinalist proposals to ensure that they meet application requirements and physical limitations of the site, if applicable.

The City Hall Southwest Lawn Artist Selection Panel will use the following evaluation criteria:

Excellence: Works of art in the artist's application 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 such as--but not limited to--architects, city project management staff, general contractors, engineers, fabricators and union tradespeople--or the artist is jointly submitting the qualifications of a collaborator that has created such projects and that has such experience.

Appropriateness to the site and project: Works of art in the application 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 artist's application utilize materials and processes likely to contribute to the longevity of public works of art, or the artist is willing to adopt such practices by collaborating with a partner with relevant specialized expertise.

Selection Process

The Kansas City, Missouri Public Art Administrator will recommend selection panelists to the Municipal Art Commission for approval. The selection panel will consider resumes and portfolios residing on CaFÉ and select three semifinalists. The selection panel will interview the three semifinalists, review their proposals and budgets and select the finalist and one alternate.

The finalist artist’s proposal will be presented to the Municipal Art Commission for approval prior to development of a contract. All contracts may be subject to approval by City Council.

Artists lacking public art experience are welcome to jointly submit the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.

Artists who need access to a computer and/or internet access are encouraged to seek assistance from their local library or KC BizCare, 816-513-2492.

Contractual Process

The selected artist or artist team will enter into a contract with the City of Kansas City, Missouri. Typical requirements for a contract with the city and related fees may include, but are not limited to:

• Use of durable materials not easily subject to wear or vandalism (e.g., graffiti-resistant materials, etc.)
• registering as a vendor with the City of Kansas City, Missouri
• acquiring a City of Kansas City, Missouri business license
• Certificate of General Liability Insurance with the City of Kansas City, Missouri named as additional insured
• paying municipal revenue tax to the City of Kansas City, Missouri and ensuring that any past municipal revenue taxes are current
• notarized affidavit of compliance with federal e-Verify requirements
• developing a budget to include all aspects of design, fabrication, transportation, installation and lighting, and that may include costs such as, but are not limited to:
  • approval by a Missouri-licensed structural engineer
  • permits
  • excavation, site remediation and landscaping
  • purchasing lighting fixtures and managing their installation
  • travel expenses
  • general liability insurance
  • commercial auto insurance
• contracts may be subject to City of Kansas City, Missouri DBE, MBE, WBE and SLBE guidelines

Requirements of the State of Missouri may include, but are not limited to:

• registering with the Missouri Secretary of State and paying related fees to conduct business in Missouri
• contracts over $75,000 must meet Missouri’s Prevailing Wage Law and require managing related documentation
• Worker’s Compensation and managing related documentation

Federal requirements may include, but are not limited to:

• W-9
• E-verify

Semi-finalist and finalist artists seeking assistance with City of Kansas City, Missouri contract requirements should contact KC BizCare, https://bizcare.kcmo.gov/ or 816-513-2492. Further guidance and a documentation checklist are available at https://bizcare.kcmo.gov/public-art. For questions outside BizCare’s scope of services, artists may be referred to other resources. BizCare and other City employees and/or contractors are not authorized to give legal or accounting advice. Semifinalist and finalist artists may find it advantageous to consult with an attorney while negotiating contract terms with the City.

Tentative Schedule

• Early March, 2024: Call for Artists distributed
• Monday, March 25, 2024, 5:00 p.m. Central: Written question and answer period deadline
• Virtual Q&A sessions
  • Monday, March 25, 2024 5:30 p.m. Central Click here to join the meeting
  • Tuesday, March 26, 2024 5:30 p.m. Central Click here to join the meeting
• 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 26 Mountain Time Zone: Application deadline
• By Mid-May 2024: Semifinalists selected and notified
• Mid-July 2024: Semifinalist artists’ proposal presentations (virtual)
• August 2024: Artist contract executed
• Autumn 2024: Artist procures materials, begins fabricating art
• Art installation: July 2025
• Artwork dedication: Within 1 week of installation, if applicable

Application Requirements

• Work samples on CaFÉ. All applications must be submitted through this CaFÉ Call for Artists. Up to ten (10) Images of your original completed commissions, not proposals, which demonstrate your qualifications for the project. Three-dimensional models, sketches, or drawings will not be accepted. You must include the title, medium, dimensions, project budget or price, year completed and location (if applicable) for each work. The value must be indicated in US dollars. Artists who need access to a computer and/or internet access are encouraged to seek assistance from their local library or KC BizCare, 816-513-2492.
• Artist resume
• Residency location

Eligibility Criteria

All applications must be submitted through this CaFÉ Call for Artists.

Eligibility is limited to professional visual artist teams or artists at least 18 years of age based in the United States. Preference will be given for artists based in the Kansas City Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The Kansas City CSA includes the Missouri counties of Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray and the Kansas counties of Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Wyandotte.

Artists lacking public art experience are welcome to jointly submit the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single file with multiple pages.

Artists previously contracted for a City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art commission within two years of their past project’s contract execution date are not eligible.

Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees and General Services Department project consultants and their employees and sub-consultants are ineligible.