Call Description

It is important to acknowledge the land on which this public art will be located.  Napa has a rich cultural heritage, which began with the inhabitation by Native Americans of the Wappo people along the Napa River over 10,000 years ago.  Due to the abundant natural resources in Napa Valley, the Wappo inhabitation was one of the longest indigenous inhabited regions in California.  The City of Napa recognizes the tribal nations who first lived in the Napa area and believes it is important to preserve their history, identity and culture as part of the Napa community. 

Napa is the seat of Napa County and the gateway to the legendary Napa Valley wine region. In addition to being a world-class tourist destination, Napa is also known for its late-1800s and early-1900s architecture, a riverfront promenade, active arts scene, musical entertainment venues and nationally recognized annual events (e.g., BottleRock, Festival Napa Valley, Napa Lighted Art Festival).

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The City of Napa opens an RFQ for artists, or artist teams, to develop unique paving designs for one of six (6) intersections in downtown Napa. These creative paving designs are intended to increase safety for all roadway users, especially pedestrians, and create a public art intervention to energize our streets. This opportunity is design only.

Six intersections along 2nd Street have been identified as sites for this project: five four-way intersections (Type A); and one (1) three-way intersection (Type B). The four-way intersections will have artistic curb bulb-outs, and the three-way intersection will have an artistic design for Napa’s first “pedestrian scramble” located at this intersection. Artists or artist teams should indicate in their letter of interest if they would like to be considered for Type A, Type B, or both. 

This RFQ is part of a multi-phase process by which the City of Napa seeks to identify and select up-to six qualified public artists to design one-of-a-kind a streetscape paving patterns for downtown Napa. Candidates from this RFQ will be screened for conformance to the selection criteria and presented to a panel, who shall recommend a short list of artist finalists. Finalists will be paid a fee of $1,000 to respond to the Request For Proposal (RFP) and develop a preliminary conceptual design.

Project Goals

It is important for public artwork in Napa’s urban center to offer a source of inspiration and pride for tourists and the community alike, as the valley navigates consistent growth and revitalization.  It is important that we inspire, invigorate, and encourage new ideas that serve as a catalyst for creativity. The City aims to accomplish the following with this public art project:

• Create an exciting, appealing and harmonious public environment by integrating art into public spaces
• Increase safety for roadway users
• Be site specific and original
• Attract and showcase qualified and diverse artists
• Help provide formalization of public use path and educate on the use of a pedestrian scramble; and
• Support the various goals, policies, and implementation strategies articulated in The City’s Public Art Master Plan.

Project Constraints

• Designs must use not more than six (6) colors.
• Designs must use solid colors only.
• Pedestrian Scramble designs should emphasize crosswalk areas, especially the diagonal crossings.
• Artist is available to participate in the design, approval and implementation of the project as required.
• The artwork is subject to removal by the City at any time during or after the installation.

Artwork is ineligible, for any one or more of the following reasons, if the artwork:

• Contains: text, copyright, logo, flags, brand or business name, address, phone number
• Is plagiarized, stolen, or copied from another source

The City’s Public Art and Public Works Departments will review draft designs for traffic safety concerns and will install the final design(s) with a qualified vendor using preformed thermoplastic-type material.

Evaluation Criteria

Artist(s) will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Complete application submitted prior to the application deadline
• Interest in the project and ability to create a design that is unique to the site;
• Quality of portfolio that is directly related to this public art specialization;
• Proven ability to deliver the project requirements on time and budget;
• Artwork examples submitted represent the artist’s own original creative work; and
• Availability to participate in the design, approval, and implementation of the project as required.

Submission Deadline

Complete responses must be received before March 3, 2025.        

Future Public Art Process

Finalists in the RFQ process will be paid $1,000 to develop an original proposal and respond to an RFP.  Artists selected for an RFP process will be required to provide the City of Napa with:

a)  All team member identification

b)  Scaled Conceptual Design

c)   Completed W-9 form

Six finalists will be selected from the RFP process. The artist fee for selected designs is $4,000. This project is design only and the fabrication and installation with be managed by the City of Napa with a qualified third-party vendor. 

Projected Schedule

The City has tentatively set the following schedule:

Inquiries

All inquiries related to this RFQ are to be emailed to:

Sarah Winski, City of Napa Public Art Coordinator

Email: SWinski@cityofnapa.org

Application Requirements

Incomplete Submissions will not be considered. Complete Submissions must include the following:

     1.  Letter of Interest

A letter stating the artist’s interest in the project, the type(s) of intersections you would like to be considered for, and how you would approach the project.

     2.  Images

Artists may submit between 1- 20 images maximum. Images should accurately represent the artwork size.  Do not submit a unique proposal for this call.

     3.  Image list & Description

For each artwork submitted, please provide a short description (up to 5 sentences) of the piece and any aspects of the work that may not be obvious in the images, or any other relevant information. Artists should provide an image list including the following for each artwork:

• Title
• Date of Completion
• Medium (Please Be Specific)
• Dimensions (Height X Width X Depth)

     4.  Resume

A resume outlining the applicant’s experience, qualifications and the experience of key team members (if applicable)

Eligibility Criteria

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to US-based artists and graphic designers with previous professional experience in public commissions or whose professional experience is adequate to meet the demands of the project. 

Qualifying activities would include some combination of the following: education and training as an artist, an exhibition record in museums, commercial art galleries, and/or nonprofit art spaces, previous public or private commissions; participation in artist-in-residency programs, or other related activities indicative of a professional art practice.

This individual or team must be able to:

• design an original, high-quality artwork
• meet project deadlines and perform work in a timely and professional manner
• submit a design proposal along with examples of past work
• design within multiple, complex design constraints
• collaborate with agency staff to ensure the pragmatic design and successful installation of the project as required; and
• design within the allocated budget.

Complete responses must be received by 11:59 PM (MST) on March 3, 2025.        

The City of Napa believes the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized groups should be centered in the arts. We encourage artists who identify with these communities to apply.