Call Description

Project Description

The City of Lee’s Summit Police Department and the Arts + Culture Division seek to commission a professional artist, or artist team, to create an outdoor, site-responsive, or site-specific civic art piece for public view to be placed at the new South Substation’s main entrance. This location is the first space officers and visitors will see when approaching the facility. It will be highly visible to the public and visiting members of the K9 teams.

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 K9 memorial installation for the South Substation development. The art piece should maintain the views of our K9 team and Police Department.

South Substation Background

The South Substation, currently under construction, will occupy the site of the former City of Lee’s Summit Fire Station. It is the first Police Substation to serve the growing community and will provide an enhanced public safety presence in the southern part of Lee’s Summit.

The Lee’s Summit Police Department held a ground-breaking ceremony for the new South Substation on Friday, Oct. 25th, 2024.

The new station will be located at 3650 SW Windemere Drive, Lee’s Summit, MO

K9 Team Background:

 In 1991, the LSPD received its first K-9 Officer, Caiy with Officer Mike Childs. There have been 10 dogs total with 6 handlers, this memorial will honor all K9 officers who have served. These loyal companions have spent their lives ensuring their handlers, fellow officers and our citizens stay safe.

The Lee's Summit Police Department currently has two K-9 teams. Both teams are dedicated to providing a specialized police presence in our community. Usually working late evenings and early mornings, these two teams conduct human tracking, open area searches, building searches, article searches, drug detection, and officer protection.

To learn more about this team and meet the current K9s visit: K-9 Team

Concept Requirements:

·         "In Honor of the K-9s Who Have Served LSPD."

·         "In service and sacrifice, they stand with us"

·         Space allotted, 6’ x 8’, does not have to fill the space, but would like a sculptural work.

·         Breed: Belgian Malinois

·         Currently, we would honor 10 K9s with an expectation of more in future years.

Total Public Art Project Budget

Not to exceed $45,000, 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 24, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. MST. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered. The Lee’s Summit Arts + Culture 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. memorials, 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 the artist is willing to adopt such practices by collaborating with a partner with relevant specialized expertise. The artist or artist team will be required to submit a maintenance plan in order to keep best practices.
• 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 Police Department's new South Sub Station 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) March 10- March 24, 2025.

The City of Lee’s Summit Arts and Culture Specialist, in conjunction with the City of Lee’s Summit Police Department, 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 7, 2025.

Round 2: Finalists create and present a Concept Proposal to the Selection Panel. (Tentatively planned for the week of April 21, 2025.) 

Three to five finalists will be selected and paid a $500 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 team, 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.

Timeline and Benchmark Dates

(All dates are subject to change.)

• Late April 2025 - Final approval of concept proposal by Cultural Commission
• Late April/Early May 2025 - Approval of concept proposal and contracting by City
• May/June 2025 - Final Design and Fabrication
• July 2025 - Estimated Opening for new South Substation
• We would like the Artwork to be installed by July/August but are open to extending the timeline in discussion with the Artist/Artist Team selected.

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.