Call Description

CITY OF PROVIDENCE, DEPARTMENT OF ART, CULTURE, AND TOURISM

GATEWAY LANDMARK PUBLIC ART RFQ

Mayor Brett P. Smiley, the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism,  and Art in City Life Commission invite artists to submit qualifications for the Gateway Landmark Public Artworks, for two separate artworks, one located at Neutaconkanut Hill Park and the other, at North Burial Ground. Supported by Providence’s Percent for Art via the Art in City Life Ordinance, these two large-scale, signature, permanent works of art will be highly visible, celebratory investments that place a spotlight on the whole of the City. 

Gateways to the city and the local neighborhoods, these public artworks will be created around the theme of “Welcoming,” creating iconic moments for convening across the city - a tie-in to the Semiquincentennial, by celebrating the welcoming embrace of our nation at its best. 

The City of Providence invites local, regional, national, and international artists seeking to create custom work for either one of the sites and artists seeking to install existing work that fits the sites. A site brief is included within this RFQ which outlines condition, use, and context for both locations. 

Qualifications must be submitted through callforentry.org. The deadline is December 3, 2025. Artists may be considered for both sites with this single RFQ, but may be selected as the semifinalist for only one site.

This call for qualifications is open to professional artists allowed to work within the United States.  Black, Indigenous, People of Color, women, gender nonconforming persons, LGBTQIA+ community members and people with differing physical abilities are highly encouraged to apply. Artists living across Rhode Island are highly encouraged to apply.

Sites:  1) Neutaconkanut Hill Park, 2) North Burial Ground

Budget:  $250,000 for each site

PROJECT GOALS

We intend for this commission to:

Respond to the theme of “Welcoming” - a tie-in to the Semiquincentennial, by celebrating the welcoming embrace of our nation at its best.

Respond to the physical, built, and social site context, considering artwork visibility from multiple site lines.

Serve as a meeting point for residents of all ages, in addition to being a place that visitors seek out.

Showcase the City’s commitment to public art through its grand scale and ambitious conceptual reach.

LOCATIONS AND SITING

Design considerations include:

City will provide a foundation or concrete pedestal for the installation of the artwork, to be built according to the artist’s specifications. The City will not be responsible for additional elements, such as electric and water.

Durability of materials, ease and cost of maintenance and the New England Climate.

Vertical profile: The artwork should steer towards a vertical profile that is visible from multiple view points.

Maps and drawings are attached

About North Burial Ground

Mission

To memorialize the deceased, comfort the living, and serve as a historical destination for the community.

History

The North Burial Ground (NBG) opened its gates in 1700 and is the largest municipal cemetery in the region at around 110 acres and with more than 40,000 gravestones. The cemetery is owned and operated by the Providence Parks Department and contains an eclectic collection of funerary sculptures ranging from simple slate markers to elaborate mausoleum structures.

As the City’s municipal burying ground, NBG is a place where all of Providence’s people are welcome. Buried among governors, mayors, Revolutionary and Civil War leaders, and Providence’s most prominent citizens are people from all walks of life. North Burial Ground celebrates the diversity of Rhode Island’s history by caring for the burial sites of Black people, Indigenous people, immigrants, religious minorities, and the poor. 

As an over 300 year old cemetery, NBG displays the landscape and architecture of the major design and planning movements in American history. The oldest sections reflect the utilitarian characteristics of an 18th century graveyard. NBG kept up with the trends and in the mid-nineteenth century, the Rural Cemetery Movement saw cemeteries landscaped into walking parks with elaborate planting, winding pathways, and features like the Receiving Tomb and Marble Staircase entrance. Today, the cemetery’s new sections are reflective of the Lawn Park Cemetery movement, which is characterized by open vistas.

Today

NBG is an active cemetery with over 200 burials a year. We have an active community of families of the deceased, affinity groups, and regular visitors. The many windy roads and rolling topography make the North Burial an ideal walking or jogging site, and the park-like atmosphere is home to some of Providence’s most interesting urban wildlife.

THE SITE

The North Burial Ground is separated into an active cemetery, with the more recently deceased, and a park, with green space and older tombstones and monuments. The artwork is expected to be placed within the park space, near the North Burial Ground park pedestrian entrance along North Main Street and Rochambeau Ave.

About Neutaconkanut Hill Park 

Situated in the heart of the most densely populated area of the City, this storied 88-acre park is divided between a lower recreation area and an upper wilderness area. The recreation area, along the northeast portion of the park, includes Providence’s first skatepark, a playground, two baseball diamonds, a basketball court, a pool and splash pad, a rec-center, and an all-purpose green. The wilderness area includes hiking trails across acres of trees, fields, wildflowers, interspersed with valleys, ravines, glacial boulders, stone walls, freshwater springs, and brooks. 

HISTORY

The hill, inhabited for centuries by the Narragansett, was the northwest boundary in a 1636 land agreement between sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi and Roger Williams, who founded the settlement of Providence.

The Narragansetts called the land the Great Hill of Neutaconkanut, a name with many diverse translations, including “home of squirrels.”

In 1829, the King family purchased 200 acres of the Neutaconkanut Hill land, from heirs of the Borden family. Abby King, the last surviving member of the family, willed what remained of the land to the City of Providence, with the stipulation that it would not be developed. In 1892, the Public Park Commission, in their recommendation to purchase the lands, wrote to the City fathers, “On this part, Nature has made a natural park more perfect than the hand of man could devise. On a Sunday afternoon as many as 1000 people left their horsecars on Plainfield St. and ascended the Hill.

During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed a trail network, bandstand, and park infrastructure to make the wooded hill accessible to the public. Stone-lined paths and historic steps remain in use today.

By the 1970s, Neutaconkanut Hill Park was nearly abandoned - except for the recreation areas in the lower section. In 2005, as a result of state, city, and local support, the Neutaconkanut Hill Conservancy was founded to support the maintenance and activation of the park. More recently, the City of Providence has re-invested in the park, increasing maintenance, and, in the lower recreation area, installing a large, new state-of-the-art, fully mobility-device-accessible playground, and further expanding Providence’s first skatepark. Basketball court renovations are scheduled for Spring 2026.

THE SITE

The proposed site at Neutoconkanut Hill Park is on the boundary between the lower recreation area and the intersection of Duxbury Street and Plainfield Street. The art would be adjacent to the basketball court, and should be visible from both the street and from within the lower recreation area.

TIMELINE

Dates may shift in response to project conditions

• Oct 13, 2025 - Open Request for Qualifications
• Oct. 29, 2025 - Optional Virtual Info Session (12:00 PM EST) (LINK HERE)
• Nov 4, 2025 - Optional Virtual Info Session (6:00 PM EST) (LINK HERE)
• Nov.21. 2025 - Last Day to Submit Questions
• Dec. 3 - RFQ Submission Deadline at 11:59 PM EST
• Jan, 2026 - ACLC Approves Semifinalists
• Feb, 2026 - Semifinalist Contracting
• April, 2026 - Semifinalist Deadline
• May, 2026 - ACLC Approves Finalists
• Jun-Jul. 2026 - Contract with Finalist, Finalist Begins Work
• Aug. 2027 - Installations Complete

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS

Artists will be selected through a competitive, two-tiered process. Qualified artists may submit their Artist Statement, Resume/CV, and three examples of relevant projects no later than 11:59 PM EST, Monday, December 3, 2025.  Applications received after this date will not be reviewed. Applicants must apply online through callforentry.org.

An Art Selection Panel (ASP) will review complete applications and score the submitted qualifications and select no more than four artists as Semifinalists for each location. Semifinalists will be contracted to complete a design proposal at a flat rate of $2,500.

The artist will be granted seven weeks to develop a design proposal and construction drawings. During the design phase, Semifinalists will be invited to a virtual stakeholder conversation. Design Proposals must include a concept design, narrative description, method of fabrication and install, proposed subcontractors, detailed project timeline, and project budget. Available guidance documents will be provided, but ultimate responsibility for preparing viable and safe designs is the Artist’s.

Full design proposals shall be presented to the Art Selection Panel in Spring/Summer of 2026.

The Art Selection Panel will recommend an awarded artist to the Art in City Life Commission for approval. The Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism will publicly announce the commissioned artist in Summer/Fall of 2026.

ART SELECTION PANEL

The Art Selection Panel includes representatives from partnering entities as well arts experts:

• Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism
• Department of Public Property
• Providence Parks Department
• Art in City Life Commission (1)
• Art in City Life Commission (2)
• Mayor-selected Community Steward
• Art Expert

ARTIST SCOPE OF WORK

Semifinalist will be contracted to:

• Develop a detailed design proposal section above, including a Narrative Summary; Design Concept; Fabrication and Installation Plan; List of Subcontractors; Project Schedule, Project Budget; and Proof of Insurance
• Participate in draft proposal review with the Project Manager for Capital Improvement Public Art Projects.
• Attend a virtual stakeholder conversation in the Winter/Spring of 2026
• Submit design materials at a date, yet to be determined, in April 2026.
• Present design materials to the Art Selection Panel

If selected as a Semifinalist and requested to prepare a full proposal, applicants should note the selection criteria.

NOTE: All design materials must be submitted as PDF files.

• Narrative Summary 
  • Narrative summary of the work you want to create (no more than 2000 words).  Include thoughts on how you see the work being integrated into the current use of the site as well as grapple with the site’s historic complexity.
• Design Concept
  • May be at least one drawing, sketch, render or visual image that represents the idea of the project proposed. Images must be site specific and to scale.  Please provide a hi-res color image and a scaled site rendering that can be printed to 24” X 36”.
• Fabrication and Installation Plan
  • Plan should include an extensive and detailed description of your anticipated technical needs.
• List of Subcontractors
  • A detailed list of subcontractors, their point of contact, the work they will be performing, and a notarized letter confirming their involvement in the project and cost estimates for work provided
• Project Schedule
  • A detailed project schedule.
• Project Budget
  • An itemized projected budget, with a maximum of $250,000, towards: artist statement, drawings, engineering, fabrication, transportation, installation, permits, and any other work related to the project. 
• Proof of Insurance 
  • Proof of studio insurance or letter from insurance broker stating capacity to secure studio insurance. Insurance should include, but not be limited to, general liability, umbrella coverage, professional liability, and auto.

Finalists must adhere to the following responsibilities:

• Design artwork in accordance with approved design proposal
• Regularly communicate with Project Manager for Capital Improvement Projects and staff of the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism.
• Submit design drawings, project updates, and reports of the like to deadline
• Seek any necessary permits for installation of artwork.
• Manage all subcontracts related to design, fabrication and install
• Work with Project Manager for Capital Improvement Projects and all local partners involved with fabrication and/or install
• Oversee transportation of all artwork
• Insure artwork during fabrication through final acceptance by the City
• Install and/or attend and oversee the installation of the final artwork no later than August 30, 2027
• Develop and submit to the City a maintenance and conservation plan
• Provide warranty on the artwork for a minimum of twenty four months after transfer of title.
• Attend press events, artist talks, and/or participate in promotional activities leading up to and as part of the unveiling of the artwork

QUESTIONS

Any questions shall be submitted in writing via email to Alexander Golob at agolob@providenceri.gov. Questions must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Friday, November 21, 2025. Questions should include the subject line “Gateway Landmark Question - (YOUR NAME).” 

You can find responses to questions at this link: Q&A - Gateway Landmark Public Art RFQ - City of Providence

Application Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

The deadline for Qualifications is December 3, 2025.  Artists must submit the following to be considered:

• An artist statement (no more than 500 words)
• A CV or Resume
• 6-10 examples of previous work
• 3 professional references, these should include reference name, title, organization, email, phone number, and relationship to the artist.
• For international artists only: Information on the legal entity representing the artist / studio in the United States. Please include its name, address, point of contact, email, phone, website, and a letter from the entity confirming that it will be representing you for the purpose of this RFQ.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be able to demonstrate their experience as a public artist and the demonstrated capacity to create artworks to scale in the public realm.
• Recognizing the intersectionality of artists’ identities, we acknowledge that artists may also identify as cultural practitioners, activists and community-rooted collaborators, and may be self/community-taught, institutionally trained, or a combination of both. All are welcome to apply.
• Lead applicant must be 18 years or older to be eligible to apply.
• Artistic collaborations applying may consist of 2-3 individual artists working together, or more formal collectives/collaborations that have fiscal sponsorship or 501c3 status.
• Artists with a home or studio address in Rhode Island and/or can demonstrate a personal connection to Providence, RI will be preferred.
• This request for qualifications is open to professional artists allowed to work within the United States. International artists are encouraged to apply, but must have a US-based business or entity representing them.
• Black, Indigenous, People of Color, women and gender nonconforming persons, LGBTQIA+ community members are highly encouraged to apply.
• NOTE: ACT Public Art awards are taxable income to individual recipients and reportable to the IRS. Grantees will receive a 1099 from the City of Providence if total payments exceed the minimum requirements set by the IRS within a calendar year. (Currently, the minimum requirement is $600. Go to www.irs.gov for details.)