Call Description

INTRODUCTION

The City of Wichita invites professional artists and artist teams with a demonstrated history of completing permanent outdoor public art projects to submit their qualifications for a $49,000 public art commission for Woodland Park-North. The start of this project is estimated to begin in early 2026 with the execution of the art completed in late 2026. Emerging artists are encouraged to apply.

Woodland Park-North (841 W 21st St North) is located within the historic North End community and has many amenities including the La Familia Senior Community Center, a baseball field, a large shade structure, a playground, a basketball court, and a portion of the Little Arkansas River Pathway. The park is also used as an activity hub during the community event, Open Streets ICT: NoMar. The iconic NoMar International Market is also located in the North End.

PARK BACKGROUND

This neighborhood park, purchased in 1921, includes a Hispanic Senior Center (La Familia). The building housing the senior center was remodeled in 1993 using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. A portion of the Little Arkansas River Pathway runs through the park. Beginning in 2007 staff worked with the community to upgrade the park by relocating the basketball court, adding lighting, a shelter, and walking paths. 

The gateway structure should complement the anticipated history walk signs which will be added to the park. These signs will provide a detailed account of North End’s impact and significance (see Appendix A in Site Plan Details link). 

ART LOCATION

To increase the sense of place and community pride in the North End a gateway sculpture within the park is envisioned. The general location of the artwork will be near the Little Arkansas River Pathway and the 21st Street pedestrian crosswalk. It is anticipated that the history walk will be in close proximity to this gateway sculpture. The exact location of the gateway will be determined during the selected artist’s concept development phase.

See additional information, site images, and sample History Walk signage in View Site Details link at top of page.

PROJECT BUDGET

ART BUDGET: $49,000

The art budget is inclusive of all costs and fees for the artist to execute the project from design through structural engineering, site preparation, transportation/delivery, and installation. Installation, structural engineering, site preparation, and delivery will be coordinated with the project team.

SELECTION PROCESS

Applicants will be reviewed and ranked by a selection committee comprised of City staff and relevant stakeholders. Interviews are not anticipated to be a part of the selection process but may be used to in the event of a narrow margin between rankings.

QUESTIONS

All inquiries should be emailed to Tim Kellams at tkellams@wichita.gov by 11/7/2025, 4:00 p.m. CST.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicants will be selected based on a competitive review of the following:

Artistic excellence: demonstrated vision, professional process and presentation, and quality craftsmanship in examples of past work; examples provided should be relevant to how the artist will approach this public art opportunity.

Creative process: examples of past work should illustrate the artist’s experience in large 3-dimensional work; examples should be relevant to how the artist will approach this public art opportunity.

Ability: demonstrated experience in sculptures, experience in materials that achieve outdoors durability, delivering contractual milestones, and managing budgets in a timely fashion.

Meaningful relationship of the creative and conceptual aspects of their artistic process with the purpose of this project as expressed in the Letter of Interest (LOI).

PROJECT TIMELINE

• RFQ open via CAFE̒ online application system: 10/24/2025
• Artists questions due: 11/7/2025
• Qualifications due: 11/14/2025, 4:00 p.m. CST
• Review of qualifications: 11/17/2025
• Notification of Award: 11/19/2025
• Contract: 12/3/2025
• Presentation to Councils and Boards: Spring/Summer 2026
• Art Fabrication and Installation: TBD

*All dates are approximate and subject to change

Application Requirements

Each artist or artist team must submit an entirely digital application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

1. Submit five to ten images of relevant examples of past work (video accepted). Images should represent the artist’s style, format, medium, or breadth of work.
2. Please include an annotated image list for all work examples including scale, budget, medium, 
   year installed, and location.
3. Submit a one-page Letter of Interest (LOI) with a brief description of your project approach. Letter of interest should outline location you’re most interested in and why.
4. Resume or CV.
5. Three professional references.

Eligibility Criteria

The City of Wichita welcomes submissions from artist and artist teams based nationally. Emerging artists are encouraged to apply. The City of Wichita has a vibrant art community and many local firms that can assist with the development, fabrication, and installation of the artwork. The committee prefers to have local artists and firms involved in the project and will give preference to artists who plan to utilize these local resources.

This could include:

• Engineers for developing stamp drawings
• Concrete firms for pouring the footers
• Fabricators
• Installation crews
• Lighting specialists
• Landscape architects

It is the declared policy and practice of the City of Wichita to extend equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.