Call Description

Project Description

The Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation Department seeks to commission a professional artist to design and complete a Sculpture to be installed at the J. Thomas Lovell Jr. Community Center at Legacy Park is located at 901 NE Bluestem Drive, Lee's Summit, MO 64086. This work will be situated to the side of the main entry doors. The artwork should be inviting and creative; it should be complementary to the space; embody health and fitness, and reference the center's community, active, and engaging environment.

J. Thomas Lovell Jr. Community Center Background

Located in the City of Lee’s Summit, a southeastern suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. J. Thomas Lovell Jr. Community Center at Legacy Park opened its doors in January 2004. The facility was designed to accommodate all ages for all seasons and continues to expand its offerings.

The 58,000-square-foot center provides the following amenities:

·         Gymnasium used for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and group fitness

·         Two racquetball courts

·         Indoor aquatics area with a lap pool, leisure pool and a hot tub

·         Personal training studio

·         Bicycle, adult tricycle, and e-bike rentals

·         Canoe and stand-up paddleboard rentals

For more images and information, please visit the J. Thomas Lovel Community Center website. This call packet, in addition to information related to the facility's public art projects, can be viewed at the City of Lee's Summit Public Art website.

Total Artist Stipend

The artist will be required to submit a budget request of up to $13,500. The budget shall be all-inclusive and will be determined after the request for qualifications is complete.

Application Requirements

 Application Requirements Submission Materials

Please upload and submit the following information via this RFQ no later than May 10, 2026. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered. The Lee’s Summit Cultural Arts 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

·         A short narrative proposal describing your concept for the Sculpture (no more than 300 words for each)

·         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. site-responsive art pieces or projects, interactive and participatory artworks, multimedia projects, creative placemaking events, festivals, etc.)

Professional References, 3 references, up to 1 page
 

·         Listing three professional references for 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, residences, exhibitions, collaborations, and projects involving the community and work in the public sector.

·         Experience working with organizations, institutions, and 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 sculpture work. Attach up to 10 images and/or up to 6 audio and/or video files.

·         Follow image requirements: JPEG format only, 1200 pixels on the longest side, less than 5MB in size.

·         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 who 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.

·         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 RFP.

Selection Process

Round 1: Call for Artists’ Proposals

The Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation Department will convene a selection panel to evaluate eligible submissions.

Round 2: Finalists create and present a Concept Proposal 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 teams.
 

Three (3) artists or artist teams will be selected to interview with the panel and propose their concept, which should include a visual representation of the proposed project, and the artists will also receive a

$300 stipend for providing their concepts to the team before interviews begin.

The selected proposal will be presented to Lee’s Summit Cultural Commission for acceptance into the Public Art collection as part of the Public Art policy. The Artist and final concept will be selected and contracted by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation.

Timeline and Benchmark Dates

(All dates are subject to change.)

·         RFQ Opens: April 6, 2026

·         RFP Closes: May 10, 2026

·         Jury scores applicants: May 11 – May 18, 2026

·         Final 3 selected, and notified by May 22, 2026

·         Final 3 concept proposal interviews: June 8 - 12th

·         Artist selected: June 19, 2026

·         Sculpture installed: Late 2026- Early 2027

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.