Call Description

CALL TO ARTISTS
City of Charlotte
City LYNX Gold Line – Phase II                                                                                 
Multiple Public Art Opportunities
Deadline: September 19, 2015
Art budget:  $700,000                                                                                           

"The visual quality of the nation's mass transit systems has a profound impact on transit patrons and the community at large. Good design and art can improve the appearance and safety of a facility, give vibrancy to its public spaces, and make patrons feel welcome."
Federal Transit Administration Circular 9400.1A
 
DESCRIPTION
The City of Charlotte is continuing to expand transportation options in the region and the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is seeking professional artists living and working in the U.S. to integrate art into the City LYNX Gold Line - Phase II (Gold Line).

The Phase II expansion of the CityLYNX Gold Line will add 11 Stops – 9 west of the Phase I line, extending the streetcar line to Johnson C. Smith University and French Street, and 2 east of the original line crossing over Independence Boulevard and stopping at Sunnyside Ave. The line divides into three zones: West Side (4 Stops), Center City (5 Stops), and East Side (2 Stops).

There are art opportunities at the Stops and in transition areas along the Corridor. CATS is seeking artists who live and work in the U.S. who are accustomed to engaging with local communities in an effort to ensure that the art is accessible and meaningful to the public.

CATS will select 3-5 artists to incorporate art into the Stops and along the Corridor.

The Streetcar Starter Project (SSP), Phase I, has six Stops located along a 1.5 mile line located in Uptown Charlotte starting at the Charlotte Transportation Center on Trade Street and ending at Novant Health just off of Elizabeth Avenue on Hawthorne Lane.  Phase I of the line opened in July 2015.

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Each of the 11 Stops will include two passenger shelters for a total of 22 shelters. Nine Stops will be located in the West Side and Center City zones along Trade Street, one of Charlotte’s signature retail and business thoroughfares. The West Side zone includes all of the Stops west of I-77, while Center City zone includes the Stops between I-77 and Tryon Street.   Two Stops will be in the East Side zone located along Hawthorne Street in the Historic Elizabeth Neighborhood of Charlotte.  

ZONES & STOPS

• West Side Stops
  • French Street
  • Johnson C. Smith University
  • Bruns Avenue
  • Wesley Heights Way

Traveling west, Stops in this zone will service Johnson C. Smith University; the oldest surviving African-American neighborhood, Biddleville; mixed use development areas; and the historic and diverse Wesley Heights neighborhood.

• Center City Stops
  • Irwin Avenue
  • Johnson & Wales
  • Charlotte Gateway Station
  • Mint Street
  • Tryon Street

This zone enters through the heart of center city, servicing Johnson and Wales University, the Gateway Village development, and multiple mixed use development spaces. In this zone, the streetcar will also connect with the future Charlotte Gateway Station, a multimodal transit facility. The Tryon Street Stop is the only split Stop in the project with the Eastbound Stop on the South side of Trade Street and the Westbound Stop on the North side of Trade Street. Tryon Street is also the last Stop on the Phase II project before it connects with the Phase I portion of the project at the CTC/Arena Stop.

• East Side Stops
  • ​Hawthorne and 8th 
  • Sunnyside Ave.

Traveling east, Stops in this zone travel through the historic Elizabeth Community and the historic bridge over Independence Blvd.

LOCATION 
The extension of the CityLYNX Gold Line will provide connectivity throughout Central Charlotte for key academic, business, and activity centers including:

• Johnson C. Smith University
• Johnson & Wales University
• Northeastern University – Charlotte Campus
• Wake Forest University – Charlotte Campus
• UNC Charlotte – Center City Campus
• Charlotte School of Law
• Bank of America Corporate Headquarters
• BB&T Ballpark
• Bank of America Stadium
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
• Time Warner Cable Arena
• EpiCenter Entertainment/Retail Center
• Central Piedmont Community College – Central Campus
• Novant Health Center
• NASCAR Hall of Fame

ART OPPORTUNITIES
Several art opportunities exist for artists in the CityLYNX Gold Line Phase II project. Stop Opportunities for art are sites where transit users will wait for the streetcar and have time to contemplate the art and the artist’s intent.  Corridor Opportunities require art that can be appreciated by a variety of audiences passing through the corridor in various ways: pedestrians, vehicular traffic, and streetcar riders. Please note, not all opportunities may be acted upon, and other opportunities may evolve during the design phase.  

Stop Opportunities
Direct impact on passengers waiting and utilizing the streetcar.Opportunities not directly on the stop platforms, but impacting pedestrians, vehicular traffic, and streetcar riders.

• Shelter Glass Windscreens
• Benches
• Platform Paving & Entry Ramps         

Corridor Opportunities
Opportunities not directly on the stop platforms, but impacting pedestrians, vehicular traffic, and streetcar riders.

• Overhead Catenary System (OCS) Poles 
• Cross Walks & Median Paving 
• Interior of Streetcar Vehicles

BUDGET
The intent of this call is to select 3 - 5 artists for the project, possibly matching one artist to each zone and/or multiple opportunities. The $700,000 art budget will be distributed amongst the artists and will be determined for each selected artist based on artist’s experience, reputation, accessibility of artist (travel costs), proposed art requirements and scopes of work.
 
The art budget is intended to cover artist(s) fees, materials, insurance, engineering, photography, digital files, fabrication, delivery of art, travel and other expenses.  CATS Art-in-Transit will negotiate a contract with each artist based on a defined scope of work. 
 
APPLICATION PROCESS
Eligible artists living and working in the United States are invited to submit their digital application materials for this open call through CaFÈ.  There is no fee to apply. Applications must be received by 5pm EST time on September 19, 2015. To apply please submit the following:

• No more than six (6) art images of recently completed 2-D and/or 3-D work, relevant to this project and formatted according to CaFÈ guidelines.
• Annotated image sheet including title, media, dimensions, completion date, location, commissioning agency, budget for art, brief description and corresponding image number.
• Resume or CV of relevant experience (up to 2 pages).
• Three professional references (name, title, organization, email address, phone number).

ELIGIBILITY & QUALIFICATIONS
Professional visual artists living and working in the United States are invited to apply. Experience in public art or comparable visual art experience is desirable. Students are not eligible.   

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS
A selection panel of contemporary art professionals, appointed by the CATS Art-in-Transit Advisory Committee, will review artists’ submissions and select the artists based on past work and qualifications. 
 
Specific information about the history and the character of community in proximity to each Stop will be provided by the project team and shared with the artist selection panel prior to selecting artists and subsequently with the selected artists prior to proposal development.
 
Artists will be selected based on their previous work and its demonstration of achieving the following criteria:

• Excellence
• Connection to site and /or adjacent community
• Public impact
• Durability
• Minimal Maintenance Requirement
• Safety

FUNDING
This project is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the City of Charlotte.
 
APPROXIMATE PROJECT SCHEDULE
The CityLYNX Gold Line has an Urban Circulator Grant from the FTA, requiring that the project move from 30% Design Phase, through Final Design Phase, and into Construction by the beginning of 2017. The following schedule is subject to change:
 
Call for Artists  |  July – September, 2015
Deadline for Artists Submission  |  September 19, 2015
Artist(s) Selection  |  October, 2015
Artist(s) contract(s)  |  November, 2015
Final Design  |  2016
Construction  |  2017-2019
 
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Visit CityLYNX Gold Line to learn more about the CityLYNX Gold Line Project.
 
Visit Art-in-Transit to learn more about CATS Art-in-Transit.
 
Contact:  
Chris Lange, Art-in-Transit Program Administrator, email: clange@ci.charlotte.nc.us 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria

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