AIPP Mission Statement

The Art in Public Places program enriches New Mexico’s public spaces through an innovative and diverse public art collection.

Since its inception in 1986, the program has placed more than 3,000 works of art in all of New Mexico’s 33 counties. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of the arts in New Mexico, the Southwest, and the nation while building a dynamic public art collection for the State of New Mexico.

Through a fair and open public process, committees made up of local and regional representatives work with New Mexico Arts staff to select artwork for their communities. The Art in Public Places program then commissions large-scale projects that are designed for integration directly into the architecture or landscape of a given site, or the program purchases existing original artwork to be placed in or around public buildings permanently or on loan.

Project Intent

The Art in Public Places Program of New Mexico Arts and the Local Selection Committee (LSC) for the Victims of Gun Violence Memorial seek an artist or artist team to create an exterior, site-specific commission project to be situated on the northeast corner of the Steve Schiff District Attorney Building property at 520 Lomas NE in Albuquerque, NM. The Second Judicial District Courthouse is directly across 5th Street at 400 Lomas and is visible from the site. The LSC is interested in a non-traditional memorial project that will provide a contemplative, healing, and uplifting space for victims and families dealing with the trauma of gun violence. In addition, the work will be experienced on a daily basis by the District Attorney’s office employees (victims’ advocates, prosecutors, etc.) coming and going from the Steve Schiff building and would serve as a daily reminder of why they do the work they do and for whom they do it. The LSC is interested in commissioning a work that speaks to ideas of humanity, comfort, serenity, joy, and love. The artwork should not carry any political messages related to issues of gun control or gun rights. Artists are encouraged to explore designs inspired by nature, color, light, and even perhaps a sound component to bring an element of peace and tranquility to the work situated in a busy, metropolitan environment. Artists should be careful to consider the urban nature of the location and avoid proposing works that might be easily vandalized or that would significantly obstruct views and lines of sight for security purposes. The LSC will not consider water features or plants that require extensive watering as Albuquerque is located in the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion.

Materials must be durable, low maintenance, permanent, safe for both children and adults and the work must be ADA compliant. At the selected artist’s expense the artwork may require certification by an electrical, civil and/or structural engineer licensed to practice in the State of New Mexico, and review by a professional fine art conservator.

Eligibility

This request for qualifications is open to all artists or artist teams working in the United States. Artists submitting qualifications should demonstrate a level of experience and professionalism that is commensurate with the project scope and budget. Artists/artist teams from New Mexico will be given strong consideration. International artists will not be considered.

AIPP regulations state that 1% funds may not be spent for artwork created for an institution or agency by an employee of the institution or agency. Qualifications submitted by and on behalf of current employees or family of current employees of Bernalillo County will not be considered. Applicants may be required to provide verifiable proof of current employment at the discretion of AIPP Program staff. Past employees are eligible to submit proposals, but may not become employed by Bernalillo County for the duration of the project.

Institutional information

The Second Judicial District Attorney’s office is the largest prosecutorial law office in the state of New Mexico. The DA’s office is tasked with screening over 25,000 cases a year with a complete staff of only 300, 97 of whom are attorneys. The office is committed to the needs of the community and our efforts keep victims at the forefront of our work. We attract employees who are passionate about serving the greater Albuquerque Metro area which has a population of over 558,545. District Attorney, Raúl Torrez, newly established the Victim’s Services Alliance that connects partner organizations and volunteers with opportunities in the office which help support the work of the victim advocates. The DA’s office is devoted to decreasing crime, increasing safety, and helping the community thrive.

Site Information

Photographs and plans of the area can be found by clicking the "View Site Details" link above or here.

 Project Amount

$229,000 is available for this project, which includes finalist presentation fees and travel expenses. This amount includes all fees and expenses associated with the project, e.g., materials, equipment, labor, permits, engineering documents, insurance, any and all applicable taxes, travel, installation, shipping, identification plaque, and written and professional photographic documentation of the completed project. There is no additional funding.

Selection Process and Criteria

The Local Selection Committee is made up of family members of victims of gun violence in Albuquerque, representatives from the owner and user agencies of the facility, an architect/engineer familiar with the facility, an artist, and an arts professional. Under the guidance of an AIPP Project Coordinator, this group of individuals is responsible for prospectus development, submission review, finalist selection and ultimately selecting the artist or artist team to be awarded the commission project.

Artists may research the project using any resource with the exception of discussion with individual members of the Local Selection Committee or the New Mexico Arts Commission.

The selection criteria shall include, but is not limited to:

·         The professional qualifications of the artist(s) as evidenced by the supporting materials.

·         Proven ability to undertake projects of the described scope.

·         Artistic merit and superior caliber craftsmanship as evidenced by the images.

·         Suitability of submission to project intent and site.

Up to five finalists will be invited to submit a formal proposal for the projects. Finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium for a written proposal and a maquette and/or digital rendering of the proposed artwork. One site visit will be required of each finalist to include a personal presentation of the artwork proposal to the Local Selection Committee and a public presentation at the site. All maquettes, samples and written proposals will become the property of Bernalillo County unless other arrangements have been made in advance.

Additionally, each finalist/team will receive a travel stipend based on mapped mileage according to the following schedule:

$250 for travel and lodging between 50 – 300 miles one-way.

$450 for travel and lodging between 301 – 800 miles one-way.

$900 for travel and lodging 801 miles and over one-way.

Artists or artist teams short-listed as finalists for these projects will be required to enter into a Finalist Presentation Contract with the State of New Mexico. A sample Finalist Presentation Contract is available on the New Mexico Arts website.

The artist or artist team that is ultimately awarded the commission project will be required to enter into a Professional Services Contract with the State of New Mexico. A sample Professional Services Contract is available on the New Mexico Arts website.

 Submission Requirements

Please read the following information carefully as incomplete or late submissions will not be accepted. Supplemental information beyond what is requested, including proposals specific to this project, will not be reviewed by the Local Selection Committee. Failure to provide any of the published requirements will result in disqualification from the competition. Duplicate submissions will not be accepted. All materials must be submitted via CaFÉ according to the specifications outlined below.

A succinct letter of interest no longer than 3 paragraphs written specifically to address the needs of this project. Please explain what excites you about the opportunity, how you may approach the project if selected as a finalist, and outline your professional qualifications.

A current chronological resume or curriculum vitae demonstrating relevant work experience, particularly public art or privately funded commission projects. A biography or an autobiography will not fulfill the resume requirement.

Ten images or videos (or a combination) of previously completed work. Complete image citations will be required; including artwork title, medium, height, width and depth, price or value, year of completion, and project description to include budget and commissioning agency. Please review and adhere to the Image and Media Preparation page on CaFÉ when formatting your images or videos. Tutorials can be downloaded using the links near the bottom of the page. By default, CaFÉ will organize the images in your submission alphabetically. If you wish to present the images to the committee in a different order you must prioritize the images before submitting an application.

Project Timeline (subject to change):

February 2019 – Project Announced

April 2019 – Submission Deadline

June 2019 – Notification of Finalists

September/October 2019 – Finalist Presentations

October 2020 – Artwork completed and installed

New Mexico Pay Equity Initiative

Effective July 1, 2010, businesses seeking new contracts with any Executive Branch state agency will be required to comply with the requirements of Executive Order 2009-049, to aid in identifying and combating pay inequity and job segregation in the State of New Mexico, as a condition of being awarded a contract.

If the offeror has ten (10) or more employees OR eight (8) or more employees in the same job classification, offeror must complete and submit the required reporting form (PE10-249 or PE250, depending on their size at the time) with their bid or proposal for evaluation purposes.

For contracts that extend beyond one (1) calendar year, or are extended beyond one (1) calendar year, offeror must also agree to complete and submit the required form annually within thirty (30) calendar days of the annual bid or proposal submittal anniversary date and, if more than 180 days has elapsed since submittal of the last report, at the completion of the contract.

Should offeror not meet the size requirement for reporting at contract award but subsequently grows such that they meet or exceed the size requirement for reporting, offer must agree to provide the required report within ninety (90) calendar days of meeting or exceeding the size requirement.

Offeror must also agree to levy these reporting requirements on any subcontractor(s) performing more than 10% of the dollar value of this contract if said subcontractor(s) meets, or grows to meet, the stated employee size thresholds during the term of the contract. Offeror must further agree that, should one or more subcontractor not meet the size requirement for reporting at contract award but subsequently grows such that they meet or exceed the size requirement for reporting, offeror will submit the required report, for each such subcontractor, within ninety (90) calendar days of that subcontractor meeting or exceeding the size requirement.

Questions/Follow Up

Questions regarding the project should be directed to Michelle Laflamme-Childs, Public Art Program Director, at 505-827-6490, email: michelle.laflamme-c@state.nm.us

Visits to the site by artists for the purpose of preparing an artwork proposal should be coordinated with the Project Director, Nan Masland at namasland@bernco.gov  or (505) 314-0467.

If you would like your CaFE submission reviewed by an AIPP staff person to assure completeness and compliance with the requirements, please contact AIPP staff no less than two weeks prior to the submission deadline. Technical assistance calls increase dramatically during the final two weeks of the open submission period; therefore there is no guarantee of CaFE submission reviews during the final two weeks of the competition. Submission materials will not be reviewed on the day of the deadline. Technical assistance will be available until 4:00pm on the deadline date.

Deadline for Submission: Thursday, April 11, 2019 at  11:59 P.M. (MDT)

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria