INTRODUCTION:

Artist Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for 2-year Pre-Qualified National Artist List for public art projects.

The City of Denton, Texas and its Public Art Committee seek exceptional, established public artists working in a variety of visual media and artistic approaches for its 2020-2022 Pre-Qualified National Artist List. Selected artists or artist teams from the list may be contracted to design and fabricate artwork for eligible Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and other Public Art projects of various scopes, timelines, and budgets throughout the City of Denton. Certain projects may offer opportunities for an artist to work as part of the sponsor project design team.

The City of Denton’s $98 million Capital Improvement Plan has projects extending to 2022 and includes the implementation of Public Art in construction projects involving the following City departments: Streets & Transportation, Parks and Recreation, and Public Safety Facilities for Fire and Police.  The Public Art Committee also makes recommendations for an additional annual public art budget of approximately $75,000, sourced from Hotel Occupancy Tax funds. 

Application Deadline: January 26, 2020

Budget Description
Public Art Projects Pre-Qualified List

Project Description
The purpose of the Pre-Qualified National Artist List is to provide a streamlined application and selection process for artists interested in being commissioned for public art projects through the City of Denton, Texas.

Past public art project acquisitions include a range of works that include sculptures, metalwork, murals, paintings, prints, photography, ceramics, fiber, architectural, and glass art.

The project process requires one application from interested artists. The Selection Panel will convene to review all eligible applications and to recommend artists for approval to the Public Art Committee and City of Denton. Once approved, all artists in the list remain eligible for contract opportunities for a two-year period, which may be extended by staff as needed. City of Denton staff and the Denton Public Art Committee will use the Pre-Qualified National List, in whole or in part, for commission opportunities based on project timeline, scope, previously identified project outcomes, and/or a highly specialized field of opportunity. The artist list will also be made available, as requested, to the public, private developers and independent art commissioning entities for their use. Selection from the Pre-Qualified National List is not an exclusive way for artists to be considered for artwork commissions. More details listed under “Selection Process,” below.

Program Background
The Public Art Committee makes recommendations on a diverse range of public art projects within the City of Denton. Since the Public Art Committee’s inception in 2006, over 140 public artworks have been installed in City sites and facilities, including but not limited to libraries, municipal buildings, streetscapes, public safety facilities, parklands/trails, pools, recreation centers, Denton Municipal Airport and the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center.  The CIP Projects are managed in coordination with many City departments who are collaboratively dedicated to deepening the community experience with civic spaces. The Denton Public Arts Committee anticipates approximately 5-7 new public art projects to be initiated each year.

Artwork Goals
The Denton Public Art Committee and City of Denton seek artists whose work advances public understanding of visual art and enhances the aesthetic quality of public places through innovative and thoughtful design. An artist, or artist team, is expected to design artwork that:

• Supports the artwork goals set for the respective CIP project for which the artist or team is chosen;

• Reflects a high level of aesthetic and technical quality;

• Identifies and considers opportunities for innovation or enhanced civic engagement;

• Transforms a space or the user experience;

• Contributes to a local, regional and national contemporary art dialogue;

• Enriches or adds to the depth/breadth of the City of Denton’s public art collection;

• Is low maintenance and vandal-resistant.

  Eligibility
  The City of Denton requests qualifications from professional visual artists or artist teams at least 18 years of age and who live in the United States. A professional artist is defined as “A practitioner in the visual arts with an original, self-conceptualized body of work, generally recognized by critics and peers as a professional possessing serious intent and ability.” Artists from the Denton and regional metropolitan area are encouraged to apply. Ideally, qualified artists and artist teams will have demonstrated success in the following:

• working with budgets of $50,000 or less;

• working with materials suitable for indoor or outdoor public settings;

• working with site-specific design;

• working with public entities; and/or other artists, design professionals;

• in public art project management; and

• collaborating with community members.

  Certain projects may also offer opportunities for an artist to work as part of a project design team along with the project architect/designer.

  Application Requirements

• Resume: 4-page(s) maximum

  • Type of art: Primary and secondary (if applicable) type of art for which you wish considered.  For example: Primary – Sculpting; Secondary – ceramics).

• Work examples: 10 images, with accompanying list of images if not provided on the images.  If you wish to be considered for more than one type of art, the 10 images must include examples of each type. (example: sculpting and ceramics).

• Letter of Interest: 600-word maximum.  If applying as a team who is sharing equal responsibility for the commission, please state all team member names in your introductory paragraph.  Please make sure your Letter of Interest addresses each of the following:

• Please explain your interest in working in public art, or what intrigues you about integrating your work into public spaces.

• Please explain your previous experience creating public art, including your role(s), responsibilities, etc.

• State what materials you most often work with (or are interested in working with) and how these materials might provide long-term (20 years at minimum) compatibility within interior or exterior settings.

•  Describe any experience in: collaborating with community members, commissioning entities, or other art or design professionals; research/input that might inform your work; or public process/siting of artwork in public spaces.

• References: 3

Selection Process
The Public Art Committee will convene a Selection Panel to evaluate artist qualifications. The Selection Panel will review the applications, including letter of interest, images of recent and relevant work, resume(s), and references and recommend a list of artists for the List to be approved by the Public Art Committee and City of Denton.

Inclusion on 2-Year Prequalified Artist List does not guarantee your selection for a project. For each individual CIP artwork opportunity, staff works with the Public Art Committee to identify the best artist selection process, which may or may not use the Pre-Qualified National Artist List. If using the list, the Panel and Committee will recommend and contract an artist directly from the list.

Selection Criteria
In addition to the artist elgibility criteria the selection panel will consider the following evaluation criteria:

• Artistic merit and technical expertise; 50 points.

• Demonstrated ability to successfully execute innovative public art projects in a complex design environment; 20 points.

• Demonstrated ability to successfully execute a public art project on time and within budget; 15 points.

• Expressed interest in creating public artwork; 15 points.

  Artists scoring at or above 80 points will be recommended for inclusion on the 2-year Prequalified National Artist List.

  Timeline
  (dates subject to change)

• December 12, 2019:  Call to Apply for Pre-Qualified National Artist List released

•   January 26, 2020:  5:00 PM Central Time: Deadline for applications

• February 14, 2020: Selection panel review of qualifications and recommendation of List

• March 5, 2020: Approval of List by Public Art Committee

• March 24, 2020: Approval of List by Denton City Council

• March 25, 2020: Pre-Qualified National Artist List announced

   QUESTIONS? Contact Crystal Westbrook, Buyer, (940) 349-7172 or 

  crystal.westbrook@cityofdenton.com

   

   

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria