UPDATE: The City is no longer proceeding with the Public Safety Center Art project. The COVID-19 pandemic halted the process and the City Council, through its Essential Facilities Subcommittee, determined not proceed with the outdoor art component.

The City of San Rafael is pleased to announce a Call for Artists to submit images/renderings/drawings of public art to be permanently installed at the main entry of the new Public Safety Center Building.

This art piece will be highly visible from both outside and inside of the Public Safety Center.

Work must be suitable for outdoors. The Public Safety Center is currently under construction and is part of the City of San Rafael Essential Facilities Projects. For more information visit: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/departments/facilities/

The City of San Rafael believes in local talent and community collaboration.

Therefore, the City has dedicated an 8ft diameter area outside of the new PSC for public art installation. The selected art piece will be installed in the location depicted on page 4 of this document.

This three-dimensional exterior art piece must be structurally safe for the general public, including children. Artwork must be extremely durable in outdoor conditions and limited maintenance required. Artwork must have a base no larger than 8 feet in diameter. Artwork must be able to be securely anchored down to the concrete pad.

Artist to avoid the use of profanity, mature content, political statements. Also avoid the use of sculptures of people/faces/busts.

Examples of desirable media include but are not limited to: stone, metal, concrete, and other such materials suitable for permanent outdoor installation.

Only complete *applications are eligible. (*revised wording for clarity).

ENTRY FEE: No entry fee.

TO QUALIFY: This call is open for all artists nationwide. City of San Rafael residents are highly encouraged to enter. All ages welcome. All work must be original and produced exclusively by the artist.

OVERVIEW: The Public Safety Center is the cornerstone of the City of San Rafael’s strategic plan to replace and upgrade the City’s essential services buildings. The new Public Safety Center building will house the City’s Police Department and the Fire Department’s Administration Division, Emergency Operations Division, Fire Station No. 51 Engine Company and the Fire Department Battalion Chief’s Office and Headquarters. The primary objective of this project is to ensure that the essential facilities within the city are capable of servicing the citizens in the event of a major earthquake and other potential disasters.

ARTWORK THEME AND REQUIREMENTS: The vision of the City of San Rafael for the Public Safety Center Project is to provide a facility that will allow the Fire and the Police Departments to serve the community both on a daily basis, and in the event of a major disaster. The facility exterior design seeks to balance both traditional and modern elements which ties into the downtown district of San Rafael. The purpose of the art piece would be to embrace the first responders’ history of courage, honor, sacrifice, family, pride, civic duty and service to the community while preparing for the future.

In addition to artwork submission, artist should submit artist biography letter, cover letter and a description of the proposed artwork piece.

Artist biography letter is to include years of experience as an artist; experience with similar work specifically related to public art; collaborations with other cities; experience with proposed medium; any other relevant information.

PROJECT LOCATION: The City of San Rafael is seeking qualified artists to produce artwork for inclusion at the new Public Safety Center being built in the heart of the City.

In addition to being sited directly across from City Hall, the vibrant and diverse area surrounding the site is home to apartment complexes, various restaurants and other commercial storefronts, and it is a short distance from iconic historic buildings such as Falkirk Cultural Center and Boyd Gatehouse.

An outdoor space on the north west corner of the new Public Safety Center (1375 5th Ave. San Rafael, CA, 94901) has been designated for this memorial piece. Refer to rendering and map provided for illustration of project location as well as designated art space.

DIMENSIONS: The artwork will be installed on an existing concrete pad. The area allocated for this work is eight (8) feet in diameter. The contractor building the Public Safety Center building is responsible for the concrete slab to receive the artist’s work. Any additional accommodations to receive the art piece will be the artist’s responsibility.  

PROJECT TIMELINE:
PROJECT PHASE        STARTING        ENDING
Call for Artists                12/16/2019       3/15/2020
Submissions Due           3/15/2020        3/15/2020
Artist Selection           Selection will be by April of 2020*
Artwork Installation            TBD                 TBD
*The City of San Rafael reserves its right to decline all applications  

SELECTION: Final artwork will be selected by a panel of qualified judges including artists, art critics, and civic leaders, based on the following criteria:

• Artist’s Eligibility
• Artwork Requirements
• Artwork Completion
• Artistic merit, context, maintainability, durability, originality, theme representation.
• City employees and their immediate family members are ineligible.
• The City of San Rafael reserves the right, acting in its sole discretion, to reject any or all artwork submissions.

ARTWORK BUDGET: The budget for the project is not-to-exceed $50,000. This is an all-inclusive amount. Budget to include artist’s stipend, fabrication, delivery/transportation, permits, site prep, insurance, materials and installation of the artwork.  

 

Application Requirements

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Eligibility Criteria

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