REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
Public Art Project
Denver District 5 Police Substation and 911 Call Center
Budget: $250,000.00 USD
Eligibility: Open to artists or artist teams residing in the United States
DEADLINE: Monday, April 12, 2021, 11:59 pm MST

Introduction
The City of Denver’s Public Art Program seeks to commission an artist or team of artists to create an original public artwork for the Denver District 5 Police Substation and new 911 Call Center located at 12025 E. 45th Ave. in the Montbello neighborhood in Denver. A selection panel of community representatives, arts and culture professionals, and civic leaders has been assembled to identify art opportunities, and to select and recommend an artist or artist team for this project. The selection panel has identified the exterior entry plaza for potential art opportunities and will select one artist or artist team for the allocated total budget of approximately $250,000 USD.

Montbello Neighborhood
The neighborhood lies north of I-70 and northeast of downtown Denver. Montbello is Denver’s largest neighborhood, and the neighboring communities of Central Park and Green Valley Ranch are currently some of the fastest growing in the country.  The District 5 Police Substation serves over 100,000 residents that are extremely diverse compared to other areas of Denver.

Denver District 5 Police Substation and 911 Call Center

·       The newly renovated police substation will include a community room, lobby and more welcoming entrance and plaza for the public.

·       The new 43,000-square-foot 911 emergency communications center houses 53 call-takers and dispatchers. The new center includes updated technology systems, training rooms and increased telephone and computer service storage.

·       The combined facility will better serve the needs of Montbello residents and beyond.

Goals, Site, Media & Materials
The selection panel members have set forth specific goals and parameters for this public art project with the hope of creating unique and inspiring works of art for the diverse communities that live in Montbello and other neighborhoods in the far Northeast area of Denver.

Goals:
The panel is very invested in cultural diversity, local history and community representation, and the desire to create a space that is inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to all. This is to be “the People’s Police Station” and should be a beacon of trust, unity, equity and transparency. Northeast Denver is home to many diverse communities, with the majority of the population consisting of African-Americans and Hispanic, Asian, and African immigrants. The panel hopes to see artwork(s) that reflect the rich cultures of the area.

Site:
The panel has identified the main entry plaza of the Denver District 5 Police Substation as a site for public art. Selected finalists will create proposals responding to this site, and may utilize the plaza, grassy area, and upper portion of the entry façade for artistic elements. There is a rendering at the end of this document to help illustrate the site.

Media & Materials:
Artworks could be created using diverse media including sculpture, light, sound and mosaic applications. Works that are engaging and help to tell the story of the critical, yet unseen work of the 911 emergency communications center are welcomed. The selection panel is open to artwork in all media and materials that are suitable for outdoor display.

Maintenance & Durability
All applicants must consider the issues of long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, along with time and budget. These projects are in the public realm and may therefore be exposed to weather and physical stresses, as well as be subject to vandalism. Public art projects should be fabricated of highly durable, low-maintenance materials. Finalists are encouraged to consult with a professional conservator prior to the submission of a final proposal. Artist proposals awarded contracts will be reviewed by the City of Denver’s Public Art Committee to ensure conformity with city standards of maintenance and durability, as well as ADA standards. All finalists are expected to stay on budget and to complete work in an approved time frame.

Who May Apply
This project is open to artists nationally. We are committed to building a public art collection that represents a broad diversity of artists based on race, color, creed, gender, gender variance, sexual orientation, national origin, age, religion, marital status, political opinion or affiliation, or mental or physical disability. The selection panel is especially interested in artists who can demonstrate a deep understanding of the neighborhood, as well as the area’s history, urban landscape, surrounding neighborhoods, and in context with current social and cultural events.

Can a team apply?
Applicants may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaborative group.  If applying as a team, please submit one résumé for the team, with no more than one page per team member.

Applying for these opportunities
In response to this RFQ, applicants will be asked to submit the following items via www.callforentry.org (CaFÉ™).

1.       Six digital images

2.       Résumé

3.       Statement of interest no longer than 2,000 characters

From these applications, the selection panel will choose three to five finalists who will create site-specific proposals and be interviewed in a virtual format. Artists will be paid an honorarium for this work. Artists/teams selected as finalists will be required to submit a Diversity & Inclusiveness Form for their proposals to be considered, which will be provided upon notification. As directed by Executive Order 101, this form must be submitted for all city solicitations of proposals.

Denver Arts & Venues Public Art Program staff can provide guidance on filling out this form. Based on the interview and proposal, an artist or artist team will be selected for this commission.  The selected artist or artist team will work with the Public Art Program staff and the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure design and planning staff when finalizing their designs for installation.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Denver Executive Order No. 101 establishes strategies between the City and private industry to use diversity and inclusiveness to promote economic development in the City and County of Denver and to encourage more businesses to compete for City contracts and procurements. The Executive Order requires, among other things, the collection of certain information regarding the practices of the City’s contractors and consultants toward diversity and inclusiveness and encourages/requires City agencies to include diversity and inclusiveness policies in selection criteria where legally permitted in solicitations for City services or goods. Diversity and Inclusiveness means inviting values, perspectives and contributions of people from diverse backgrounds, and integrates diversity into its hiring and retention policies, training opportunities, and business development methods to provide an equal opportunity for each person to participate, contribute, and succeed within the organization’s workplace. “Diversity” encompasses a wide variety of human differences, including differences such as race, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, physical disabilities, appearance, historically underutilized and disadvantaged persons, as well as social identities such as religion, marital status, socio-economic status, lifestyle, education, parental status, geographic background, language ability, and veteran status.

Budget
The budget for this commission is approximately $250,000.00 USD which will be allocated to the artist/team selected. These funds come from the City of Denver’s 1% Percent for Public Art Ordinance resulting from improvements made to the Denver District 5 Police Substation and the new 911 Call Center. This contract amount is inclusive of all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to: the artist’s design fee, other consultation fees such as structural engineering consultation, insurance (including Colorado Workers Compensation), tools, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, any building or site modification required, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, contingency to cover unexpected expenses, and any other costs. For all work done on city property, prevailing wage requirements will be applied.

Timeline
(Except for online application deadline, timeline is subject to adjustments)

Monday, April 12, 2021 11:59 P.M. MST               Deadline for entry (via CaFÉ™ system)

May 2021                                                                     Finalist Selection

September 2021                                                         Selected Artist or Artist Team                                                                                           Notification

Project Selection Panel
According to Denver’s Public Art policy, the project selection panel plays an active role in the acquisition of public art for Denver. The Denver District 5 Police Substation and 911 Call Center selection panel is comprised of 13 voting members. The selection panel is responsible for reviewing the site, establishing criteria for a request for qualifications, reviewing applications, selecting and interviewing finalists, and for selecting an artist or artist team for the commission. 

Selection Process
1.       Three to five artists/artist teams will be selected as finalists. Those selected will receive more specific information regarding the site and have the opportunity to meet with community members from the art selection panel, Denver Transportation and Infrastructure representatives, the design team and public art program staff.  The finalists will receive an honorarium to prepare and present the proposal in a virtual format.

2.       The selection panel will review the proposals, interview the finalists and recommend an artist/artist team for the commission.

3.       The final recommendation of the selection panel will be presented to the Public Art Committee, the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, and the mayor of Denver for final approval.

*All decisions of the City and County of Denver are final.

Materials to be Submitted
Please read this section carefully. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered. The applicant’s name must appear on all materials submitted.

All materials must be submitted online, via the CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system.

Digital Images—In order to be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit six digital images of previously completed artworks through the online CaFÉ™ system. Artists who wish to submit kinetic, sound or media works must submit a complete CaFÉ™ application and will have the opportunity to upload one video file.

IMPORTANT: if submitting audio or video files, do not use them as your very first image. They must be submitted last in your image sequence.

Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found at https://www.callforentry.org/uploading-images-audio-and-video-files/.

Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available here: https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/.

If an artist does not have access to a computer, s/he/they may call 720-865-5563 to make arrangements to use a computer at Denver Arts & Venues.

Statement of Interest—Please submit a brief statement (2,000-character maximum) outlining the following:

·       Your interest in the Denver District 5 Police Substation and 911 Call Center public art project

·       Your design approach

·       Experience working on projects of this kind

·       Please also include information on your experience working with diverse communities and stakeholders

Résumé—Submit a one to two-page current résumé via CaFÉ™ that highlights your professional accomplishments as an artist. Please name your résumé file accordingly: Last name.First initial (i.e. Smith.J.pdf).  Résumés that are more than two pages will not be downloaded. If applying as a team, please submit one résumé with no more than one page per team member.

Survey – Applicants will also be required to fill out a short demographic survey that will be sent via the Survey Monkey website to the email on file from the CaFÉ™ application.

References – Applicants who are selected to be finalists will be required to provide three professional references.

Please direct all questions about the project to:
Brendan Picker, Public Art Program Administrator, brendan.picker@denvergov.org, 720-865-5563.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria