REQUIREMENTS (continued):

• Letter of Interest stating county of residency or ties to KCI and/or Kansas City
• Resume/CV
• Images, video or audio of past work
• Artwork proposal image(s)

Eligibility

Open to artists residing in the Missouri counties of Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Platte and Ray and the Kansas counties of Atchison, Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte. In addition, artists living outside of these counties who can demonstrate significant ties to Kansas City and/or Kansas City International airport in their Letter of Interest are also eligible to apply.

Demonstrated experience working with diverse community stakeholders is desired.

Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees, project consultants, project contractors, and their employees and sub-contractors are ineligible to apply.

Public Art Intent and Goals

The City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art program seeks to commission works of art that advance public understanding of visual art and enhance the quality of public places by selecting a qualified artist who can innovatively and thoughtfully design within the context of this project. The public art at KCI should reflect our City’s diverse demographics and should welcome travelers of all backgrounds to experience art in an inclusive environment.

Commission Description

The City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art program seeks to commission professional visual artists based in the Kansas City area to create wall-based works of art to be placed in Concourses A and B in the New Single Terminal at KCI airport.

Wall-based/wall-mounted artworks may include (but are not limited to) traditionally framed drawings, paintings, photography, textiles, mosaic or tile wall hangings, mixed-media or assemblage, digital art displays, artwork utilizing electricity or digital components, relief or wall-mounted sculptural works (under 4" depth).  

Wall-based pieces will be located on the porcelain tile walls at the north and south ends of the gate lounges. To avoid interference with the adjacent seating and air delivery, the site for these pieces is a zone five feet above the floor, three feet below the ceiling, and three feet horizontally from either end of the wall. Pieces may be relocated between gate lounges occasionally, giving passengers new experiences of the art over time. As artwork will be within the passenger space, frames should be designed to withstand occasional contact from passengers. Frames with UV-resistant plexiglass, D-rings and picture are to be supplied by the artist as part of the commission budget.

The use of archival materials (i.e. indelible inks, stable materials and primers, UV resistant plexiglass, sealed topcoat, etc) is required, as installation will be exposed to natural light through perimeter glazing, air circulation and high traffic from travelers. Installation shall not interfere with functional lighting requirements within the space.

In your application, please include sketched images of your artwork proposal, a written description, and budget. Your proposal may include a single artwork or multiple artworks as a cohesive group. The total artwork area may not exceed 4' h x 20' w x 4” d.

See Site Details provided above.

About the Location: Concourses A & B

The gate lounges are passengers’ first and last impression of Kansas City. Central circulation is flanked on both sides by seating areas. A high roof over the circulation space is ringed by clerestories bringing natural light into the concourses. The primary finishes in the space are acoustic tile and natural hemlock wood ceilings, terrazzo flooring, carpet, and large format porcelain tile walls.

KCI Background

When it debuted on November 21, 1972, the three-terminal Kansas City International airport was at the forefront of modern aviation. With runways designed for jumbo jets and visions of supersonic travel, it was an early example of “drive to your gate” design, the ultimate in airport convenience. The terminals’ once revolutionary design is now dated, space is cramped, and amenities no longer meet travelers’ expectations. Added security requirements have also complicated the travel process by further reducing available space.

Over the years, there have been several initiatives to renovate the existing terminals or perhaps even construct an entirely new terminal. In 1995 and 2009 two KCI Master Plans recommended a single terminal.

A more in-depth study was conducted in 2013 by the City of Kansas City, Missouri City Council that included passenger goals, objectives and preferences. The Mayor’s Airport Terminal Advisory Group, the Aviation Department and its airline partners concluded a new, single-terminal design would be the best option to bring KCI up to modern standards and amenities.

In November 2017, Kansas City, Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved construction of a single airport terminal with 76 percent in favor.

The New Single Terminal and Parking at KCI Project Description

At just over one million square feet, the Kansas City International Airport Single Terminal is the largest single infrastructure project in the City’s history. It will have a profound and lasting economic impact on the region in the form of new jobs, opportunities for local and small businesses, and a first-class traveler experience for airport users.

Completion is estimated in Spring 2023, with 39 gates and the ability to expand to 50 in the future. The project will also include a seven-story 6,200-space parking structure along landside and airside improvements.

The new terminal will support more efficient airline operations and allow airport users to enjoy the convenience of modern air travel in a facility with updated technology and amenities, close parking, spacious gate areas, and ample food and beverage options.

Kansas City is being recognized more and more as a world-class city. The New Single Terminal and Parking at KCI will greet visitors with a warm Kansas City welcome and send hometown travelers off in style.

Delivering a World-Class New Terminal for Kansas City

A new airport terminal that reflects the core values and aspirations of Kansas City.

The development of a new terminal at Kansas City International Airport will enhance Kansas City's world-class reputation by adding a world-class airport terminal that will spur economic development, increase the long-term capacity of M/WBE and local firms, and build the workforce of the future.

The New Single Terminal and Parking at KCI project will be part of Kansas City’s One Percent for Art program, which began in 1986 and now features over 45 works of public art.

Total Budget

The total public art budget for the New Single Terminal and Parking is $5.65 million (US dollars). The individual art location follows:

Location: Concourses A & B, 19 wall locations

Location Budget: up to $20,000 (twenty thousand US Dollars), all inclusive, each location

Budget includes, but is not limited to, design, fabrication, supplies, material costs, insurance, potential legal fees, business license fees, framing, delivery, travel, etc.

Submission Materials

Please submit the following via this CaFE RFP by no later than Friday, June 18, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. MST. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered. The KCMO Public Art Administrator reserves the right to conduct on-site or telephone interviews to clarify submission materials as needed.

1. Letter of Interest and Proposal description

• State your Kansas City-area county of residency. Artists residing outside the 21-county area listed above that can demonstrate significant ties to Kansas City and/or KCI are also eligible and should describe these significant ties in the Letter of Interest.

• Articulate your interest in public art design.

• Summarize your experience in developing and/or executing creative projects of this scope in the public realm in the Kansas City metropolitan area (if applicable), airports, and beyond (e.g. site-responsive art installations, interactive and participatory artworks, multimedia projects, creative placemaking events, festivals, etc.).

• Artist’s Experience: list your professional experience including any commissions, residencies, touring, exhibitions, collaborations, and projects involving the community and work in the public sector.

• Education: list your educational background and training.

• Experience working with organizations, institutions, developers, locally and beyond.

• Include up to 3 professional references

3. Images of past work, video, audio or multi-media

• A relevant body of past work that demonstrates conceptual, aesthetic, and technical mastery in at least one artistic medium. Attach up to 5 .pdf or jpg. images &/or links and/or up to 5 each audio and/or video files.

4. Proposed artwork sketches, renderings or mock-ups 

• A rendering of your proposed artwork idea that demonstrates conceptual, aesthetic, and technical understanding of the space and appropriateness to the site. The proposal must be new artwork specific to this RFP. The artwork can be a singular work in the 4’ H x 20’ W space or multiple works. In your portfolio, include up to 5 .pdf or .jpg images and/or up to 5 each audio and/or video files of your proposal.

Evaluation Criteria

The Selection Panel will use the following evaluation criteria to select an artist or artist team:

• Excellence: Works of art in the artist's portfolio are original, innovative, of exceptional quality and enduring value.
• Relevant prior experience: The artist has created projects of a similar scale and budget and has experience coordinating with multiple stakeholders; or, is jointly submitting the qualifications of a collaborator that has created such projects and that has such experience.
• Appropriateness to site and project: Works of art in the portfolio indicate that the artist is likely to be sensitive to the social, economic, cultural, historical and physical context of the site and the surrounding neighborhood, either existing or planned.
• Durability: Works of art in the artist's portfolio utilize materials and processes likely to contribute to the longevity of public works of art, especially for projects that will be located outdoors, or is willing to adopt such practices by collaborating with a partner with relevant specialized expertise.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion: The City of Kansas City, Missouri seeks a diverse, equitable and inclusive group of artists to produce public art for the New Single Terminal and Parking at KCI. Selection panelists will consider diversity, equity and inclusion when evaluating artists in conjunction with the City’s policies on contracting and hiring practices. 

Selection Process

The selected artists will be notified by end of August 2021.

The Kansas City, Missouri Public Art Administrator, in conjunction with the Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Art Commission, will convene one or more selection panels to evaluate the submissions. Selection panels are comprised of arts professionals, project stakeholders, and community members such as Municipal Art Commission appointees. The selected artists/artist team's proposal will be presented to the Municipal Art Commission for approval prior to development of a contract. All contracts may be subject to approval by the Kansas City City Council.

Finalist artists seeking assistance with City of Kansas City, Missouri contract requirements should contact KC BizCare, https://www.kcmo.gov/programs-initiatives/kc-bizcare or 816-513-2492.

For questions outside of BizCare’s scope of services, artists may be referred to other resources. BizCare and other City employees and/or contractors are not authorized to give legal advice to artists. Semi-finalist and finalist artists may find it advantageous to consult with an attorney while discussing contract terms with the City.

Contract

Selected artists will be required to sign a contract outlining expectations, timelines and requirements for creating art at the New Single Terminal and Parking at KCI Project per the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Question and Answers

Questions related to this project should be sent to artsbuildkci@gmail.com no later than May 20, 2021. Frequently asked questions are located at https://www.buildkci.com/art/.
 

Artist Information Sessions

Artist Information Sessions will cover the RFP specifics, project details, how to apply and offer a Q&A with project staff. Infosessions are free, open to the public and will be offered via videoconference link. Register via link below.

SIGN UP FOR ARTIST INFOSESSIONS HERE 

Sat May 8th 10am-11am CST: KCAC Coffee Talk, Art at KCI Concourses Artist InfoSession

Wed May 12th, 5:30-7pm CST: KC BizCare How To Apply for Public Art with the City of KCMO InfoSession

Sat May 15th, 10am-11am TBD, Art at KCI Concourses Infosession

Wed May 26th 2021,  5:30pm-6:30pm CST, Studios Inc, Art at KCI Concourses Artist  Infosession

These sessions will be recorded for later review. Questions and answers resulting from these sessions will be added to this RFP as an FAQ Addendum.

For more information visit www.buildkci.com/art.

Schedule

RFP issued: April 19, 2021

Artist Information Sessions:  

Sat May 8th 10am-11am CST

Wed May 12th 5:30-7pm CST, with KC Bizcare

Sat May 15th 10am-11am CST 

Wed May 26th 5:30-6:30pm CST

Questions due to artsbuildkci@gmail.com by May 20, 2021

Answers to questions issued by addendum to RFP: by May 24, 2021

RFP due: June 18, 2021 11:59pm MST

Finalists notified: by end of August 2021

Coordination, Fabrication: 2021-2022

Artwork installation completed no later than: December 2022

Airport Opens: March 2023

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria