Introduction
The City of Fremont, California is seeking artist qualifications for the commission of an engaging and permanent public art installation within the under-construction Warm Springs Plaza in the Warm Springs Innovation District. The artist will design, fabricate, and install the artwork. The area for the artwork is 16’ × 16’ with an approximately 20’ clearance. The deadline to apply is Monday, June 28 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Eligibility
This opportunity is open to all professional artists nationwide. Artists must be at least 18 years of age and have experience working with substantial budgets.

Budget
The budget for this project—including design, fabrication, storage, transportation, and installation—is up to $600,000.

Background
The Warm Springs Innovation District is an 879-acre of South Fremont that surrounds the Warm Springs/South Fremont Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station. The area is home to the Tesla automotive plant and numerous advanced manufacturing, clean technology, and biomedical technology uses, as well as new multifamily residential communities, a school, and an urban public park intended to capitalize on the energy from the vibrant, job-intensive industries in the area and the BART station.

Warm Springs Plaza is part of the Warm Springs/South Fremont West Side Access Bridge and Plaza Project, a joint venture between the City of Fremont and BART consisting of the iconic, cable-stayed West Access Bridge, which spans the Union-Pacific Railroad mainline tracks west of the station, and the Plaza, which will serve as a community gathering place and touch-down area for the bridge’s stair, escalator, and elevator tower elements. Via the Plaza, the bridge will increase accessibility to the station by providing additional pedestrian and bicycle access opportunities for residents of new and future developments in Warm Springs and employees commuting to nearby businesses. The Plaza figures to experience high volumes of daily pedestrian and bicycle traffic due to its connection to the BART station and will also serve as a community hub and the terminus of a view corridor down the Innovation Way spine, which will function as a commercial corridor leading to the Plaza. For more information on the Warm Springs Innovation District and the West Side Access Bridge and Plaza Project, please visit the project webpage.

The setting of the art installation will be within the more passively designed southern half of the Plaza. Set against a backdrop of tilia tomentosa (silver linden) trees along the Plaza’s eastern edge, the installation will be located within a flat, 16’ × 16’ (256-square-foot) open area bounded by concrete seat walls off its south, east, and west sides. The Plaza’s bicycle racks and the bridge’s escalator and elevator tower elements will be located off the installation’s north end. The ground surface around the installation area will feature top cast concrete, and pedestrian-scale light fixtures will be located throughout the Plaza, including in areas adjacent to the installation. The art installation location is prominent and visible both day and night.

Consistent with the theme of the Innovation District and the Plaza’s transit-oriented setting, the artwork should promote and celebrate innovation while simultaneously respecting the character and scale of the iconic West Access Bridge. The installation should convey a grand sense of arrival in Fremont, serve as a community focal point that establishes Fremont as an art destination, and incorporate a sense of light, movement, and transit in a manner that is compatible with the architecture of the West Access Bridge.

Selection Process
Responses to this call for artist qualifications will be evaluated first by a City staff review panel and then by the Art Review Board (ARB), a board consisting of community members and art experts who serve to advise the City on artistic matters and selection of art in public places. ARB will choose finalists to provide a conceptual art proposal. These finalists will each receive compensation of up to $500 for their proposal efforts. ARB will review proposal submissions, conduct artist interviews, and select their recommended finalist and an alternate. ARB’s recommendations will be presented to the City of Fremont Recreation Commission and then the Fremont City Council, who will select the final artist and alternate and award the artist contract.

Selection Criteria
Selection criteria to be used for consideration shall include, but not limited to, the following:

1. Strength of artist’s statement
2. Strength of artist’s portfolio
3. Strength of professional references

Timeline
The tentative timeline is as follows:

• June 7, 2021: Issue Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
• June 28, 2021: Deadline for submissions (11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time)
• July 21, 2021: Art Review Board reviews submissions and selects finalists for preparation of conceptual art proposals
• Fall 2021: Art Review Board reviews conceptual art proposals, interviews finalists, and identifies first and second choices
• Fall 2021: Recreation Commission considers Art Review Board recommendations
• Winter 2021: City Council considers Art Review Board and Recreation Commission recommendations and awards artist contract
• Winter 2021: Contract is executed
• Summer 2022: Artist completes artwork and installation

Application Process
All interested artists are asked to submit the following materials electronically via the CaFÉ website:

1. Artist Statement: A PDF document with a written description including: 1) the artist’s art practice and interest in this specific project; 2) artist’s demonstrated understanding of the physical characteristics, site, and setting of the Plaza and the City’s vision for the art installation; and 3) artist’s relevant experience, including experience with other projects of similar scope and how that experience qualifies the artist for the subject art installation.

2. Artist Portfolio: A PDF document with images and descriptions (including cost) of the artist’s previous work including completed projects and most recent commissions. Renderings of pending projects approved for installation may be included. Document may include the same images in the artist’s CaFÉ portfolio.

3. Professional References: A PDF document including three (3) professional references from past projects with contact information.

The deadline to apply is Monday, June 28 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Contact Information
For questions, please contact:
Luciana Torres
Communications/Management Analyst
City of Fremont
lutorres@fremont.gov
510-494-4553

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria