GEOGRAPHIC ELIGIBILITY: This RFQ is open only to professional visual artists residing in the State of California who meet the minimum eligibility qualifications. MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Applicants must be professional visual artists. (Applications from architects, landscape architects or other design professionals will not be considered unless included as part of an artist-led team). 2. Completion of at least two site-specific projects using permanent materials located in an exterior environment. 3. Experience in working cooperatively with multiple professionals including architects, engineers, project personnel, artists, designers, and members of the community. 4. Experience in the installation of, or ability to oversee the installation of, the commissioned artwork. 5. Ability to comply with the project deadlines as indicated below. PROJECT BACKGROUND BART recently received “Transportation for a Livable Communities” funding to redesign the southwest plaza at the 24th Street/Mission BART Station. The project goal is to physically open the plaza by eliminating existing barriers, such as planter boxes and railings, increasing the amount of open space available for BART passengers as well as for planned and impromptu performances, weekly artisan markets, and local food vendors. NEIGHBORHOOD BACKGROUND The 24th Street Station plaza is located in San Francisco’s Mission District, originally known as "the Mission lands,” meaning the lands belonging to the sixth Alta California Mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. Founded in 1776, Mission San Francisco de Asis is both the oldest original intact Mission in California and the oldest building in San Francisco. Today, it stands aside the Mission Dolores Basilica, built from 1913 to 1918 to replace a brick parish church destroyed in the Earthquake of 1906. The Mission District is characterized by Latin American culture, with Mexican and Central Americans constituting the majority ethnic group, although a significant proportion of San Francisco’s Native American population also reside there. It has long been a rich sector of businesses by and for Latino families. Many of the oldest businesses along Mission Street have been in existence since the 1940s and 50s, when workers came from Mexico to work in the area’s shipyards and factories. The Mission is home to numerous Latino artistic and cultural institutions, as well as to many significant murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s. It is one of San Francisco’s liveliest neighborhoods, popular with both residents and visitors. PUBLIC ART SITE The site for the artwork is the large parapet well that surrounds the escalator core, a major design feature in the plaza. The core area will be cleaned and the existing railing removed during the plaza’s renovation. The art sites include the top two faces of the parapet’s coping; i.e. the face that creates a 1' horizontal ledge on top, and the face that slopes 1'8" horizontally towards the station. The diameter of the core measures approximately 52’ from the center of the coping. Images of the plaza and the art sites are illustrated in Figures 1-5 below. BART will prepare the site and provide equipment for the artwork installation and will coordinate the artist's work with BART operations to ensure that all safety and security requirements are met. Artists may consider a variety of media for treating the parapet; however, all materials must require little to no maintenance over the life of the work. Potential materials may include metal, including metal railings to replace the existing railing, ceramic tile, or other permanent materials. There will be access to electrical power around the core area and lighting elements may be considered as part of the artwork. All lighting elements should have a 5-year lifespan. PUBLIC ART BUDGET The public art allocation is estimated to be approximately $200,000. The final amount will be inclusive of all costs related to the artist’s design and project management fees; fabrication, transportation, delivery and installation of the artwork; subcontractors, including engineers, architects, labor etc.; General Liability and Auto Liability; and all other costs associated with the art project. BART will provide the artist with the equipment necessary to install the artwork. ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS Applications will be pre-screened by BART to ensure that applicants meet the minimum qualifications. A Selection Panel comprised of representatives from BART, the City of San Francisco, arts professionals and community representatives will review the applications and will rank them according to the selection criteria outlined below. Artists or artist teams with the three highest scores may be invited to develop conceptual design proposals. SELECTION CRITERIA • The aesthetic quality of the artist’s past work, including content, craftsmanship, uniqueness and relevance to its environment. • The artist’s demonstrated ability to translate art concepts into durable and safe materials that are compatible with design standards for permanent construction in a transit setting. • Evidence that artist’s existing public artworks have maintained an appropriate level of quality and integrity. • Artist’s stated availability to execute and complete the artwork in a timely and professional manner. • Artist’s demonstrated ability to work successfully as a member of a project design team and ability to work within a public review process. FINALISTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Artists or artist teams selected to prepare conceptual design proposals will be required to attend a project orientation with representatives from BART, the project design team and community members. 2. Artists will confer with the project design team when developing conceptual designs for artwork, including identifying the site(s), content, scale and media. 3. The Conceptual designs must indicate the artist’s design intent, the artwork’s location, scale, colors, materials, and fabrication processes, a preliminary budget based on actual cost estimates, and a project timeline. 4. Preliminary art budgets must include verifiable cost estimates for design development, fabrication and/or fabrication oversight, delivery, installation, professional consultants, including engineers, the artist’s project management fees, required insurance, and all other costs associated with the art project. 5. The Art Selection Committee will evaluate the Proposals and will assign a weighted score from 1 to 5 (low to high) for each of the criteria described below. The scores will be tallied and the Proposal with the highest score will be recommended for implementation. A. Aesthetics (50%): (The quality of the overall design of the Artwork, including creativity, originality and use of materials; the degree to which the artwork will remain interesting to the general public over a long period of time; appropriateness of content and subject matter to a diverse audience). B. Durability, Longevity and Maintenance (20%): (The degree to which the Artwork will not require excessive or costly maintenance; the degree to which it will be affected by inherent environmental conditions (i.e. natural or artificial light, weather, public access, etc.). C. Budget (20%): (An evaluation of the Artist’s proposed budget based on viable cost estimates from subcontractors and suppliers). D. References: (10%): (Based on responses received from professional references relative to the stated Selection Criteria). 6. Each artist or artist team will receive a $1,000 honorarium upon the successful submission of a design concept. 7. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by BART, all materials submitted as part of the proposal will become the property of BART (with the exception of material samples, color boards, etc). PROJECT SCHEDULE The plaza design is at 65% completion. Artists selected to design and fabricate artwork must be able to meet the following schedule: Applications Due May 18, 2012 Selection Panel meets to select finalists: May-June 2012 Project Orientation: June - July 2012 Design Proposals Due: September 2012 Contracts Issued: October 2012 Design Development, Fabrication: October 2012-August 2013 Installation: September 2013 SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS The following are to be submitted via CaFÉ (www.callforentry.org) 1. Narrative (maximum 3,000 characters) indicating interest in and potential approach to the project. 2. Resume (not to exceed 3,000 characters) for each artist and/or team member that highlights professional accomplishments and identifies experience with projects similar in scope and nature to this project. 3. A maximum of 8 images of completed permanent, exterior projects for individual artists (maximum of 10 images total for artist teams). Please do not include images of studio work. 4. Annotated image list with full descriptions including title, medium, dimensions, project budget, location and commissioning agency. 5. If applying as a team, please indicate the name and contact information for the team’s representative. BART reserves the right to reject any or all applications or proposals and to modify or terminate the application process or the selection process for any reason and without prior notice. For project updates follow us on Twitter: @24thandmission

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria