This project will extend the streetcar 3.6 miles south on Main Street, adding 16 stops and connecting the Downtown starter line to Midtown, Westport, the Art Museum District, the Plaza and UMKC. The Project’s ground breaking was held on April 6, 2022, and the opening of the extended system is expected in 2025. This project is a partnership between the City of Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and the Kansas City Streetcar Authority.  For more information on the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project, visit: BuildKCStreetcar.com or the Ride KC Streetcar website.

Artists selected as semifinalists will be asked to present a design proposal to the selection panel. Semifinalists will be paid a $2,000 design fee to develop their proposal.

The project team has imagined placing art at forthcoming stops at two locations:

• approximately 51st Street and Main, near the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) campus
• approximately Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard and Main, near the Country Club Plaza shopping and dining area

Semifinalist artists may propose placing art in other locations.

All artistic elements may be required to comply with applicable building codes, such as ADA, the Uniform Building Code (UBC), and NFPA 130, 72, 70 and 101. The Project team may review proposed elements relative to such requirements, including potential safety and/or security considerations for the KC Streetcar system.  The Project team will coordinate with the finalist artist(s) should there be any decisions or coordination required regarding the streetcar system.

All station stop shelters in this Call for Artists have an approved design with similar dimensions, replicating the shelter design of the existing KC Streetcar system that is in operation today. Augmentation of shelter components must coordinate with existing approved shelter designs.  Final design drawings and applicable specifications will be provided to finalist artist(s).

Considerations for KC Streetcar Public Art

Three-Dimensional art:

Selected art may be three-dimensional (3-D). Artwork can be provided in multiple segments if needed. The art installation shall be stable in an earthquake and shall not attach to any other structure other than its footing or foundation. Three-dimensional art will not be placed on the station stop platforms, but rather in the vicinity of the stop area.

The finalist artist(s) will be asked to provide a physical or virtual 3-D model to demonstrate how three-dimensional art will interact with the environment. The artwork must not impede vision along the trafficway, pedestrian space or the station stop. The Main Street Extension Project engineering team will review and approve the art installation location.

Two-Dimensional art:

Selected two-dimensional (2-D) artwork may be displayed at, near, or on the KC Streetcar station stop platforms and shelters.  If accepted, the finalist artist(s) may be asked to provide a print-ready file at identified dimensions for coordination with the Project team. If the selected area for art is on the back panel of the shelter glass, there are transparency requirements based on safety needs for the system. The back-panel glass can be utilized for art but if the art work covers more than 50% of the glass panel space, there needs to be some transparent elements either in the design materials or with the inclusion of “negative space,” i.e. the clear glass.

Question and Answer Period

Addendum June 28, 2022

To view a recording of the Artist Information Session held June 27, 2022, visit https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XRZ1rhpJh8KU-bZdkSurJuUaSQ3Bv8NF/view?usp=sharing

Q&As received by email:

Q: Does the artist need to provide production and installation costs separately in this round or simply the concept/design for consideration?

A: This is an RFQ (Request for Qualifications), not an RFP (Request for Proposals). At this stage of this project, artists are required only to upload their portfolio, letter of interest, resume, and a list of references (actual reference letters are not required for this RFQ round of judging). No concepts, designs, proposals or budgets are required to submit qualifications through CaFÉ. Registering with CaFÉ is free for artists. Concepts/designs/proposals and budgets are required only of 2-5 artists chosen as semifinalists.

Q: Budget: I am assuming that the $2,000 development fee just cover concept and proposed design, but not production and installation costs. Am I correct?

A: The $2,000 design proposal stipend will be paid to each of 2-5 semifinalists chosen by the selection panel to produce a design. The full budget for the finalist artist(s) is $185,000, all inclusive, with costs that may include but are not limited to general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, registering with the City of Kansas City, Missouri and Missouri Secretary of State, final designs, engineer stamp, permits, fabrication, delivery, installation, potentially procuring and installing electrical and lighting, and ground remediation.

Q: For 2-Dimensional art on the glass of the street car shelter itself: will that be a permanent installation?

A: As permanent as it can be. See Celina Curry’s projects on the existing streetcar stops at https://kcstudio.org/art-city-public-art-kansas-city/, page 15. They were printed directly onto the shelter panels. Other processes might exist that might also be acceptable.

Q: Can the concept proposal be for either 3D or 2D art? Or a combination of both?

A: Currently, both 2-D and 3-D, or a combination, are acceptable. If the project parameters change, semifinalist artists will be notified prior to beginning their design proposals.

Q: Are all the shelter panels available for 2D art or do they need to be available for other purposes?

A: There are specific directions within the call for artists about how much of each back panel can be taken up by a 2-D image. Currently, only the Plaza and UMKC stops are being considered for 2-D art. If the project parameters change, semifinalist artists will be notified prior to beginning their design proposals.

Q: It looks like there are some bus stop shelters at the Plaza stop. Can those can be incorporated into the design concept as well?

A: This would have to be approved by the Area Transportation Authority, the governing entity for Kansas City’s bus system, after semifinalists have been selected.

Q: Could the proposal idea include a program of rotating or a changing set of images, over a few years with all images files prepared and provided, or is the only option to create one, permanent installation?

A: We can only pay the artist within the time frame established in the contract, and all work must be completed with the schedule established in the contract. Any subsequent work would be managed under subsequent agreement(s).

Questions related to this project for the KCMO Public Art Administrator or the Main Street Extension Project Manager should be emailed to the Public Art Administrator at james.martin@kcmo.org by 11:59 p.m. CST Friday, June 24, 2022.

Questions received by this deadline will be answered in writing on this CaFÉ Call for Artists listing via an RFQ addendum after the Artist Information Session videoconference described below. Questions may also be answered during the Artist Information Session if time allows.

Artist Information Session

Please see above for a link to a recording of the Artist Information Session.

A videoconference artist information session with the KCMO Public Art Administrator and the KC Streetcar Main Street Extension Project Manager(s) will be held via videoconference 5:30 p.m. CST, Monday, June 27, 2022 via the following videoconference link:

Click here to join the meeting

Evaluation Criteria

The Main Street Extension Artist Selection Panel will use the following evaluation criteria:

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.

Selection Process

The Kansas City, Missouri Public Art Administrator will recommend selection panelists to the Municipal Art Commission for approval. The selection panel will judge first-round applicants based on resumes, letters of interest and portfolios residing on CaFÉ and select 2-5 semifinalists. Artists lacking public art experience may want to consider jointly submitting the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.

Semifinalists will be paid a $2,000 design fee to develop their proposal. The selection panel will review the semifinalist proposals, budgets and qualifications (images of past work, resume/CV, letter of interest) and select one finalist artist, or artist team, and one alternate. The selected artist/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 City Council.

Artists who need access to a computer and/or internet access are encouraged to seek assistance from their local library or KC BizCare, 816-513-2492.

Contractual Process

The selected artist or artist team will enter into a contract with the City of Kansas City, Missouri. Typical city contract requirements may include, but are not limited to:

• Use of durable, exterior materials not easily subject to wear or vandalism (e.g., graffiti-resistant materials, etc.)
• acquiring a City of Kansas City, Missouri business license registering as a vendor with the City of Kansas City, Missouri
• paying municipal revenue tax to the City of Kansas City, Missouri and ensuring that any past municipal revenue taxes are current
• notarized affidavit of compliance with federal e-Verify requirements
• developing a budget to include all aspects of design, fabrication, transportation, installation and lighting, and that may include costs such as, but are not limited to:
• permits
• excavation, site remediation and landscaping electrical work and purchasing and installing lighting fixtures
• approval by a licensed structural engineer
• travel expenses
• general liability insurance commercial auto insurance
• contracts over $160,000 may be subject to City of Kansas City, Missouri DBE, MBE, WBE and SLBE guidelines

Requirements of the State of Missouri may include, but are not limited to:

• registering with the Missouri Secretary of State to conduct business in Missouri
• contracts over $75,000 must meet Missouri’s Prevailing Wage Law and require managing related documentation
• Worker’s Compensation and managing related documentation

Federal requirements may include, but are not limited to:

• W-9
• E-verify

Semi-finalist and finalist artists seeking assistance with City of Kansas City, Missouri contract requirements should contact KC BizCare, https://bizcare.kcmo.gov/ or 816-513-2492. Further guidance and a documentation checklist are available at https://bizcare.kcmo.gov/article/publicart. For questions outside 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 or accounting advice. Semi-finalist and finalist artists may find it advantageous to consult with an attorney while negotiating contract terms with the City.

Tentative Schedule

• Late May 2022: Call for Artists distributed
• Friday, June 24, 2022 11:59 p.m. CST: Written question and answer period deadline
• Monday, June 27, 2022 5:30 p.m. CST: Artist information videoconference (see link above)
• Sunday, July 24, 2022 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time Zone: Call for Artists submission deadline
• Early August 2022: Call for Artists semifinalists selected
• Late September-early October 2022: Semifinalists present proposals, finalist selected
• October-November 2022: Artist contracting
• Late 2022/early 2023: Artist begins attending coordination meetings with the Main Street Extension Project team and contractor
• Spring 2023: Artist coordinates design proposal with project team, refines design
• 2023 - 2024: Artist procures materials, begins fabrication
• Fall 2023 – Mid 2024: Construction continues, artist continues coordinating with project team and fabricating
• Late 2024: Main Street Extension project substantial completion
• Late 2024 – early 2025: Install art (estimated)
• Mid 2025: KC Streetcar Main Street Extension opens to the public

Application Requirements

Application Requirements

• Resume/CV
• Contact info for 3 references (letters are not required for Round 1 jurying)
• Letter of Interest
• Work samples on CaFÉ

Eligibility Criteria

All applications must be submitted through this CaFÉ Call for Artists.

Eligibility

Eligibility is limited to professional visual artist teams or artists at least 18 years of age based in the Kansas City Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The Kansas City CSA includes the Missouri counties of Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray and the Kansas counties of Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Wyandotte. Artists based in the Kansas City area but not within one of the above counties can appeal their eligibility within their Letter of Interest. All eligibility appeals will be determined by a majority vote of the selection panel.

Artists lacking public art experience may want to consider jointly submitting the qualifications of an experienced collaborator. Resumes/CVs of all collaborators must be uploaded to CaFÉ as a single PDF with multiple pages.

Artists who have completed a City of Kansas City, Missouri One Percent for Art commission within two years of their project’s final acceptance date are not eligible.

Full-time, permanent City of Kansas City, Missouri employees, KC Streetcar Main Street Extension project consultants and their employees and sub-consultants are ineligible.