Rhode Island State Council on the Arts

Request for Qualifications

Rhode Island College Fogarty Life Science-School of Nursing Building

600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence 02908

Budget: $30,000

Application Deadline: February 15, 2022

Eligibility: This RFQ is open to all professional artists. Students are not eligible to apply.

Artwork for the Rhode Island College Fogarty Life Science -School of Nursing building will be commissioned through Rhode Island’s Public Art Law, which mandates that 1% of all state capital construction and renovation funds be allocated to the purchase and maintenance of public art.  Through this program, the State recognizes that “public art creates a more humane environment: one of distinction, enjoyment, and pride for all citizens”.  

About Rhode Island College

Established in 1854, Rhode Island College (RIC) is the state’s first public institution of higher education. Today, Rhode Island College is a regional comprehensive public college that serves approximately 6,300 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students through its five schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the School of Nursing and the School of Social Work. 

From its website, the College’s mission statement reads:

As a leading regional public college, Rhode Island College personalizes higher education of the finest quality for undergraduate and graduate students. We offer vibrant programs in arts and sciences, business and professional disciplines within a supportive, respectful and diverse community. Dedicated faculty engage students in learning, research, and career attainment, and our innovative curricula and co-curricula foster intellectual curiosity and prepare an educated citizenry for responsible leadership.

Rhode Island College is additionally guided by core values of Excellence and Innovation, Access and Opportunity. 

About the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing

The Zvart Onanian School of Nursing at Rhode Island College is committed to providing the highest quality undergraduate and graduate nursing education at an affordable cost to a student population diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity, gender, and age. The programs foster intellectual development, personal growth, and professional collaboration. The school provides a nurturing, inclusive, performance-based, technologically-equipped, innovative learning environment that promotes caring, competence, and professionalism. 

Their Mission Statement is “Educating and empowering nurses to enrich the health and well-being of all people.” Core values of Excellence, Integrity, Diversity/Inclusion and Caring provide additional guidance.

About the John E. Fogarty building

The John E. Fogarty Life Science building was built in 1975, with a dedication that reads “This Building is Named in honor of JOHN E. FOGARTY, U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM RHODE ISLAND, 1941 to 1967, In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the improvement of educational, medical, and public welfare facilities and programs in the state and nation.” The building’s new 9,000 square foot School of Nursing wing was completed in 2016. 

About Rhode Island College’s Public Art Master Plan

In 2017, with multiple new construction and renovation projects on the horizon, President Sánchez tasked the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to work with the faculty and staff of the college in creating a public art master plan for the campus. RISCA’s Public Art Director at the time, Liz Keithline, worked closely with the Steering Committee, conducting numerous listening sessions with faculty, staff and students on campus. 

Of note, the plan places emphasis on artworks that convey “freshness”, “newness” and “vitality”; that improve engagement, connectedness and community on campus; that align with Rhode Island College’s mission; that offer opportunities for all to participate by placing art in accessible locations; and meet sustainability goals.

About the Project

The RI State Council on the Arts and Rhode Island College will commission artwork for the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing wing in the entrance lobby or exterior sites adjacent to the building. 

Exterior works should not obstruct the building signage. 

Interior works could be 3-D, freestanding, wall-mounted or ceiling hung, among the possibilities. 

The artwork could reinforce stated goals of the building to increase collaborative space and sense of community, or reflect the goals and values of RIC’s public art master plan. 

The budget is all-inclusive, to include all materials, fabrication, engineer fees, insurance, permits, installation, lighting, wiring, support or bases, etc.  

One artist or artist team will be commissioned. 

Intent of the RFQ and Scope of the Work:

Please note: This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is the first step in the RISCA/RIC public art selection process. It is not considered best practice for an agency to ask an artist to craft a proposal without financial compensation. Therefore, RISCA will conduct the Public Art application process online, with all materials submitted in digital format through CaFÉ (see below) and there is no charge to the artist to apply or to submit digital images.   

At this preliminary selection stage, we request submissions from artists or art teams consisting of six (6) images representing work completed within the past ten years, resumes, and a very brief one paragraph artistic statement. 

If an artist wants to apply as an individual as well as part of a team, two separate CaFÉ profiles and two separate CaFÉ applications must be completed (i.e., one application submission for you and one application submission for your team). Applications consisting of six images, statements, and resumes will be reviewed by the selection panel to assess the quality and appropriateness of the artist's work, and their ability to carry out a public art commission. 

Three finalists will be selected from the pool of RFQ applicants. Finalists will be invited to craft a detailed proposal including an itemized budget, scale models and/or renderings, and an in-depth project description. For this they will each be paid an honorarium of $1,000. This stipend includes all travel expenses: hotel, transportation, mileage, etc., for both the site visit and the subsequent presentation meeting. Finalists will not be reimbursed separately for any travel costs. Due to the travel limitations of COVID-19, meetings, presentations and site visits may be held through video conferencing, TBD.

Estimated Timeline:

February 15, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (E.S.T.) Deadline for submissions

March 2022, panel meeting for review and selection of semifinalists

Early April,  Finalist site visits

May 2022, Finalist presentations to selection panel; work selected

Spring/Summer 2022, Final approval by RISCA Council and approvals by RIC President’s Advisory Board on Public Art and President’s Executive Council.

TBD with artist: Contract signed

TBD with artist: Work installed and completed. Building construction is already complete.

According to law, recommendations of the selection panel will be presented to the governing council of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts who will have final approval of the public art selection.

Finalist’s site-specific proposals should convey artist’s ideas and plans through designs, renderings and/or scale models with a statement that describes the project's intent, proposed materials, fabrication and installation methods, and an itemized budget including 10% contingency fee. Finalists will also be asked to explain how their artwork will be sourced and fabricated.  The finalists will be supplied with plans, photographs, and specific information about the building and the campus. A site visit to include a meeting with campus planning and members of the selection panel will be scheduled.  An stipend of $1,000 will be paid to finalists for their proposals. The proposals will remain the property of the artist; however RISCA reserves the right to retain proposals for up to one year for display purposes and the right to reproduce final proposals for documentation and public information. 

The Public Art Selection Panel reserves the right to determine which proposal will be funded and the extent of funding. The panel also reserves the right not to accept any proposal submitted. If the recommendations of the Public Art Selection Panel are approved by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and RIC, the selected artist/s will enter into a contract with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and RIC for the commission. The commissioned artwork will be owned by the State of Rhode Island.

Selection Criteria:

The panel will select the artist based on the following criteria:

Artistic Excellence: Quality and suitability of the final proposal in relation to the project description, RIC public art master plan goals, the sites available, and appropriateness for the School of Nursing.

Ability of the Artist’s Team: The artist's ability to carry out the commission, to keep the project within budget, and to complete and install the work on schedule.

Value: The quality and scope of the proposed completed work in relation to the commission and fees paid to the artist’s team. 

Durability of the Work: Permanence and durability of materials for this public facility. It is the artist’s responsibility to ensure that all artwork meets safety standards, adheres to building codes, ADA requirements and other state regulations. Artworks must be durable and require minimal maintenance. For the purposes of this RFQ, permanence is defined as 10 years. 

Collaborative Spirit: Willingness of the artist to consult with faculty, staff, campus planning, and RISCA staff to assure smooth integration of the artwork into the site and to make necessary adjustments in relation to building codes and other construction issues.

Application Requirements

To Apply:

All applications will be submitted through Cafe. There is no charge to apply. No slides or hard copy materials will be accepted for this call. First time CaFÉ applicants must allow enough time to prepare their CaFÉ formatted digital images and electronic submission prior to the deadline.  Each application must be submitted via the CaFÉ web site (www.callforentry.org) and must include:

A current resume for each artist. If you are applying as a team, include all team member resumes within one document. 

 A brief, one-paragraph artistic statement.

Six digital images of relevant artwork. In the Description of Image, accompanying image annotation must list media, size, title, date of completion and a brief description of the artwork if necessary.  Please do not present more than one view of artwork per image.  If you wish to show a "detail", include it within the six (6) artwork images.

Eligibility Criteria

This call for qualifications is open to professional artists within the United States. Students are not eligible.  Black, Indigenous, People of Color, women, gender nonconforming persons, LGBTQIA+ community members and people with differing physical abilities are highly encouraged to apply. Artists living across Rhode Island are highly encouraged to apply. The panel will not discriminate against any applicant artist on the basis of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or physical challenges. Excluded from participation are RISCA Council members, staff and their family members as well as Public Art Selection Panel members and their families.