Who We Are

Art in Public Places is a non-profit organization that has donated public art throughout the city of Bend, Oregon since 1973. For over 40 years Art in Public Places has created an enhanced visual environment for Bend residents and promoted tourism and economic vitality through the artistic design of public spaces. AiPP’s ongoing efforts have steadily increased the public art collection in Bend for everyone to enjoy.

AiPP has donated large scale sculptures to the City of Bend for 20 roundabouts as well as numerous other works of art to Bend Park & Recreation District, Central Oregon Community College, Deschutes Public Library and St. Charles Foundation. Bend’s public art collection is a permanent part of what makes Bend so unique and a wonderful place to visit and reside. 

City of Bend 

Residents and visitors are drawn to Bend for its high desert climate and rich and varied year-round recreation: skiing, cycling, hiking, fly fishing, climbing, kayaking, rafting and golf. Now, with more people working remotely, Bend has grown and flourished, truly a community with diverse backgrounds and a shared love for the place and lifestyle. Bend is home to nationally recognized breweries, Mt. Bachelor ski area, High Desert Museum, Central Oregon Community College and the Oregon State University- Cascades Campus. Today, Bend is the largest Oregon city east of the Cascades with a population nearing 100,000.

Site Context

The Powers Road & Brookswood Boulevard Roundabout is located a half mile from the Bend Parkway offering north and southbound access to Highway 97. The Powers & Brookswood Roundabout provides direct access to the west side of Bend off the Parkway for cars traveling on to Mt. Bachelor or north to downtown Bend. This roundabout is also located 1.3 miles south of the Old Mill District and Hayden Homes Amphitheater.

Brookswood Boulevard is a major north/south corridor on the west side of Bend connecting cars from Deschutes River Woods and heading north through the subdivisions of River Rim, River Canyon and Elkhorn Estates before passing through the Reed Market & Brookswood Roundabout on the way to the Old Mill District (shopping and dining along the Deschutes River), Summit Medical Center and the Hayden Homes Amphitheater which hosts large scale concerts in the summer months.

Brookswood Boulevard has a total of three roundabouts located at the cross streets of Murphy Road (opened in 2015), Powers Road (2012) and Reed Market Road (2009). This four mile north/south route along Brookswood Boulevard has 13,500 cars each day. The Powers Road & Brookswood Boulevard roundabout has 23,000 cars each day with most of the cars coming from the Bend Parkway exit.

Along Brookswood Boulevard cars will pass the Brookswood Meadow Plaza (grocery store, animal clinic and various small shops/dining options) as well as Elk Meadow Elementary and the nearby Pine Ridge Elementary; however, the core of what you’ll see driving along Brookswood Boulevard is the numerous residential communities in SW Bend.  The established neighborhoods of Southern Crossing and Southwest Bend are on the edge of this roundabout’s location.

The Powers Road & Brookswood Boulevard roundabout (the middle of the three traffic circles along Brookswood) is surrounded by residential neighborhoods with backyard fencing from all sides. This traffic circle has long site lines without other visual distractions and is an opportunity to enliven this public space along a busy traffic route with an impactful design. AIPP placed a sculpture in the Brookswood & Reed Market roundabout in 2009 (which has 31,000 cars each day) and is excited to return to SW Bend for another public art installation.

The overall size of the roundabout is 3,200 sq. ft. with the largest land for sculpture footings on the eastern edge of the roundabout (560 sq. ft.) as well as two areas on the western edge (144 sq. ft. and 261 sq. ft) and one area in the southwest section (100 sq. ft.) of the roundabout. The width of the truck apron varies from 11 to 16 ft. wide. There is a water main running north/south through the center of the roundabout and it should be noted that the sculpture footings cannot span across the utility mainline. Overall footings must be 5 ft. away from all underground utilities.

Application Requirements

Requests for Qualifications (RFQ)

Project Budget
The total project budget for this commission is $130,000, including City of Bend permit fees, stamped engineering drawings, subcontractors, footings/excavation, delivery, insurance, travel, restorative landscaping, installation and a traffic mitigation plan (signage and flaggers) as per the City permit requirements. Only Finalists will submit an itemized budget for the proposed project.

Artist Submission Requirements
Artists and Artist Teams applying must submit all of the following information by April 29, 2022. Please do not submit a design or concept at this time. Artist Teams please submit only one application. Late applications will not be considered.

•Letter of Interest – One (1) PDF upload

1.       Contact Information (name, address, phone, email, website).

2.       Description of most relevant comparable project experience from the last 12 years.

3.       Description of your interest in working on this specific project.

•Six (6) digital images of completed past works of art or public art. With each image, please include title, medium, dimensions, year completed, budget and city/state. Work examples must be from the last 12 years showcasing sculptures/installations in outdoor spaces. (Do not submit images of indoor works of art).

Finalists Selected Based on the Following:

Letter of Interest

Comparable Project Experience

Artistic excellence on image samples

The selection committee will evaluate all submissions based on artistic excellence, innovation, interactivity, originality and the work’s ability to enhance the natural landscape and enliven this public space. Our selection criteria will require artists to demonstrate experience with public art projects, using materials suitable for public outdoor settings, site-specific design, and collaborating with other artists, architects, engineers, fabricators and City government administrative staff. The potential to create an impactful design for this public art project will score highly on our evaluation criteria.

Selection Process

Phase 1: A selection committee consisting of the AiPP Board and a representative from the City of Bend Engineering department will select 3-4 Finalists. The stipend for travel and design time is $1,500. Finalists are encouraged to use the stipend for a Site Visit to Bend early in the design phase to see the roundabout and, as schedules allow, meet key players from the AiPP Board and an Engineer with the City of Bend.

Phase 2: Each of the 3-4 Finalists will present their design renderings to the selection committee via Zoom. The overall proposal will include design renderings, a detailed budget and a conservation maintenance plan. Public input will be gathered during the phase. Finalists will submit a presentation poster 10 days in advance of the Zoom meeting. The selection committee will make their decision based on eligibility and the scoring criteria described above.

Project Timeline 
Call to Artists announced: March 18, 2022

Application Due: April 29, 2022

Notification of Finalists: Late May 2022

Design Time and Site Visit: June 2022

Artist Presentation of design rendering proposals via Zoom: mid-to-late July 2022

Public Input (two weeks): August 2022

Commission Selection: August 2022

Installation: Spring 2023

Questions
Questions about the project may be directed to Marcelene Trujillo, AiPP Project Coordinator via email at artinpublicplacesbend@gmail.com. Assistance in using the CaFE system is available via email at helpcafe@westaf.org.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility

Open to Artists and Artist Teams residing in the Northwest and Southwest United States, specifically Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Women, LGBTQAI+ community members are highly encouraged to apply. Artists living in Oregon are highly encouraged to apply.