Atlanta Seeks Artist for Four Bronze Portrait Sculptures

Posted by City of Atlanta ; Posted on 
Public Art; Visual - DEADLINE :  
Atlanta Seeks Artist for Four Bronze Portrait Sculptures
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The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs invites artists and artist teams to submit proposals for a series of bronze statues of civil-rights leaders seated on bronze benches that will be installed on MLK Drive in Mozley Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The featured Civil Rights leaders will be chosen with the help of the community and finalized before production starts.

Budget: $270,000 for four life-sized sculptures, inclusive of artist fees, engineering, fabrication, foundations, transportation, installation, insurance, permitting and travel costs.

Eligibility:  Professional bronze sculptors with portfolios that demonstrate life-sized bronze portrait sculptures

Deadline: 03/19/2018 10:59 PM Central Time

View full RFQ at https://www.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=5048

Project Description
Years of community-driven planning, detailed analyses, stakeholder support, and political and financial commitment have come together and integrated social justice to transform the corridor in the heart of Atlanta into a world-class “boulevard.” The goal of the coming together of these entities is to transform through tailored, multi-modal improvements and complementary workforce capacity building, business recruitment, socio-cultural preservation, and green infrastructure. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive will not only honor the name of Atlanta’s most famous resident, but further the City of Atlanta’s vision to preserve its historical past, maintain the livability of the present, and transform its future through the highest quality of implementation to enhance the level of service it provides to all people of Atlanta. The initiative is a global showcase for the community-based deployment of recent innovations in transportation safety, delivery, and risk management practices, in a high visibility, internationally significant cultural context.

The area’s culture is internationally significant. It was home to intellectual leaders of human rights, including W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. The Renew Atlanta initiative that is sponsoring this installation along with several others along the corridor will address vehicular and pedestrian safety concerns, provide additional pedestrian and bicycle access through the implementation of new multi-use trails, and introduce a new linear park along the corridor in addition to several public art installations. The goal is to transform MLK, Jr. Drive into an art-filled pedestrian and bicycle friendly corridor with improved access to the Atlanta BeltLine and MARTA bus service.

Artwork Location Description
The four bronze statues seated on bronze benches will be installed along MLK, Jr. Drive in Mozley Park between Chappell Rd NW and Federal Drive SW. All statues should be life sized. The site around the installation will be landscaped assuring that the sculpture and accompanying description is accessible and complimentary to the statue and the park. We will install the sculptures and benches in four locations along MLK in Mozley Park and install inlaid information on each leader in front of the benches. The sculptures, bench design, and constructions costs must be integrated into the budget of the artist selected.

Site History
MLK, Jr. Drive is a heavily used east-west corridor linking points of interest such as Downtown Atlanta (which includes the government center), Philips Arena, the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta University Center (Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse School of Medicine), historic Westview Cemetery, four MARTA heavy rail stations, and the Fulton County Airport-Brown Field. Suburban and historic urban neighborhoods line the corridor alongside notable parks such as Mozley Park and Washington Park and other community facilities such as the historic Booker T. Washington High School, Adamsville Recreation Center, Atlanta BeltLine, and the Lionel Hampton Multi-use Trail. The corridor also parallels I-20, the region’s major east-west freeway and crosses I-285, the region’s perimeter freeway. At the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, MLK Jr. Drive becomes State Route 139 going westward past historic Westview Cemetery, through the Adamsville community and eventually to the Atlanta city limits and Fulton Industrial Boulevard in unincorporated Fulton County. The corridor is served by 14 local and one express bus route and is located near portions of regional multi-use trail systems that currently have limited connectivity. The eastern end of the corridor intersects with the Atlanta BeltLine Southwest Trail that is currently under construction.

There are three MARTA Heavy Rail stations within one quarter of a mile of MLK, Jr. Drive and one located on the street. There are 14 MARTA bus routes and three core and secondary bicycle routes on the Drive. I-20 an east-west expressway and I-285 an interstate highway loop encircling Atlanta both intersect MLK, Jr. Drive.

Selection Criteria
Artists will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • Artistic merit and technical expertise
  • Demonstrated successful, innovative and effective approach to public art projects of a similar scope
  • Ability to successfully execute a public art project in a culturally rich and complex area
  • Expressed interest in creating artwork for the opportunities presented by this request for qualifications

Timeline

  • January 29, 2018: RFQ issued
  • February 26, 2018: Deadline for submitting questions
  • March 19, 2018: Qualifications due
  • March 2018: Evaluation of Qualifications
  • April 1, 2018: Artist or artist team selected to submit proposals
  • April, 2018: Team Presentation/Interviews via skype
  • April 23, 2018: Artist or artist team selected and announced
  • April 2019: Anticipated completion and installation of final artwork

How to Submit
Submit online only through the CaFE system, https://www.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=5048

Required application materials:

  1. Statement of Interest. In one page using no smaller than 10 pt font, address the conceptual approach of the project; aspects of the site that are of interest; and, how the project will contribute to your existing body of work.
  2. Résumé that outlines professional accomplishments (maximum 2 pages per person). Include three professional references (name, affiliated organization, email address and phone number).
  3. List of works submitted for review that includes title, location, date completed/performed, media, brief description of the project/conceptual information, and budget (if applicable).
  4. Past Work Samples. Submit work samples in one or more of the formats listed below. If a team consists of performance artists and visual artists, the submission would include images of past work.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Emily Fisher, EAFisher@AtlantaGA.gov