Hillsborough County, Florida, is inviting interested artists to provide responses to this Request for Qualifications for mural art to serve as the principal component of a memorial to the US Coast Guard cutter Tampa.
The USGCC Tampa was sunk by an enemy submarine in the Bristol Channel off the coast of Wales on September 26, 1918. All 131 officers and men aboard were lost, including 24 Hillsborough County natives.
The site for the artwork is an exterior wall of the Tampa Bay History Center, facing south-southwest across Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park and the Garrison Channel. The History Center address is 801 Old Water Street, Tampa, FL 33602.
The installation must be accommodated on an approximately twenty-three foot wide by twelve foot high wall, highly visible from the adjacent park and the Tampa Riverwalk. At this location, the County requires that a mural be placed on metal panel, tile, or other extremely durable material in order to insure that the installation is as maintenance-free as possible.
The selected artist(s) will be responsible for the design, fabrication, and installation of the permanent artwork.
Estimated Budget For the Project: $75,000.00.
Estimated Project Timeline: Final installation of the artwork to be completed before January 15, 2018.
Selection Process
Proposals will be reviewed by the Site Advisory Committee and the County’s Public Art Committee. The intent of the review is to short-list a group of up to three artists or artist groups to provide more specific proposals relating to possible themes, character, and materiality of proposed installation(s). The County may contract with only one artist or artist group to fulfill the requirements of the listed project. Hillsborough County does not guarantee that any commissions will result from this call.
How to Apply
Artists who wish to be considered for this project must submit the following materials electronically. Ensure that all files sent electronically have been scanned by up-to-date virus scanning software. Files with detected viruses will be destroyed and will not be considered. All images and documents must be accessible in the MS Windows environment. Incomplete submissions will not be considered. The following documents are required:
1. A current professional resume of no more than 2 pages for each submitting artist. Artists may apply as a team.
2. No more than six (6) image files of recent work. Image files must be properly labeled each with artist's last name and a number (1-6) assigned per image list. (e.g.:smith_1.jpg, smith_2.jpg). Names should NOT appear directly on any image.
3. Image ID sheet, explaining the content and context of each image.
Submissions may be made by e-mail to: Publicart@Hillsboroughcounty.org. Large files may be zipped. The use of file transfer sites is not permitted.
As an alternative to email submission, a USB flash drive may be mailed to the address below:
Dan Myers, Public Art Staff
P.O. Box 1110 (601 E. Kennedy Blvd., 23rd Floor)
Tampa, Florida 33601
