Manhattan Beach City Hall Seeks Public Art

The City of Manhattan Beach, California, invites artists, as individuals or teams, to submit qualifications for the design and implementation of a public art project at the Manhattan Beach City Hall. The proposed location is in the entry way to City Hall.

Budget: $250,000

Eligibility: Professional artists residing in the United States who have successfully completed at least 2 permanent art installation or design projects valued over $150,000

Deadline: 02/13/2019 4:00 PM Central Time

Project Goals
Elements of the Manhattan Beach City Hall public art project may:

• Create an iconic image for Manhattan Beach, unique to the setting and of a scale and quality to be a memorable image.
• Utilize innovative and visionary methods to create an installation that activates the whole space and takes into account the architecture and fixtures currently in place.

Artwork Location Description
The site is located in the City Hall Lobby area and will replace a mural that is being moved to another location. There is a grand staircase that runs between the upper and lower floors. Submissions that address the whole space, including both upper and lower floors, furniture, and fixtures are encouraged.

Community Participation
Manhattan Beach schools have robust visual arts programs and the Manhattan Beach Art in Public Places Program is interested in incorporating school children and other members of the community in the design and development of Artist’s works or creating teaching opportunities for students and/or community members with working artists.  For artists proposing the inclusion of community participants, including Manhattan Beach Unified School youth, a stipend of $1,500.00 is available, independent of the call’s budget, to support the effort. Participation can be in the design, fabrication or installation of the proposed art work(s) or an educational opportunity for an apprentice or multiple students in the Artist’s studio or lab space or at the project site. An additional optional narrative of the proposal for community participation can be submitted with the Artist qualifications at the time of application or after selection, should the Artist wish to explore this opportunity.

Review all insurance requirements prior to submitting at: http://www.citymb.info/cityhallpublicart

Timeline
(subject to change)

• Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Issued: November 19, 2018
• Applications Due: February 13, 2019
• Panel meets to select semi-finalists: February 2019
• Project orientation for semi-finalists: March 2019
• Conceptual design proposals due: May 2019
• Proposals displayed for public viewing in City Hall: May 2019
• Project finalists recommended by Selection Panel: May to June 2019
• Cultural Arts Commission reviews Selection Panel recommendations: June 2019
• City Council Considers Cultural Arts Commission Recommendations – project finalists selected: June 2019
• Contracts and notice to proceed issued and permits obtained: June 2019
• Design development, fabrication and installation: June 2019 to January 2020
• Dedication event: January 2020

Artist Selection Process

Applications will be pre-screened by City staff to ensure that applicants meet the minimum qualifications.

The Art in Public Places Committee (APPC) is the Selection Panel and is comprised of:

• Representatives from the Cultural Arts Commission.
• Two arts professionals with experience in evaluating or administering large- scale outdoor art projects.
• One student representative.
• One community member representative.
• The Selection Panel will review the applications and rank them according to the selection criteria outlined below.
• The artists or artist teams with the highest scores will be invited to develop conceptual design proposals.

The Selection Panel will identify finalists to create conceptual design proposals.  Artists selected to design conceptual proposals will be required to attend a project orientation with representatives from the City, regulatory agencies, and other project stakeholders. Artists will be given 10  to 12 weeks to develop design concepts. The concepts will be placed on display in City Hall for a two-week period during which the public may comment, though not vote on, the proposals. The Selection Panel then review the final submissions, and rank them to recommend an artist or artist team for consideration by the City of Manhattan Beach Cultural Arts Commission. The Commission will review and make a recommendation to the City Council for final approval and appropriation of funds.

Selection Criteria
Artists will be selected to produce design concepts based on the following criteria:

• The aesthetic quality of the Artist’s past work, including content, craftsmanship, uniqueness, and relevance to its environment.
• The degree to which the Artist’s past work relates to the goals and parameters of the City Hall Public Art project.
• The Artist’s demonstrated ability to translate art concepts into durable and safe materials.
• Evidence that Artist’s existing public artworks have maintained an appropriate level of quality and integrity over time.
• Artist’s demonstrated ability to work successfully as a member of a project design team and ability to work within public review processes.

The honorarium for the submission of the conceptual design proposal is $3,000.00, plus $1,000.00 in pre-approved travel expenses (if applicable), as well as reimbursable costs for the shipping of the proposal display materials for the presentation, not exceeding $4,000.00.

Submittal Requirements
Please make sure you have submitted, correctly labeled, emailed to the correct address, and correctly addressed the email Subject line. Any incomplete applications may be rejected from the process. Any emails and materials not named/labeled/subjected correctly may be lost or misplaced due to high volume of submissions.

Please note: All artists must read through and acknowledge acceptance of the terms of the City's Public Art Agreement prior to finalist presentation to City Council.  The terms of the agreement are non-negotiable and failure to accept the terms of the agreement will result in disqualification from the project at the conceptual design proposal phase.

Written Materials

1. Artist Statement: A maximum 5,000-character artist statement indicating interest in and potential approach to the project. If applying as a team, please indicate the name and contact information for the team’s representative, and their project role. Submit this as a single PDF file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_Artist_Statement.pdf
2. Community Participation Proposal (optional): If proposing community participation, a description of the means and methods for recruiting participants, and roles to be taken by participants should be defined. Submit this as a single PDF file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_Community_Participation.pdf
3. Artist Resume: Professional resumes for each applicant. Edited versions of not more than 3 pages per applicant, are requested. Submit each resume as a single PDF file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_Artist_Resume.pdf If submitting multiple resumes, add a number to the end of the file name.
4. Professional References: Five professional references, including phone and email contact information. Submit this as a single PDF file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_References.pdf
5. Image List: Include an annotated image list with full descriptions including title, medium, dimensions, project budget, location and commissioning agency. Submit this as a single PDF file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_Image_List.pdf

Images
Applicants must submit at least 6 (six) and up to 10 (ten) separate images of prior works of the scale and nature proposed for the Manhattan Beach City Hall project.Submit each image as a PDF or JPEG file, named as follows: ArtistLastName_ArtistFirstName_Image_Number.pdf Number all images sequentially starting with 1, make sure this numbering corresponds to the image list.

• Images should be of high enough quality to see well on a computer screen, but need not be large enough for print (approximately 600 – 1500 pixels in any direction).
• Images should highlight a minimum of 2 (two) projects valued over $150,000.00.
• Images may include overall installation shots, details and/or progress views, but must clearly represent the scope, quality, and scale of the completed project.

How To Submit
Email all images and application materials to: Submissions@citymb.info
Subject line: City Hall Mural RFQ ArtistLastName ArtistFirstName

Please keep in mind: we are anticipating a large number of submissions and materials, any emails NOT SUBJECTED CORRECTLY may get lost in the volume and will be difficult to search for when needed.

Application materials must be received no later than 4:00 PM PST on February 13, 2019.

QUESTIONS? Email Martin Betz, Cultural Arts Manager, mbetz@citymb.info