The City of Beaverton, Oregon seeks to identify an Artist or Artist Team to design, fabricate and implement artwork for the plaza at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts that pays attention to the unifying theme “Manufactured Landscapes.”
BUDGET: $150,000
ELIGIBILITY: Professional artists residing in the United States
DEADLINE: February 27, 2020 by 4pm P.S.T.
Full RFQ available here.
About Patricia Reser Center for the Arts and Beaverton Central District Garage
The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will be the first performing arts center of its kind to be built in the Portland-metro area in more than 30 years, and will be a state-of-the-art, world class multidisciplinary performing and visual arts center located in the heart of Beaverton.
The sixth largest city in Oregon and a flourishing economic hub of Washington County, the City of Beaverton is one of the most racially, ethnically and economically diverse population centers in the state, and is home to global companies such as Nike and Columbia Sportswear, as well as many entrepreneurial pioneers and visionaries.
Making the arts accessible to all, fostering creativity through educational programs and supporting local artists, the new Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will showcase the best in local, regional and national performers. With innovative offerings in the performing arts – theater, music, dance – along with experiential workshops and classes in dedicated studios, the center for the arts will be a beacon for civic engagement, creative learning and greater social cohesion. Serving a diverse and growing population, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts’ welcoming and inclusive campus will offer residents in the region new ways to connect with the greater creative community, the city and fellow visitors via unique presentations and lifelong learning opportunities.
The facility will include a 550-seat theater, classrooms, meeting and conference rooms, convertible rehearsal and workshop space, art gallery, outdoor plaza, lobby and informal gathering areas. The Center for the Arts will also be accompanied by the Beaverton Central District Garage, a much-needed amenity that will provide convenient and proximal parking. Design development is well underway, with an anticipated grand opening in early spring 2021.
Artwork Opportunity
The Fulcrum artwork is a significant opportunity for a visually impactful and welcoming artwork at a new regional arts center. Sited on a public plaza, this opportunity encourages an artist or artist team to be bold in their approach to creating an artwork that draws people into a shared public experience.
The City of Beaverton seeks art that is theatrical, engaging and interactive; artwork that invites the public to sit, perform, play, and gather. The artwork should also pay attention to the overarching theme of Manufactured Landscapes, as articulated in the Art Framework (details below). Given the very public nature of this site, this opportunity urges artists to speak to Beaverton’s rich history and her place as the most culturally diverse city in Oregon. Robust community and public engagement will be key to the successful research and design phase of this project. The City seeks art that celebrates the City’s cultural diversity and brings a sense of inclusiveness to this new destination art center.
The plaza site sits at the west end of the plaza outside the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, (PRCA) scheduled for completion in the spring of 2021. We call this site ‘the fulcrum’ of the PRCA, as here the artwork becomes a counterpoint to the building beyond. This location is also a point of meeting and transition, where pedestrians coming off the Crescent Connection Trail and visitors to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts and festivals held on the plaza and adjacent street come together. It is visible from all approaches to the PRCA and from within the grand lobby of the PRCA. With the Beaverton Creek serving as a bucolic background, this location also sits at the edge of where nature meets artifice. Artists may wish to consider the artwork as a platform or seat or stage, activated by the public.
There are many possibilities for the scale of the artwork; the artwork could be low to serve as seating, it could be a vertical to serve as a marker for the plaza, or it could act as a viewfinder, highlighting the beauty of the adjacent creek. The City of Beaverton is excited to have an artist(s) consider all of these potential interactive elements in their research and creation of a dynamic and meaningful artwork.
Public Art Goals: Unifying Concept of Manufactured Landscapes
The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts (PRCA) and Beaverton Central District Garage (BCD Garage) form an elegant setting for an assemblage of artworks. The Garage anchors the site with an elegant, urban form. The ground plane then extends through the site, around the contained spaces of the theater and offices, through the lobby and across the plaza to the edge of the green. The open, gracious, light-filled architecture of the PRCA is linked visually and experientially to the street and pastoral waterway by an open and inviting plaza.
Public art at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts and Creekside Garage should consider the unifying conceptual framework of Manufactured Landscapes, as a holistic art experience and a thread of continuity in the site. This concept stems from two main threads that run through this site that tie together the past and present – ideas of performance and ideas of nature and culture.
Artwork Requirements and Restrictions
While the plaza is large and open with an amazing bucolic backdrop, the placement of art must consider the constraints presented by zones of programming and typical urban structures such as bike racks, electrical vault, benches and light poles. Detailed plan sets of this planned infrastructure will be provided to the selected artist(s). The artist(s) shall retain a structural engineer licensed in the state of Oregon, to design and provide sealed drawings for the foundation and attachments for the artwork. The proposed foundation, attachments and total weight shall be reviewed and approved by the project team prior to fabrication and installation. Once contracted, the artist(s) will work closely with the project team, which includes architects, a developer, a general contractor, and various City officials to determine feasibility, budget, and timeline requirements.
Timeline
Selection Criteria
Finalists will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:
Selection Process
Per the requirements of the Beaverton Arts Program administrative guidelines, the Public Art Committee of the Beaverton Arts Commission appoints members to the Artist Selection Committee, which serves through artist selection. This ensures that the city represents diverse expertise, perspectives, community engagement and experience in the field of public art. The Selection Committees must involve 3 artists or arts professionals, 1 Beaverton resident-at-large and the Project Architect as voting members. The Committee will be supported and advised by appropriate City Staff and will preside over all selections for the PRCA and BCD Garage sites.
The Artist Selection Committee will be identifying approximately 3-5 finalists that the Committee will then interview. After they have completed interviews, they will make a recommendation for the selection of the Artist. Once the Artist Selection Committee has made a recommendation for artist selection, the Public Art Committee (PAC) will review and approve the artist selection. The Artist will then work closely with City Staff and the Project Team to deliver an artwork concept, a final proposal, and eventually an artwork to be installed on site.
At each stage of review, the Public Art Committee shall approve, approve with conditions, or reject proposals submitted by the selected artist. Proposals recommended for approval by the Public Art Committee will be advanced to the full Beaverton Arts Commission for formal approval. All proposals must be approved by the Beaverton Arts Commission in order to move forward with fabrication and installation.Three to four artists will be shortlisted for an interview process by a selection panel comprised of arts professionals and project team representatives. Shortlisted artists will receive $500 each. If in-person attendance is required, out-of-town finalists will be reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses to attend the interview in Beaverton, Oregon. If applying as a team, the allowance for travel may not fully reimburse all team members.
The panel reserves the right to make no selection from the submitted applications or finalist interviews.
What and How to Submit
Invited artists must submit the following materials via Submittable, the online application platform. Please feel welcome to contact us with questions or for help during the application process.
Work sample information
QUESTIONS? Contact Chris Ayzoukian, Patricia Reser Center for the Arts General Manager, at (503) 906-7825 and cayzoukian@beavertonoregon.gov, and/or Kristen Ramirez, Public Art Consultant, at (206) 240-6015 and ramirez.kt@gmail.com
