Qualifications are requested from artists and/or artist teams interested in creating site-specific, exterior public artwork(s) for the University of Northern Colorado’s Campus Commons. The new Campus Commons building will bring together, in one location, curricular opportunities and support services that help students connect, explore and engage to be successful.
Budget
The public art budget is $255,000. All costs associated with the public art project including, but not limited to, artist design fee, structural engineering, insurance, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, building or site modifications, travel to and from the site, per diem expenses, project documentation, contingency to cover unexpected expenses and any other costs related to the project. Selected semi-finalists will be invited to propose artwork. Out-of-state semi-finalist artists will receive $1,500 and in-state semi-finalists will receive $1,000 as an honorarium for the creation of a design proposal.
Eligibility
All applicants must be legal residents of the United States. The artists or artist teams must have the skills and experience commensurate with the responsibility of successfully completing a major public art installation. The Art Selection Committee reserves the right to give preference to those artists residing in Colorado.
Site History
The history of The University of Northern Colorado begins in the late 1880s, when citizens of Greeley petitioned the Colorado government to create a school to educate teachers in their community. In April 1889, Governor Cooper signed a bill establishing the Colorado State Normal School. The university opened on October 6, 1890, as the Colorado State Normal School to train qualified teachers for the state's public schools, with a staff of four instructors and 96 students. Greeley's citizens raised the money for the first building. In 1911, the school's name was changed to Colorado State Teachers College and two years later, in 1913, graduate courses were added to the school’s curriculum, leading to a name change in 1935, when the school became the Colorado State College of Education. The school continues to grow, and in 1957 the name was shortened to Colorado State College to reflect the wider range of programs and degrees. Finally, in 1970 the name was changed to the current University of Northern Colorado. By connecting teaching and research UNC offers students a unique experience with 200 undergraduate and graduate programs on-campus, off-campus and online. A 4-year doctoral-granting university, UNC is uniquely positioned to advance knowledge through discovery because of its just-right size, expert faculty and tradition of research and hands-on learning.
Project Description
The operations in the Campus Commons will reflect a core of student support services, redesigned to improve persistence and degree completion rates while increasing UNC’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivering the service goals which support the statewide master plan for higher education. The Campus Commons will also address specific instructional needs of students in performing and visual arts, business, nutrition, and hospitality/tourism programs. For alumni, community partners and visitors, the Campus Commons will be a front porch to the University, the primary point of entry for connecting with UNC.
The Campus Commons will serve as the gateway to campus, welcoming thousands of prospective students and their families each year. The functions in the building are about both reaching out and drawing people in. It is designed to be approachable and welcoming, engaging and interactive, personal and individualized. It is about cultivating aspirations, fostering success, and providing spaces that inspire collaboration and innovation. The building will link the University’s West Campus to its Central Campus, uniting them as one University. The Campus Commons will also provide instructional, rehearsal and performance space to address the critical yet currently unmet curricular needs of more than 1,100 undergraduate and graduate students in the performing arts. The performance space will be paired with gallery space that will show the work of UNC artists along with that of accomplished professionals. This connection with working artists is part of our visual arts students’ learning experience.
Artwork Goals
The Art Selection committee is looking to commission an outdoor artwork or series of artworks for the exterior of the Campus Commons. Artworks should consider a day/night presence – the building will change in character throughout the day by usage, and will be open often at night for performances and events. By embracing an exterior location, the committee is hoping to denote that art happens within the building, since the Campus Commons will be the new location for the campus art gallery, and will host performances. The committee is most interested in selecting an artist who can create an artwork with multiple components that be in various exterior locations around the building and can be experienced in a variety of ways. UNC is hoping to activate these exteriors areas and create the desire for students to linger and utilize these spaces for hanging out, studying, etc. The selection committee would like the art installation to consider the thematic goals of the building, including its role in facilitating a journey and a layered experience. The building will be accessed primarily on foot or bike, so artwork should consider the experience on a pedestrian scale.
Timeline
The approximate schedule is as follows:
January 30, 2017 - Deadline for receipt of submittal via CaFÉ™ system
February/March 2017– Selection panel meets to select Semi-Finalists
February/March 2017 - Notification of Semi-Finalist selection
April/May 2017 – Semi-finalist proposal presentations
Selection Process
The Art Selection Committee will review all complete submittals. A short list of semifinalists will be invited to prepare and present a final proposal in person. Final selection(s) will be made from the semifinalists’ proposals.
Selection Criteria
The Selection Committee will consider the following:
• Artistic excellence
• Conceptual and thematic compatibility
• Technical competence
• Scale, material, form and content
• Appropriate relationship to the function of the site
• Contribution to diversity of the State’s public art collection
• Resistance to general wear, vandalism, or theft
• Ease of maintenance, minimal and low cost maintenance
• Compliance with applicable public safety codes
How to Apply
Apply only through the CaFE system. No mailed or emailed applications will be accepted.
