The City of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program, through the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, announce a public art competition to commission three site-specific entry-gates for The Discovery Center, a new environmental education center to-be-located in the Strawberry Mansion district of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. This commission is in collaboration with the East Park Leadership and Conservation Center, and is part of a $8.2 million new construction project.  A budget of $80,000 has been allocated for this Percent for Art commission.  This sum is inclusive of all artist(s) fees, insurance, fabrication, installation, travel, and all other project related expenses.

Eligibility

This competition is open to artists and artist-teams who reside in the United States. The City of Philadelphia reserves the right to determine additional eligibility requirements.

Selection Criteria
Artwork will be selected on the basis of creativity, artistic merit, technical proficiency, and relationship to the site. Long-term maintenance, durability, and public safety concerns will be major selection criteria.

Timeline

• Issue Call July 5, 2016
• Submission Deadline 5 p.m. on August 24, 2016
• Finalist Notification Late-August 2016
• Pre-Proposal Meeting* Early-September 2016
• Proposals Due Late-October 2016
• Panel Presentation* Late-October 2016
• Artist Notification Early-November 2016
• Artwork Fabrication Early-November 2016–Late 2017
• Artwork Installation Late 2017

* Your in-person attendance at the Pre-Proposal Meeting and Panel Presentation is required; if you are unable to attend, you must arrange for a proxy who is familiar with your work to attend in your place.

How to Apply

Email the following to Jacque.Liu@phila.gov via a file-sharing program such as Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/) or Hightail (https://www.hightail.com/).  Applicants unable to use Dropbox or Hightail can send a CD to: Jacque Liu, Percent for Art Project Manager, 116 City Hall,
Philadelphia, PA 19107)

1. Submit eight (8) digital work samples of your artwork
2. Submit the following information as A SINGLE Word or PDF document:
   o Artist Info: Name, Address, Phone, Email, Website, Race (optional), how you heard about
   the call (optional)
   o Statement of Interest: This brief cover letter may include related experience, artistic ambitions, and/or a description of your vision for the site; you may include proposed images, if applicable (One text page maximum, including images)o Resume or Bio (Two-page maximum)
   o Image Identification Sheet: These must correspond to the numbers of your submitted images. List your images as: Title. Year. Materials. Dimensions. Location (if
   applicable). Project Budget (if applicable).o Title your document as last name_first name_Info; for example: Smith_Jane_Info

Submit what you believe is your strongest work, in the context of this commission opportunity.

Submit your work samples in the order you would like them to be reviewed.

For images with details: show the overall image first, followed by detail images.

Do not send additional catalogs, reviews, promotional items, or original artworks; they will not be reviewed.

Incomplete or ineligible submissions will not be reviewed; it is the applicant’s responsibility to verify the completeness of their application

The application deadline for submission is August 24, 2016 at 5 p.m.

Review the entire opportunity, including site information and full application instructions, at http://bit.ly/PercentforArtDiscoveryCenter