Bloomington, IN, Unknown
The City of Bloomington, through the Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) seeks an artist or artist team to create a unique, durable, site-specific artwork at Switchyard Park in the area known as “The Platform.” The BAC is interested in a public artwork to be attached or installed, depending on design, on the west or east side exterior of the Splash Pad building.
Budget: $40,000
Eligibility: Professional artists, designers, and architects age 18 or over
Deadline: 12/21/2018
For full RFQ with site renderings, email Sean Starowitz at Starowis@bloomington.in.gov
SITE INFORMATION
Switchyard Park is a 65-acre, $34-million dollar park to be substantially complete on November 2019. The Park is located at 245 W. Grimes Ln., which is the former McDoel Railroad Switchyard which served as a regional hub for railroad activity and commerce from 1892 until 2000 when CSX Railroad made the decision to phase out its services. The last train left the switchyard in 2004. The City of Bloomington acquired the railroad property in 2009, and Bloomington Parks and Recreation and city officials held a Switchyard Park groundbreaking at the B-Line Trail trailhead at Grimes Lane on May 11, 2018.
Plans for Switchyard Park include:
ARTWORK GOALS, VALUES, THEMES, AND CONTEXT
The Bloomington Arts Commission will commission a work that represents the longstanding history of the site while looking to the future. The artwork should:
The exterior wall is approximately 43 ft long by 11 ft tall.
The artwork must be durable, low maintenance, appropriate to the location, and able to weather Bloomington’s climate. The artwork may not contain mechanical water features. The artist/artist team should take into consideration the high amount of pedestrian viewership from within the park. No expectation should be made that it will be kept secure – design and fabrication must take into account the likelihood of unsupervised viewer interaction.
PARK SITE DESIGN WEBINAR
Artists, designers, and architects are encouraged to join in to a public webinar to talk with Economic and Sustainable Development Staff to review the site, location and project on November 7th at 1:30 PM EST. Please email Starowis@bloomington.in.gov to RSVP.
FABRICATION SERVICES
We have made preliminary contact with fabricators (all Indiana-based) who are interested in helping artists with limited public art experience (whether that be fabrication and design, appropriate materials to be used, etc.). If you’re an artist who has considered public art before but was unsure how to execute your vision, please consider reaching out to these businesses:
Clutch Fabrication and Design: Josh@clutchfab.com
Ignition Arts, LLC: tasker@ignitionarts.com
LaMantia Studio: mrjoelamantia@gmail.com
Cyclops Studios LLC: adam@cyclops-studios.com
Huddleston Design: Huddlestonandrew90@gmail.com
Weber Group, Inc.: sarahdrees@webergroupinc.com
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (CDFI) FINANCING
Artists who wish to respond but lack the capital for up-front expenses may be eligible to receive a CDFI business loan. If desired, the City will assist the selected artist/team to pursue funding through a CDFI.
SELECTION PROCESS
This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) does not require artists to submit actual design drawings. However, each artist or artist/team is required to include a separate one-page description outlining their conceptual and material approach to the project. This will assist the Selection Panel in choosing finalists who best fit this project.
The Selection Panel will review the qualifications, including a letter of interest, artist’s conceptual and material approach to the project, resume/vitae, images of past work, image list, and references. Given the social and historical significance of the Switchyard Park site, the Selection Panel is particularly interested in artists from minority and underrepresented communities. One of the City’s objectives for the One Percent for the Arts Program is to encourage artists new to the public art process to consider this opportunity. (see information above about CDFI loans & fabrication services). Each application will be evaluated in accordance with the artistic quality, project goals, and process outlined above. The Selection Panel shall choose up to three finalists to recommend.
Through interviews and review of the conceptual drawings, an artist/artist team will be selected. The selected artist/artist team will be put under contract to refine their design for the project. With final design approval, the artwork will be fabricated by the artist/artist team and installed in coordination with City staff.
ARTIST SELECTION CRITERIA
Applicants must demonstrate the following qualifications and qualities:
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Please submit Letter of Interest, Concept, Resume, Image List, and References in PDF format.
Please note that the design, ownership, copyright, and original source (Illustrator, Photoshop, PDF) files must remain with the City and that all work product created as part of this submission will be the sole property of the City. Applications received after 5:00 p.m.(EST), December 21st, 2018, will not be considered.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Please submit your materials via email or filesharing link to Starowis@bloomington.in.gov
Packets can also be mailed to (digital submission preferred):
Sean Starowitz
Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts
Department of Economic and Sustainable Development
401 N. Morton St., Suite 150
Bloomington, IN 47404
QUESTIONS? Contact Sean Starowitz, Starowis@bloomington.in.gov