Qualifications are requested from artists and/or artist teams interested in creating a site-specific public artwork or series of artworks for Colorado State University’s new Johnson Family Equine Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.

BUDGET:  $138,000

ELIGIBILITY:  Professional artists over 18

DEADLINE: July 26, 2019

ABOUT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1870 as the Colorado Agricultural College, Colorado State University is now among the nation’s leading research universities, with annual research expenditures above $300 million. Located in Fort Collins, Colorado’s land-grant university currently enrolls about 33,000 total students, including 4,000 graduate students and 580 Professional Veterinary Medicine students, and has more than 1,800 faculty members working in eight colleges. More information is available at www.colostate.edu.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION – ABOUT THE JOHNSON FAMILY EQUINE HOSPITAL
The Johnson Family Equine Hospital (JFEH) will provide leading-edge teaching, research, and clinical services, offering specialized equine veterinary medicine with notable offerings in critical care, isolation, diagnostic imaging, and sports medicine and rehabilitation. The JFEH functions as a full service, tertiary referral equine hospital providing surgical, medical, emergency and elective veterinary treatments for the rocky mountain region. It is also the teaching experience for the Professional Veterinary Medicine Program in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, functioning as a center for experiential learning for veterinary students, undergraduate students and veterinary medical technician students. The JFEH also provides a center for continuing education of veterinarians from the US and abroad. Clinical research using case material also occurs within the JFEH. Rapid growth and enhanced services have led to a need to expand footprint and teaching space. The broad services and expertise offered necessitates a large facility equipped to deal with diverse caseload.

The new JFEH facility will be a 85,000-square-foot complex located on CSU’s South Campus along Gillette Drive. The facility will feature surgical and imaging services, as well as extensive rehabilitation and therapeutic facilities. JFEH will have the capacity to house a variety of equine patient types, including outpatient care, long-term orthopedic patients, gastro-intestinal critical care cases, as well as a dedicated isolation unit. A future state-of-the-art equine sports medicine component featuring hydrotherapy, a proprioception track, and large indoor soft- and hard-surface arenas will set this facility apart as the top equine hospital. With close physical proximity to CSU’s new Translational Medicine Institute and the Diagnostic Medical Center, the hospital will benefit from synergies with leading-edge research in equine and general veterinary sciences. The building’s design will blend a high-tech aesthetic with an agricultural vernacular, connecting to clientele as well as maintaining a presence on a notable research campus.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC ART
The Art Selection Committee is looking to commission an artwork or artworks for the JFEH building and both interior and exterior locations are options for artwork. The artwork(s) cannot attach to the building but locations and types of media that are more integrated into the building’s design, such as on the ground or floor, are possible. Construction is slated to start in October 2019 and take approximately 16 months, so there is time for the selected artist to work with the design team and contractors.

The committee is interested in an artwork that engages with the public-facing spaces of the building, including the west entry and interior lobby and check in area. This west entrance and communal waiting area will be used by clients of the JFEH, as well as students, faculty and staff. The committee would like artwork(s) that engage with the activities happening in the building and with JFEH’s role as a world-class equine care facility. This connection to the building does not need to be literal or representational, and the committee is very open to creative interpretations relating to the building’s usages.

TIMELINE

• Friday, July 26, 11:59 pm MST – Deadline for receipt of submittal via CaFÉ™ system
• August/September 2019 – Selection committee meets to select Semi-Finalists
• September 2019 – Notification of Semi-Finalist selection
• October/November 2019 – Artist presentations to the Art Selection Committee at CSU in Fort Collins, CO
• October 2019 – construction begins
• November 2019 – Artist selected
• Early 2021 – Building scheduled for completion and artwork installation will be arranged in correlation with CSU

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 and be paid an honorarium of $1,000 for in-state artists and $1,500 for out of state artists. Final selection(s) will be made from the semifinalists’ proposals.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Artistic excellence
• Technical competence
• Conceptual compatibility
• Scale, material, form and content
• Appropriate relationship to the function of the site
• Resistance to general wear, vandalism, or theft
• Ease of maintenance, minimal and low cost maintenance

HOW TO SUBMIT
All applications for this project are being accepted through the online platform, CaFÉ™ (www.callforentry.org ). No hard copy or emailed submissions will be accepted. There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. Assistance in using the CaFÉ™ system is available during regular business hours by calling 303-629-1166, 1-888-562-7232 or email cafe@westaf.org.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

1. Digital Images. In order to be considered for this project, the applicant must electronically submit, via the CaFÉ™ system, no less than six (6) and no more than eight (8) digital images of previously completed artworks. Instructions on how to use CaFÉ™ and format images can be found at www.callforentry.org/image_prep.phtml.
2. Resume: Submit a current résumé, via CaFÉ™, that outlines professional accomplishments as an artist. If applying as a team, please submit a resume for each artist, with the lead artist’s resume first.
3. Statement of Interest: A statement of interest of 250 words or less must be submitted via CaFÉ™. It should briefly outline the interest in the specific opportunity and applicable experience.

QUESTIONS? Contact Ruth Bruno, Public Art Program Manager, at 303-892-3813 or ruth.bruno@state.co.us.