The City of Jacksonville, via the management of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, seeks the transformation of a major downtown space into a dynamic and dignified work of public art.

BUDGET:  $500,000 (for Phase 1 of a multi-phase development)

ELIGIBILITY: Non-student artists age 21 or over; can be a team of artists/design professionals

DEADLINE: September 22, 2020

ONLINE PRE-PROPOSAL Q&A:
September 4 (3:00 PM EST) https://zoom.us/j/99567666846
September 15 (3:00 PM EST) https://zoom.us/j/98823653073

Review full RFQ here. Review the PowerPoint Presentation found here.

The plaza is located between the heart of downtown Jacksonville at James Weldon Johnson Park (formerly Hemming Park) and the historic African American neighborhood called LaVilla.  A few blocks to the south is the St Johns River with the Performing Arts Center and Riverwalk.

Due to 20th Century cultural changes and city actions, most of LaVilla has been demolished.  Broad Street on the western edge of the plaza bordered the African American business district during segregation.

Today, artist and landscape architect Walter Hood from Oakland, California is completing a design for a national site honoring Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing poem/song written in LaVilla.  Hood’s designs include a walking trail of LaVilla history along Broad Street.

Since the completion of the courthouse, the plaza has been a frequent location for gatherings, rallies or protests regarding issues facing the criminal justice system and other concerns of Jacksonville citizens.  In 2020, Jacksonville protest events stemming from the death of George Floyd have begun or ended in the courthouse lawn.

The vision of the transformation into public art will extend across the entire 3-acre site with the understanding that the $500,000 budget may only support first phase concentrations with ripples.  The concentrations might act like a stone causing ripples in water or a grid that fades, appears and fades again.  The artwork will include a special requirement to make spaces for possible sculptures by others and for the installation of the Law and Liberty relief sculpture.  One sculpture for consideration during the design dialogues will be the memorial to Duval County lynching victims from the Peace and Justice monument in Montgomery, Alabama.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

1. Statement of experience
2. Resume (including all team members)
3. Visual documentation of a minimum of 5 completed projects in no more than 20 images/videos. No more than 2 videos of no more than 2 minutes each may be submitted.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Apply ONLINE ONLY via the CaFE system.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Hilda Ettedgui, Project Manager, Phone: (904) 358-3600 x 13  E-mail: Hilda@culturalcouncil.org