City of West Palm Beach

Art in Public Places Committee & Engineering Services Department

 The City of West Palm Beach invites public artists to apply to design/create/fabricate two site-specific public artworks for the entry points to the NorthwoodHills Historic District neighborhood. The main location is the 36th Street median and Windsor Avenue and 36th Street and Greenwood Avenue.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 31, 2019

BUDGET: $200,000 Total Project Budget

PROJECT BACKGROUND AND GOALS:

The City of West Palm Beach seeks an artist or artist-team to design, fabricate, and install two original, site-responsive artworks for the east and west entry points to the NorthwoodHills Historic District neighborhood.  The location for the works will be installed within the median located on 36th Street between Windsor Avenue and Greenwood Avenue.  The proposed artworks will reflect the character of the neighborhood, including but not limited to, neighborhood history, character and cultural heritage that makes a visual impact. The final artwork will serve as a unique identifier to the neighborhood.

ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS:

The artwork site will not be accessible to pedestrians therefore, the work should be fully contained within the designated site of the median. The project must incorporate an appropriate supporting base/pedestal as well as any plans for landscaping and/or lighting as part of the design and fabrication budget. Electrical power will be available on site; however, all power specifications must be approved by the city engineers. Water is not available at the site and should not be incorporated in the design. The Engineering Department has final approval of the structure and the following considerations may also be part of the approval process: Florida Building Code, wind loading, foundation requirements, and electrical & lighting requirements. Creating a work that is easy to maintain and requires minimal maintenance is an important aspect and will be considered by the AiPP Committee.

ARTIST RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Develop and refine artistic concepts and designs with community, staff and contractors working on this project

2. Develop designs that comply with all codes, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Designing all functional requirements to be constructed of durable materials, energy efficient, and low maintenance.

3. Develop designs with elements that are secure and tamperproof.

4. Develop final drawings, models, presentation materials, and other visual and written items.

5. Present concepts and designs to committees, boards, community groups, and others.

6. Conduct three (3) community meetings (activities) within a 15-day time frame. 

7. Provide documents showing approvals from all the appropriate entities (AiPP Project Manager and Engineering) involved in the project.

8. Participate in an ongoing design review and modification process with input from the City staff, designers, contractors and appropriate City committees.

9. Provide bi-monthly (every 2 weeks) email updates to City staff.

10. Develop a maintenance plan (manual) for the artwork and/or art elements.

11. Design a plaque or informational sign that provides background and goals of the project.

BUDGET: $200,000 is all inclusive and included, but is not limited to design development, community outreach, fabrication, installation, artist fee, travel, etc.  A contract between the artist and the City of West Palm Beach will define stages of completion, exact fee, and a payment schedule.

ANTICIPATED PROJECT SCHEDULE:

The City reserves the right to change these dates as deemed necessary.     

Submittal Deadline:                            January 31, 2019        

Final selection:                                    March 2019

Contract:                                             April 2019

Community Meetings:                        April/May 2019

Complete work:                                  TBD 2019

ELIGIBILITY: Open to all professional artists over 18 who are USA residents with experience in public art projects. Organizations, architectural and engineering firms, design (non-public art) firms, galleries and public art consultants are not eligible.

APPLICATION: All interested artists must submit their application through Café (https: //www.callforentry.org); there are no exceptions.

Application Materials.  To be considered a complete application, applications must contain all the following materials:

1.     Artist Statement of interest: Describe your interest in this project, any relevant experience/projects, and how you and your team (if applicable) would approach and meet the project goals.  Proposals will not be reviewed at this time.

Please address the following in your statement:

What experience and/or perspective do you bring to a project that is unique to you?

What interests you about this project?

What is your experience in public art as it relates to this project?

What is your experience in engaging communities?

2.      Professional Resume: please highlight public art experience.  No more than two pages per team member.

3.      10 Digital Images of relevant past work per application: Only submit images of completed projects. 

Submit in .jpeg file format at 72 DPI less than 2MB file size.  Each file should be labeled and correspond to the annotated list. 

4.      Annotated Image List that includes the lead contact’s name as a heading and a brief description of each image, including title, date, medium, dimensions.

SELECTION PROCESS:

1.      Qualification Review.  City staff will preview submissions for completeness and compliance with qualification requirements. Staff may reject incomplete applications or non-qualified or non-responsive submissions.

2.      Selection.  The City of West Palm Beach’s Art in Public Places Committee (AiPP) will review timely submitted and complete applications at a public meeting. The AiPP will select one artist/artist team for the project. The AiPP Committee reserves the right to not select from the submitted applications or final interviews.

3.      City Commission Approval.  Award of a contract for creating and installing the artwork is contingent upon final approval of City Commission.

CRITERIA

o   Historic significance. The proposed historic element is historically important, reflects the history of the city or the character of the surrounding neighborhood. OR Cultural significance. The proposed element is culturally significant and reflects the aesthetic and cultural traditions and diversity of the city or the surrounding neighborhood.

o   Quality. The proposed artist is professionally recognized in the medium and the proposed art/element is of quality and enduring value.

o   Appropriateness to site. The proposed art/element is of design, scale and material appropriate scale to the site.

o   Compatibility. The proposed art/element is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

o   Public Welfare. The proposed art/element is not detrimental to the public welfare and will not constitute a safety hazard.

o   Maintenance. The proposed art/element will not require extraordinary maintenance and the maintenance plan addresses vandalism, weathering, and the life of the artwork.

o   Artistic Merit in an artist body of work; demonstrated aesthetic excellence of past projects.

o   Innovative and Effective Approaches in creating public artworks and demonstrated delivery of successful execution and completion of the projects.  The artwork design will be a welcoming feature that is unique and original.

Contact: Sybille Welter, AiPP scwelter@wpb.org
 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria