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THIS CALL HAS CLOSED. |
| Budget: $13,750 |
| Activated: 01/03/2017 Deadline: 02/16/2017 |
| Call Summary The City of Austin (“the City”) seeks an artist to participate in the City of Austin’s first Artist-in-Residence program, a pilot effort to pair an artist with a participating City department to infuse creative thinking and cultural capital into City processes, operations, and community involvement. The available budget to pay the selected artist as well as cover any residence-related expenses during the 8-month residency is not to exceed $13,750. |
| Budget Description The artist is allotted a maximum of $8750 for time spent working on the residency, and a maximum of $5000 for residency-related expenses (materials, insurance, mileage, transport costs, any subcontracting, etc.) . It is expected that the artist spend a minimum of 250 total hours on the residency scope of work. The selected artist will be contracted by the City, and paid according to contract milestones that correspond to deliverables. |
| Project Description The City of Austin recently launched the Idea Accelerator, an internal competition to solicit employee ideas and projects - big or small - that advance the City of Austin's priorities: best managed, most livable, service with pride, and open government. This competitive process generated over 100 submissions, of which a handful were selected to move forward into implementation through micro-grant funding from the City’s Innovation Office. The Artist-in-Residence project, developed by the Economic Development Department’s Cultural Arts Division, was among those selected for piloting. The Artist-in-Residence program embeds an artist into a City department for a set period of time to help resolve problems, provide innovative or new process improvements, and/or engage residents around community issues in creative ways. Through this Request for Qualifications, the City of Austin seeks an artist to help advance public understanding of the Watershed Protection Department through creative inquiry. The goal of the Artist-In-Residence pilot program is to select an artist/artist team who will work collaboratively with City staff and the community to meet shared goals. One local artist will be selected and placed in a residency with the Watershed Protection Department to work closely with staff and the community to further the mission of that department. The artist may be asked to develop unique approaches that can be incorporated into the work of the City to make civic processes and services more effective, efficient, or innovative. In cooperation with the Watershed Protection Department and the Economic Development Department Cultural Arts Division, the artist would directly or indirectly involve constituents, community members, or stakeholders. The direct beneficiaries can range depending on the scope of the artist’s project and their target audience. |
| Artwork Goals The overarching goal of the City of Austin’s Artist-In-Residence program is to embed an artist into a City Department to develop and test ways that creative approaches can meaningfully impact the work of the public sector and the community it serves. During the residency, it is hoped that the artist will: • Create an in-depth experience between the artist, City Department, and community • Explore pathways for constructive ideas to be more fully exchanged between the community and the City Department • Foster engagement by community members and the City Department in innovative or expanded ways • Find a vehicle for creative expression that adds depth to the artist’s social practice and portfolio |
| Site History The Watershed Protection Department (Department) is the first host City Department to participate in this pilot Artist-in-Residence program. The Department protects lives, property and the environment of our community by reducing the impact of flood, erosion and water pollution. The Department provides a range of community resource and education programs to encourage informed decision-making about choices that impact Austin’s water quality. The Department plans to position the selected artist to work closely with its Education and Public Outreach office to enhance the creativity of their multimedia approach by increasing program visibility in communities, with a specific focus on improving water quality. The selected artist will work closely with staff from the Cultural Arts Division and the Department to formulate goals, measurable outcomes, scope, community involvement, and artistic focus. |
| Eligibility Professional visual artists at least 18 years of age who live and work in any of the following counties are eligible to apply: Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Burnet or Blanco. A professional visual artist is defined as “a practitioner in the visual arts with an original self-conceptualized body of work, generally recognized by critics and peers as a professional possessing serious intent and ability.” Artists must also be able to demonstrate social practice as a component of their professional experience or portfolio as an artist. Artists who are members of or who have worked with ALAANA (African, Latino, Asian, Arab and Native American) populations are preferred. All City of Austin employees are ineligible to apply. Artists who currently have one active contract with the City’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) program or who have more than two commissioned permanent projects in the AIPP Collection are ineligible to apply. Applications not meeting all eligibility criteria will not be considered by City. |
| Application Requirements |
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Resume: 4 page(s) maximum Work examples: 10 Letter of Interest: 500 word maximum References: 3 |
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Artists are allowed to apply in teams.
Artists applying as a team must split the allotted number of work examples between themselves. |
| Selection Information |
| Selection Process A selection committee shall be composed of representatives from the City’s Watershed Protection Department, Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department, and Purchasing Office. The selection committee will review all applicant qualifications (images of work, resume, letter of interest, references), interview finalists (if applicable), and select one artist and one alternate. This selection will comply with applicable City policy. The successful applicant will be selected by the City on a rational basis. Evaluation factors outlined below shall be applied to all eligible, responsible artist applicants in reviewing their applications and selecting the best artist and alternate. Award of a contract shall be made without discussion with the applicants after applications are received, with the exception of an option for finalist interviews. The selection of an artist, or artist team, shall be based on whose qualifications best meet the requirements contained in this Request for Qualifications. |
| Selection Criteria Applications will be evaluated on a 100-point scale according to the following factors: • Artistic merit and technical expertise – 40 points • Demonstrated Applicable Experience, including any other residencies, collaborations with the public or specific communities, public art commissions, social practice and work with AALANA populations, etc. – 30 points • Ability to execute the residency – 20 points • Expressed interest in creating work within the residency structure – 10 points The City will score applications on the basis of the criteria listed above. The City may select a “short list” of finalists based on those scores. “Short-listed” finalists may be invited for interviews with the City. The City reserves the right to re-score “short-listed” applications as a result, and to make award recommendations on that basis. |
| Timeline Solicitation Issued: January 3, 2017 Artist Information Meeting: January 19, 2017, 5:30 - 6:30 pm Solicitation Deadline: February 16, 2017, 5 pm Artist Interviews (if needed): February 20-24, 2017 Artist and Alternate Selected: February 27, 2017 Artist Contracted: March 13, 2017 Kick-Off Meeting: April 3, 2017 Final Proposal Due: June 5, 2017 Implementation Phase Begins no later than: June 6, 2017 Residency Concludes no later than: November 13, 2017 |
| Additional Resources |
| Request for Qualifications (PDF) |
| Contact Information |
| Susan Lambe AIPP Program Administrator Austin TX United States susan.lambe@austintexas.gov 512.974.7852 |
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