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THIS CALL HAS CLOSED. |
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| Budget: $39,500 | ||
| Activated: 11/21/2017 Deadline: 01/25/2018 |
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| Call Summary The City of Austin Art in Public Places (AIPP) program of the Cultural Arts Division, Economic Development Department seeks to commission a permanent exterior public artwork that establishes a visual marker informing viewers of the district’s park, reflects the history of Colony Park and is mindful of the community’s experiences. |
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| Budget Description The AIPP 2% for this project is generated from pooling the funds from Colony District Park, Givens District Park and Bull Creek Park-General Park Improvements. The total award for an artist contract is $39,500, inclusive of design, fabrication and installation, including engineering and permitting fees, travel and shipping expenses, insurance and other project-related costs. |
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| Project Description Located Northeast of downtown Austin, the 93-acre Colony Park District Park is bordered by Loyola Lane to the south, Decker Lane to the East and Johnny Morris Road to the West. The park is adjacent to Overton Elementary School and the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center which are sited on 50 acres of land owned by the City and leased to AISD. The recreation center is an 18,700 square foot building which makes use of environmentally-friendly building materials and is situated on the site for best use of North/South energy efficient heating and cooling savings. It offers recreational and leisure opportunities to residents of the fifteen nearby neighborhoods. The surrounding area comprises the planned Colony Park District Park, which is being developed in partnership with Austin Parks Foundation and St. David’s Foundation. The improvements currently in design include sports fields, additional trails, and a play scape. The project will also include pedestrian lighting within the core activity area, decorative fencing between the parking and play areas and park expansion to accommodate an additional 35 cars. The specific list of site improvements includes: • Group picnic pavilion • Overlook picnic pavilion • Youth baseball/ softball field • Multi-purpose field • 4,000 square foot “nature-based” play area, serving both 2-5 year and 5-12 year age groups • Three fitness stations with 15 separate events along a ½ mile walking trail • Six park benches • A drinking fountain • Accessible connecting sidewalks/ trails • Pedestrian bridge to neighborhood |
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| Artwork Goals The Art in Public Places program seeks to commission works of art of redeeming quality that advance public understanding of visual art and enhance the aesthetic quality of public places through the selection of a qualified artist or artist team who can innovatively and thoughtfully design within the context of this project. To help ensure the engagement of diverse voices, AIPP collaborated with community members to outline aims for the artwork. The goal of the Colony Park District Park AIPP Project is to select an artist/artist team who will design artwork that: • establishes a simple, visually engaging landmark, potentially through lighting, visible to visitors entering the park; • reflects the history and current aspirations of the surrounding neighborhoods; • is physically and conceptually accessible to visitors of all ages; • is easily maintained and vandal resistant in an exterior environment; and • contributes to the depth/breadth of the City of Austin’s public art collection. |
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| Artwork Location Description The community has stated a strong preference for artwork that incorporates lighting for this commission. Additional materials are acceptable, in consultation with the project stakeholders, as long as the parameters of the project are met. This public art opportunity encourages artists familiar with the Colony Park community and/or who are intimately connected to the history and heritage of the area to apply. Additionally, this public art opportunity should embrace and empower the creativity of the people in the neighborhood. The proposed artwork should be integrated into the available scope of construction, to the greatest extent possible. |
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| Site History Colony Park and surrounding neighborhoods were annexed in 1972 and built to accommodate families stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base, 7 miles southeast of downtown. Residents enjoyed a thriving community with sprawling hills and a view of the Capitol. The community hopes to recapture the beautiful landscape and help brainstorm on how to transform the struggling area through the recently (December 2014) adopted Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative master plan. With shared responsibility, City departments, non-profit organizations, public school administrators as well as residents and the community of Colony Park have discussed ways to ensure a safe place to age and pass on to the next generation. (Decierdo, M. [2014]. Colony Park: Prudent and Deliberate). The master plan details how the land might be inclusive of neighborhood development, sustainability, diversity of use, housing and affordability. As part of the CPSCI, the 2014 master plan of the park was developed using existing Capital Improve-ment Project funds for a first phase of park improvements. The vision of the CPSCI “seeks to create a healthy, safe and active community where families and neighbors enjoy an ever-improving quality of life supported and sustained through education; cultural enrichment; job growth and business opportunities; shared prosperity; mobility choices; neighborhood amenities and recreation” (CPSCI Community Vision Statement written March 18, 2014). Recreational programming elements include bird-watching, trail walking as well as higher impact pursuits like soccer, biking and running. The layout of the park responds to the site’s varied topography which is flatter in some areas and steeply sloping near the perimeter. Construction for the project will begin in mid-2018. |
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| Eligibility Professional visual artists, or artist teams, at least 18 years of age who live in the Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Burnet and Blanco counties are eligible to apply. 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.” Full-time, permanent City of Austin employees including employees of the Economic Develop-ment Department are ineligible to apply. Employees of the project consultants and sub-consultants are also ineligible to apply. Artists who are under an active contract with the Art in Public Places program at the time of application or who have three or more permanent works in the AIPP Collection are ineligible to apply. Applications not meeting all eligibility criteria will be withdrawn from consideration. |
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| Application Requirements | ||
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Resume: 3 page(s) maximum Work examples: 10 Letter of Interest: 700 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. |
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| Additional Requirements | ||
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| Selection Information | ||
| Selection Process A Request for Qualifications will be distributed and applications must be submitted through PublicArtist.org by the deadline. The City of Austin Art in Public Places Panel will convene a selec¬tion panel to evaluate the submissions. The selection panel and advisors will review qualifications and select three finalists for interviews unless there is consensus on the selection of recommending one applicant and one alternate. The selection panel and advisors will then convene for interviews and select one artist/artist team and one alternate. This recommenda-tion will be presented to the Art in Public Places Panel and Arts Commission for approval. The approved artist(s) will be put under a design + commission contract to coordinate with the City and project team to develop a final design, which is also subject to approval by the AIPP Panel and the Austin Arts Commission prior to fabrication and installation. |
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| Selection Criteria The selection of an artist, or artist team, shall be based on whose qualifications best meet the requirements contained in this Project Outline. In addition to the standard AIPP project selection criteria found on the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places website (http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/aipp_selection_criteria.pdf), the Selection Panel will review and consider the following evaluation criteria: » artistic merit and technical expertise; » demonstrated successful, innovative and effective approach to public art projects of a similar scope; » ability to successfully execute a public art project; and » expressed interest in creating artwork within this community setting. |
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| Timeline November 6 & 20, 2017 Approval of Prospectus by AIPP Panel and Austin Arts Commission November 21, 2017 Request for Qualifications (RFQ) released December 6, 2017 Artist Information Meeting January 2018 Selection of Finalists Interviews and Selection of Artist + Alternate February 2018 Approval of Artist and Alternate by AIPP Panel and Arts Commission Artist(s) under contract May 2018 Mid-Design review May 2018 CIP Construction begins July 2018 Final Design review Fabrication begins TBD 2019 Artwork installed as required |
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| Additional Resources | ||
| www.austincreates.com | ||
| Unnamed Resource (PDF) | ||
| Contact Information | ||
| Lindsay Hutchens Project Manager 5202 E Ben White Blvd. Suite 400 Austin TX 78741 United States Lindsay.Hutchens@austintexas.gov 5129748706 |
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