Two Art Opportunities at the New North Belt Safety Complex

Budget: $430,000 ($30,000.00 for Interior Mural. $400,000.00 for Exterior Site Art)

Deadline: Monday, February 14, 2022, at 11:59 PM CST

Location: 320 Gears Road, Houston, Texas 77067

Eligibility: Artists from Texas and/or residing in the State of Texas

To submit, visit HERE

Only applications sent via Submittable will be considered.

Summary

The Civic Art Program of the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) requests the submission of qualifications from artists or artist-teams to design, fabricate, and install major permanent works of public art for the new North Belt Public Safety Complex.  Commissioned works will be accessioned into the City of Houston’s Art Collection.

North Belt is a vibrant community of new Houstonians. The area is a strong mix of single-family and multi-family residences and businesses, where I-45 meets the Sam Houston Tollway.

The site will host two original art pieces. An interior mural will represent the community as a whole, including some facets of public safety. The mural will be in the Community Room, with a view to the entrance plaza, where the site art will be located. The exterior site art will have resilient finishes, easy maintenance, and durable. It will be safe for public interaction, and be a beacon that welcomes the community to the site. It will commemorate the collaboration between Houston Fire Department and Houston Police Department.

In January 2018, Houston Police Department established the North Belt Division (22 District) to more efficiently and effectively provide police services to four beats located adjacent to Beltway 8 on the north side of Houston that were previously serviced by three patrol divisions: Northwest, North, and Northeast.

The district includes Willowbrook, Greenspoint, and the non-airport communities surrounding Houston’s largest airport. Significant landmarks include Willowbrook Mall, Greenspoint Mall, North Houston Skate Park and Dylan Park, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It also area includes the North Houston District (formerly Greater Greenspoint Management District) and TIRZ 11–North Houston Development Corporation (formerly Greater Greenspoint Redevelopment Authority).

The site will include a 29,000 square foot Police Station and a 2,000 square foot Fleet Building that will include patrol, administration, investigative functions, and opportunities for community relations.

This facility will be a first of its kind for the City of Houston sharing land and amenities with Fire Station No. 84. This model will improve operational processes between police and fire creating more efficient efforts and responses as first responders. Program spaces will include patrol, administration, investigative functions and opportunities for community relations, as well as a Fleet Building for the maintenance of HPD vehicles.

Scope of Civic Art Project and Artwork Requirements

This opportunity seeks the completion of two unique works of art for public spaces at the new North Belt Safety Complex:

Interior Mural – 26’-0” x 10’-0”, Community Room, North Elevation.
Representing the community as a whole, including some facets of public safety.
Exterior Site Art – Public Entrance.
Work should have resilient finishes, easy maintenance, and durable. It should be safe for public interaction. Work should be a beacon that welcomes the community.

LINK TO IMAGES

Commissioned artworks will be subject the following requirements: 

Artworks should be family friendly and suitable for public display to a diverse and international audience.
Artworks must be free of safety hazards.
Artworks must meet or exceed Texas Accessibility Standards (a.k.a. ADA) requirements where applicable.
Artworks should be resistant to graffiti and vandalism and require minimal maintenance.
Artwork must have an expected life span of at least 20 years.
Artwork should make a significant artistic addition to the City of Houston Art Collection.

Eligibility

THE FOLLOWING ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:

Eligibility is open to all artist and artist-teams living or working in the Texas region and over 18 years of age. Preference/priority will be given to artists not currently represented in the Civic Art Collection

Born in the State of Texas, or
Currently residing within in the State of Texas
Artist/Artist Team must be able to work at the required scale and have availability to accomplish by the deadline: March 24, 2023

FOR GALLERIES INTERESTED IN APPLYING ON BEHALF OF ARTISTS

Galleries submitting applications for more than one artist must submit individual applications for each applicant.
If multiple artists are included on the same application the submission will be marked as ineligible

THE FOLLOWING ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:

Artists currently under contract for a City of Houston Civic Art project.
City of Houston employees.
Elected City Officials, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Staff, and their immediate family.
Houston Arts Alliance employees, Board members, Advisory Board members, and their immediate family.

Applications not meeting all eligibility criteria or application requirements will be withdrawn from consideration.

Location and Site

320 Gears Road, Houston, Texas 77067
Lighting, sound, seating, planters, or other infrastructure may be an element in the work.
See linked site plans and images for more information.
Artwork locations, plan and elevations or renderings (see attached)

Budget

The budget of $430,000.00 ($30,000.00 for Interior Mural. $400,000.00 for Exterior Site Art) is inclusive of all work including, but not limited to, design proposals, artists’ fees, design, engineering, permitting, insurance costs for each year of the project, lighting, software, studio and project administration, travel, fabrication, all materials, installation, and required documentation.

Application Requirements

Artist(s) resume or CV, relevant information for any other key team members (3 pages maximum per artist or team member)
Artist Biography (250 words maximum)
Statement of Intent/Concept Brief (1,000 words maximum)
A Statement of Intent is a declaration of your plans and your ideas for a specific project. A SOI is your chance to demonstrate your personality, professionalism, qualifications, and enthusiasm for a project.
Artist Statement (500 words maximum)
An artist statement is a written description of your work that helps the audience access or understand your artistic work. The purpose of the artist statement is to inform, add context, and present process and conceptual ideas to the viewer, which may include sources, ideas, and materials in your current practice.
How do you think your concept helps to establish a sense of place at the North Belt Safety Complex?
Digital images of completed artworks. Applicants should submit up to ten (10) images in JPEG format only with each image no larger than 2 MB. Each image should include information about artist, title, year completed, dimensions, material, commissioning entity, and budget or price (as applicable) for each image provided.

All documents should be in at least a 12-point font, single-spaced, with at least a ½” margin.

Selection Process

Qualifications will be reviewed by a panel of three arts professionals/artists and subject to the following criteria:

The artist’s work demonstrates a unique voice, perspective, or aesthetic
The artist’s submission demonstrates their ability to create site-specific artwork which responds to the history, culture, and identity of the surrounding community.
The artist’s work demonstrates an artistic voice, perspective, or aesthetic that is not substantially represented in the current Collection.
Contracting

Established in 1999, Houston Civic Art is a City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) program that contracts with Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) to manage projects. The final commission for this project will be broken out into two separate contracts with HAA, one for design and one for construction (i.e. “commission”). The selected artist must be able and willing to sign contracts for design and commission.

Sample Contracts:

Attachment A2 - Artist Services Agreement for Design
Attachment A3 - Artist Services Agreement for Commission

Selected artists will also be required to sign a Visual Artist Rights Act (VARA) Waiver with the City of Houston. View a sample of the waiver HERE

Timeline

All dates are subject to change.

Artist Info Session # 1** Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Artist Info Session # 2**                         Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Deadline for questions:                         Tuesday, February 8, 2022
RFQ submission deadline:                         Monday, February 14, 2022
RFQ notification:                         Friday, March 4, 2022

The following section only applies to artists who advance to the RFP phase

RFP released to finalists:             Monday, March 7, 2022
RFP deadline:                        Friday, April 22, 2022
Artist proposal presentations:             Week of April 25, 2022
Selected artist notified by HAA:             Monday, June 13, 2022
Contract released to artist:             Monday, June 13, 2022
Contract executed:             Friday, June 24, 2022
Project completion: Friday, March 24, 2023

**HAA will also host two (2) artist information sessions about the open call via Zoom. Click here for more details and to register for a session.**

Session 1 - 11:00 AM, Tuesday, January 25, 2022  https://bit.ly/3qTukPg

Session 2 -11:00 AM, Tuesday, February 1, 2022  https://bit.ly/34ehseS

Contact

For questions and/or more information, please do not contact the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Direct all inquiries to:

For questions or more information, please do not contact the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA). Direct all inquiries to:

Houston Arts Alliance - Civic Art + Design Department

Subject Line: North Belt
civicart@haatxhelp.zendesk.com

Please submit all questions in writing via email no later than February 8, 2022 4:00 PM CST to civicart@haatxhelp.zendesk.com. Questions will be answered as they are received and no later than February 10, 2022, 4:00 PM CST. All answers to questions received by the question due date will be posted publicly.