Houston Public Works Civilian Employee Memorial Request for Qualifications

Houston Civic Art

Request for Qualifications

Civic Art Project for Houston Public Works Civilian Employee Memorial

Budget: $165,000.00

Deadline: Monday, February 19, 2024, 5:00 PM CST

Location: Buffalo Bayou Park, 1800 Allen Pkwy., Houston, TX 77019

Eligibility: Greater Houston Area

Only applications sent via Submittable will be considered.

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Summary

On behalf of Houston Public Works (HPW), 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 a memorial honoring those City of Houston employees who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This artwork will be proposed for a location within Buffalo Bayou Park, a 2.3-mile-long municipal park located on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou, west of Downtown, Houston.

The work that City of Houston employees engage in can be hazardous, at times, and as such there are thirty employees who have lost their lives in the line of civic duty. The City of Houston, through a commission sponsored by Houston Public Works, will memorialize these workers at a permanent, site-specific work of public art. The memorial is intended to highlight these thirty workers, celebrate their strength, and honor their lives through a vibrant and relevant permanent work of public art.

The artwork will reside at Buffalo Bayou Park, which is operated and maintained by Buffalo Bayou Partnership. It is important for any applying artist/artist team to develop a proposal that considers and response to conditions which may develop at the park location in the case of natural disasters or emergencies (flooding, high winds, extreme heat or freezing). While the selected site is located at the top of a hill with a high elevation (+/-30.0), materials, durability, engineering, installation, maintenance, etc. should be kept in mind due to the inevitable extreme weather fluctuations historically prevalent to this area of Houston. Buffalo Bayou Park was designed to flood, and what is installed along the world class parkland area should also be designed to withstand slow-draining flooding.

The artwork should be:

· Created for the designated location in Buffalo Bayou Park.

· Void of electrical or water features

· developed with the consideration of the flooding nature of the Buffalo Bayou

ABOUT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS:

Houston Public Works is the largest and most diverse public works organization in the country. Houston Public Works is responsible for streets, drainage, producing and distributing water, collecting and treating wastewater, and permitting and regulating construction. There are over 4,000 dedicated public servants who work together to create a strong foundation for Houston to thrive. The department services 671 miles of service area, 2.3 million people, 1.1 million street names and traffic signs. To learn more about the Houston Public Works Department visit https://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov.

Scope of Civic Art Project and Artwork Requirements

This opportunity seeks the completion of an artwork that will be highly visible, located outdoors, and situated along Buffalo Bayou. The designated location has been selected by the City of Houston together with Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The scope of the work includes planning and design development, engineering, fabrication, permitting, and all aspects of installation and insurance. The total project budget for the artist/artist team for this commission shall not exceed $165,000.00.

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 City of Houston ADA requirements.

· 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 Civic Art Collection.

Eligibility

THE FOLLOWING ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:

Open to all Houston area artists and artist teams over 18 years of age to work at the required scale and have availability to accomplish by the deadline. “Houston Area Artist” is defined by the following:

● Currently residing within the Greater Houston Area: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, or Waller counties

● Artist/Artist Team must be able to complete the memorial by early 2025.

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, the 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

1. Address: Buffalo Bayou Park, 1800 Allen Pkwy., Houston, TX 77019

2. See linked site plans and images for more information.

a. Artwork locations, plan, elevations, and renderings.

Budget

The budget of $165,000.00 is inclusive of all work including, but not limited to, final design, artists’ fees, design, engineering, permitting, insurance costs for each year of the project, permanent lighting, software, studio and project administration, travel, fabrication, all materials, installation, and required deliverables.

· Required deliverables may include research, material samples, material mockups, finalized design details (color, imagery, material, etc.), material safety data sheets (MSDS) on certain materials or coatings, landscape plans, lighting plans, sealed engineering drawings and anything needed for permitting in the construction phase, insurance, finalized budget, preliminary fabrication and installation schedule, methods of hanging, installation costs, professional photographic documentation, and a maintenance plan.

Application Requirements

1. Artist(s) resume or CV, relevant information for any other key team members (3 pages maximum per artist or team member)

2. Artist(s) Biography (250 words maximum or under 2 minutes)

3. Statement of Intent (1,000 words maximum or under 5 minutes)

Statement of Intent - A Statement of Intent (SOI) is a declaration of your plans and ideas for a specific project. The SOI should communicate your personality, professionalism, qualifications, and enthusiasm for the project.

4. Artist Statement (500 words maximum or under 3 minutes)

Artist Statement - An artist statement is a 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.

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.

Selection Process

A panel of three art representatives will review qualified submissions and select a short list of up to three individual artists or artist teams who will develop concept proposals for the opportunity.

Review of artist qualifications will be 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 that 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 civic art 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 A1 – Artist Services Agreement for Conceptual Design

· Attachment A2 - Artist Services Agreement for Final 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** Thursday, January 11, 2024

· Artist Info Session # 2** Wednesday, January 24, 2024

· RFQ submission deadline: Monday, February 19, 2024

· RFQ notification: March 2024

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

· RFP released to finalists: March 2024

· RFP deadline: April 2024

· Artist proposal presentations: April 2024

· Selected artist notified by HAA: June 2024

· Contract released to artist: June 2024

· Contract executed: June 2024

· Project completion: Early 2025

**HAA has hosted two (2) artist information sessions about the open call.

Recordings can be viewed through the links below:

Artist Information Session 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P79yKazaQRI

Artist Information Session 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VubdD2gCjgE