City of Burlingame Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Public Art Project

Purpose: To select two to three artists who would proceed to the RFP process (Request for Proposals). The finalists will be notified by 04/11/18 by email.

Issued: 03/05/18

Entry Deadline: 03/23/18

Contact: burlingamerfq@fungcollaboratives.com https://fungcollaboratives.org/

Project Overview: The City of Burlingame seeks a professional visual artist to create the City’s most important public artwork to date in the spirit of Burlingame’s namesake Anson Burlingame. The project was inspired by the upcoming sesquicentennial of the Burlingame Treaty in 2018. In addition to being timeless, the artwork is to commemorate the values and spirit of Anson Burlingame (as opposed to the man himself) and evolve a sense of placemaking within the community. It is important that the selected artist engages with the history and culture of Burlingame. The artwork should equally embrace both aesthetics and content. To this end, the artist will work with a steering committee that will provide community input, along with other information relevant to the culture of Burlingame and desired oversight of the project. Up to three artists will be selected to move on to the request for proposal stage (RFP) where they will each receive a $1,500 payment for their proposal. The selection committee will then select one artist to move forward with this project.

Budget: $100,000 for artist fee, design, materials, fabrication, and installation.

Location: Washington Park. This location was selected based on its visible location across from the Caltrain Burlingame Station. Children and adults frequent this park for a multitude of active and passive activities. It is accessible by foot, bicycle, and vehicle. There are many unique features in the designated site from which the artist may react to or be inspired from.

 

Washington Park Burlingame, CA

 

360 View Link

                        Site Location

Eligibility: Requirements for eligibility:

• Must be a professional artist.

-     Definition of professional artist- “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.”

• Must have experience working with substantial budgets ($50,000 – $100,000).
• Must have five years of professional experience as a working artist.
• Must be legally able to work in the United States.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
  • This is a national search to find the most appropriate artist with a preference to find a Bay Area artist, if possible.
  • Burlingame City Council and staff and their relatives and family members are ineligible.
    • The City of Burlingame does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, economic status, or gender identity.

Evaluation Criteria: The selection committee will then use the following criteria to evaluate the remaining eligible artist:

• Original and personal approach.
• Professional credentials (as evidenced in the submitted materials).
• Artistic excellence of past work.
• Experience with public art or large scale, permanent sculptural work.
• Experience with site-specific artwork.
• Ability to spend time in Burlingame for research and conceptualization through to final execution.

Submissions: All submissions must be electronic. Send the following documents in a single PDF file to: burlingamerfq@fungcollaboratives.com

1. 1.     A letter of interest: Outline your approach to public art, your interest in this specific project, what you bring to the project as an artist, experience with other projects of similar scope, sources of inspiration presented by the project, any other comments that might help differentiate you as a candidate, and your name, address, phone number, and email. Not to exceed one page.
2. 2.     A professional resume/CV: Not to exceed three pages.
   1. 3.     A descriptive narrative of possible aesthetic directions. NOTE- this is not a proposal (that is for the RFP stage). Instead tell us about the philosophy of how you might approach this project, thoughts on materials, what you would like the audience to learn or experience from the artwork, points of inspiration, anything you glean from initial research about Anson Burlingame, his character, or your connection to the City.
   2. 4.     Images of past works: Eight maximum, with a brief description for each project including the title, size, and artist’s intent.
   3. 5.     Professional references: At least three professional references from past projects with contact information.