Mayor Becker Announces Major Downtown Public Art Opportunity

Mayor Becker Announces Major Downtown Public Art Opportunity

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – May 27, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Mayor Ralph Becker and the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Art Design Board announced a call for professional artists and/or artist-led teams based in Utah, nationally and/or internationally for a new public art commission to be installed on Regent Street in downtown Salt Lake City. Interested artists will have demonstrated experience in innovative place making and the design and installation of large-scale exterior artworks.

Spearheaded by the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office and Redevelopment Agency (RDA), the Regent Street project, including the selected integrated artwork, will serve as a catalyst for positive economic and social change and enhanced quality of life in the downtown business and cultural district. The project completion date is June 2016.

“Public art will be a dynamic part of the Regent Street redevelopment project,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. “We look forward to the potential to connect art installations integrally with the Regent Street businesses and streetscape to create a vibrant and unique cultural district that further enhances the lives of our downtown residents.”

“This is the best opportunity I can remember for an artist to create a piece of public art that has such tremendous impact,” said RDA Board Chairman Stan Penfold. “Our goal is to turn Regent Street into a must-see, must-experience destination for residents and visitors alike, and the integration of public art will help get us there.”

The Design Board is seeking final artwork that:

• Exemplifies strong, imaginative design and content and contributes to a visually stimulating environment that lends itself to thought and adds character to the site.
• May include elements of interactivity to extend the spirit of performance art and/or street theater.
• Is a part of the architectural whole, is prominent at all hours and is proportionate to its surroundings.
• Is durable and suitable for Utah’s variable climate and requires minimal maintenance.

From the properly submitted applications, up to four finalists will be selected by the Salt Lake Art Design Board and Review Committee to present their conceptual artwork proposals in early September. Attending the review meeting, in addition to the Design Board, will be representatives from the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City Corporation, Salt Lake City Council office, GSBS Architects project design team, Layton Construction and neighboring properties. The commission budget is $1,400,000-$2,000,000, to be awarded as one commission. The budget is all-inclusive for artist’s fees, travel, design, engineering, insurance, permits, fabrication, labor, shipping and installation.

The selection of the finalists will be based on the following criteria:

• Artist’s consideration of and experience in creating artwork that incorporates multimedia elements, e.g. light, digital, sound, and/or may have an interactive component in its design.
• Artist’s professional experience, representing a developed and successful body of site-specific public art projects of a similar scope as demonstrated by visual documentation.
• Ability to understand sense of place and design in a context-sensitive manner as demonstrated by visual documentation.

For the full Request for Qualifications and additional information please visit the Salt Lake City Public Art Program website http://saltlakepublicart.org/for-artists/calls-for-artists/.

Submissions are now being accepted through the CaFÉ online digital application process through midnight MDT, Monday, June 22, 2015. To apply for this project please visit www.callforentry.org.