Ford Pool Public Art Project (Allen, Texas)
The City of Allen and the Allen Public Art Committee (PAC) invite artists or artist teams to submit qualifications for the design, fabrication and installation of mosaic artwork to support columns at Ford Pool. This project requires collaboration with the Prime Consultant and the Project Manager for the renovation.
Project History/Scope
Allen, Texas (pop. 91,429) is a growing community located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, 15 miles due north of Dallas. Its exemplary schools, outstanding community amenities and retail options make it a highly desirable place in which to live, work and visit. Please visit www.cityofallen.org or www.visitallentx.com for more information about our dynamic city, including the Allen’s public art program.
Ford Pool was constructed in the 1980’s with the helped Land and Water Conservation funding assistance. Located at 632 Park Place Drive, it is a seasonal pool, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The entry however, will be accessible year-round and is visible from the parking lot shared with Ford Middle School. After many seasons of use the pool and surrounding amenities are in need of updating and with these updates come the opportunity to include artistic elements into the new design. An artist or artist team is being selected to provide the design, fabrication and installation of artistic mosaic elements for the enhancement of six columns total, four in the front entry and two within the facility. (See elevation drawings attached) The intent is to create engaging artwork that is timeless and complementary to the building color scheme and design.
The four front columns are 9’8” in height with a 2’8” diameter making the available area for art 81 square feet. The two back columns are 8’8” and also 2’8” in diameter with an available area for art of 72.5 square feet. The numbers given allow for a ‘band’ space at the top of the column to finish the concrete with a chamfer (an architectural detail addressing sharp edges of concrete). Like the top of the columns, a ‘band’ of free space is provided around the bottom of the columns as it is not recommend to bring the mosaic all the way down to the concrete sidewalk due to possibility of damage by lawn and landscaping maintenance equipment. It is also recommended that tiles be no larger than one inch in size.
Budget
Artist finalists may propose design concepts with a final project budget of up to $40,000. The final proposed project budget must be inclusive of all fees, including but not limited to all design fees, costs for fabrication and installation, administrative costs, insurance and all travel expenses related to the project upon artist selection through completion of the project. Artists will be required to meet the city’s insurance requirements. (See attachment below for insurance requirements)
Eligibility
Any artist or artist team, 18 years of age or older and who are authorized to work in the United States are eligible. Artists who have past experience with public art mosaic design and installation are particularly encouraged to apply. The City of Allen follows the definition of an artist as being a professional practitioner in the arts, generally recognized by his or her peers as possessing serious intent and ability.
Deadline for Submitting Application and Materials
5:00 p.m. CST, Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Applications and materials must be received by this date and time to be considered. Responses to this artist call will only be accepted electronically. It is the responsibility of the artist to confirm receipt of materials. Mailed or physical copies of responses will not be accepted.
Selection Process
1) An initial submission of qualifications stage, from which up to three finalists may be selected based upon the materials submitted. The selection of finalists will be made by a panel appointed by the Art Selection Panel Sub-Committee.
2) A final interview stage, during which each finalist will be paid a $500 honorarium to develop a conceptual design for the artwork to present to the selection panel. If submitting as an artist team, the honorarium will be paid to the team, not individual members of the team. Likewise, negotiated travel expenses in addition to the honorarium will be paid to one member of an artist team to present to the selection panel. A finalist recommendation will be made by the selection panel to the PAC. If approved, the PAC will then make a recommendation to the Allen City Council for final approval of the proposed design.
3) Selections for finalists will be based in part on the interest expressed in the artist letter of intent for this specific project, past experiences with projects of a similar nature and scope and/or evidence of quality artwork as evidenced by submitted images.
4) Criteria to be used in selection of the final design concept will be shared with the selected finalists.
Estimated Schedule (Subject to change)
September 30, 2015: Submissions due by 5:00 p.m. CST
Week of October 5, 2015: Selection panel review begins
Week of October 19, 2015: Additional selection panel review as needed/finalists selected
Early December 2015: Concept proposal presentation
December 15, 2015: Selection panel recommendation to Public Art Committee
January 2016: Final concept recommendation made to City Council
February 2016: Negotiation and execution of artist contract
March – May 2016: Art installation
Late May 2016: Ford Pool open
Submission Guidelines
1) A maximum one page (8 ½ X 11) typed artist statement addressing the following:
- Your interest in this specific project and any relevant experience related to the design of mosaic artwork;
- Your approach to design and working collaboratively with others.
2) A current resume (maximum 3 pages for each artist or each member of an artist team) including references.
3) Up to ten photographs of the artist(s) previous work (JPEG), no larger than 1MB per photo, each to be named and numbered corresponding to an annotated script. No videos, please.
4) An annotated script (one page maximum), saved as a Word or PDF document related to the submitted photographs to include the project name, medium, date of completion, project budget and short statement describing the work.
5) Direct all submissions to PublicArt@cityofallen.org. Please include the following in the subject line: Ford Pool Mosaic Project.
6) For questions or to confirm receipt of materials, please contact Jennifer Robinson, Support Specialist, 214.509.4703 or jrobinson@cityofallen.org
Submissions must be received electronically no later than
5:00 p.m. CST, Monday, September 30, 2015.