Overview of the Opportunity
The Program Management Consultant (PMC), contracted to the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), is seeking artists and artists’ teams to create site specific artworks and artistic enhancements for the future Baltimore Red Line Light Rail Line. There will be art opportunities at approximately 23 major locations, including five underground stations, fourteen above ground stations, one pedestrian connector, two portals, Route 40 bridges, and other infrastructure elements. For more information about the project visit: www.BaltimoreRedLine.com.
The Baltimore Red Line is a 14.1 mile east to west light rail line connecting Woodlawn to the Bayview MARC Station through downtown Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Construction of the Red Line is expected to begin in 2015 and end in 2021.
Project Description
This Call for Artists is to create a roster of artists and designers of all types including 2D and 3D artists working in a variety of media to create integrated public artworks for the stations, environs and connecting infrastructure.
Up to three artists may be selected for each station or other major locations listed in Section 1.1 for an approved roster. If selected for the approved roster, qualified artists will be assigned one or more specific opportunities by location and paid a stipend to create artwork proposals for specific station(s) or individual location(s). From these proposals, artists may be competitively selected for award of contracts to design and integrate artwork into the overall station and infrastructure. Artists would also work with the communities to create artwork that highlights the cultural vitality of the region, and reflects the artistic, cultural and/or historical interests of the surrounding communities.
Selected artists should be cognizant that consideration of art that relates to the local community is a feature required in the final art design in order to be eligible for federal funding. Research, possibly including direct community contact, may require a site visit to obtain the necessary input.
Specifically, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires the following criteria be used when artists are involved in planning and design of transit projects and/or when individual works of arts are commissioned:
(1) Quality of art or design,
(2) Impact on mass-transit customers,
(3) Connection to site and/or adjacent community; art that relates, in form or substance to the cultures, people, natural or built surroundings, or history of the area in which the project is located,
(4) Appropriateness for site, including safety and scale,
(5) Durability of material,
(6) Resistance to vandalism, and
(7) Minimum maintenance.
Accordingly, selected artists will be bound by these requirements when submitting proposals in response to competitive Requests for Proposals (RFP) that will be issued by the Soliciting Organization (1.3). Therefore, artists that can demonstrate these criteria were considered and applied in the experience portions of their submission can improve the likelihood of selection.
Project Locations
A series of competitive RFPs will be issued by the Soliciting Organization following the creation of the roster of qualified artists. Each solicitation will request proposals for one or more of the project locations listed in 1.1 above. Projects may be solicited individually, or grouped by type of project (e.g., underground stations, at-grade stations, plazas, buildings and infrastructure).
Project Goals
The purpose of the Art-in-Transit Program is to enhance the travel experience, to promote transit use and to engage the community. Possible opportunities for artworks and artistic enhancements include feature walls, ground planes and plazas, streetscapes, light installations, fences and railings, portal walls, functional objects, bridge enhancements, retaining walls, pylons and other possibilities. The Baltimore Red Line Art-in-Transit Master Plan will be available to the selected artists.
Solicitation Process
Details and the form of the follow-on procurement are still under review but those details would be given to the artists on the approved roster as a prelude to making a proposal. The follow-on RFPs are anticipated to be issued to meet near-term, critical path design requirements with the remainder of the requirements to be met in a later phase.
Solicitation Tentative Schedules
The Application Deadline for this Call for Artists which will result in creation of the artist roster for all project locations is Friday, June 13, 2014, 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time.
The schedule for the follow-on RFPs will be as follows:
Call for Artist Finalist Notification and Invitation to Submit Proposal: June 2014
Artists’ Proposals Due : August 2014
Commissioned Awards: August/September 2014
Remaining Stations and Infrastructure Schedule
RFPs for the remaining locations will be issued in series beginning approximately in September, 2014. Proposals will be due approximately 6 weeks after release of each RFP. Selection of artists and award of artist contracts will be made approximately 6 weeks after receipt of proposals.
Artists’ Eligibility
This Call for Artists is open to all professional artists or artists’ teams with public art experience. If artists are applying as a team, the team should be declared in the Artist Statement, specifying a team leader to receive notifications. Although it is not required, preference may be given to artists who have previously participated in or received a commission for a major public art project, particular in a public transit environment. Qualified artists will be considered regardless of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, genetic information or age. Local artists are encouraged to apply. If you applied for Phase 1, you will need to re-apply to be considered for Phase 2.
To apply visit https://www.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=1939
