Artistic Bicycle Racks - City of Littleton Fine Arts Board

The Littleton Museum, acting as the coordinating agent for the City of Littleton and the Littleton Fine Arts Board, invites professional and amateur Colorado artists to submit proposals to design, fabricate, deliver, and install artistic (sculptural) bicycle racks for Littleton's Main Street. The project acknowledges the popularity of bicycling and the need for safe and secure bicycle parking in the Historic Main Street area.

Bicycle racks must accommodate between two to six bicycles with two points of contact to minimize wheel bending, with spacing of 2.5 to 3.5 feet. Racks must allow for easy use with U locks, be constructed of durable materials able to withstand permanent exposure to elements (particularly Ice Slicer and Magnesium Chloride), and not cause damage to bikes. Aluminum may not be used. All designs must adhere to city code regulations regarding sidewalk obstruction, maintaining at least five feet of contiguous sidewalk width for pedestrian passage. The City will install all racks per artist specifications with contact points secured by no less than two connecting points. Racks must be sturdy, removable, and accommodate both fat tire and standard road bikes. Material selection is at the artist's discretion and may include metal (bronze, iron, steel) or wood, or combinations thereof. Artists should include care instructions and installation schematics.

Thematic elements should recognize the strong Main Street Historic District, sense of community, and the contemporary nature of Main Street including its support of performing and visual arts. The LFAB has $20,000 to be awarded in January 2013, not to exceed $4,000 per bicycle rack design, fabrication, delivery, and installation. Selected finalists will be awarded $300 to construct a maquette. Proposals must include a detailed description with 1-3 images, digital images of past work (up to 10 images on CD in PowerPoint format), artist's biographical material and resume, explanation of fabrication and installation capabilities, examples of related commissions, client references, approach to creating artwork, and project methodology with a firm budget figure. Finalists will be selected by December 20, 2012, and invited to interview on January 17, 2013. The commission will be awarded on January 18, 2013. Fabrication is scheduled for January 18 through March 31, 2013, with delivery and installation April 1-5, 2013.