City Hall Staircase Project

The City of Los Altos Parks, Arts, Recreation and Cultural (PARC) Commission seeks an artist to design and paint art on the City Council Chambers staircase at City Hall, located at 1 North San Antonio Road in Los Altos. The selected artist will complete a proposal to install a public art project utilizing the staircase risers, work with PARC to set project goals, and research and fully describe the maintenance and longevity of the project. The theme will be developed further in the planning phase. Artist compensation will be based on what is included in the proposal from the selected artist.

Project goals include enhancing the visibility of the steps, featuring high quality unique artwork, demonstrating an understanding of maintenance and longevity with regards to working with cement stairs, and ensuring successful collaboration between the chosen artist and the PARC Commission. Applicants must submit a Letter of Interest (2 page limit) outlining why they want to develop a proposal, how they intend to approach the process, their experience with similar projects, and how they would handle maintenance. A short artist biography (1 page limit) is also required. Three work sample images are required.

The artist search is open to all artists, though the PARC Commission is unable to reimburse for travel expenses. Proposals will be reviewed by the PARC Commission, with interviews conducted before the final project artist is selected. Selection criteria include artistic quality of submitted work samples, experience and ability to complete the project based on prior projects, understanding of maintenance, and experience and ability to collaborate with the PARC Commission. The RFP timeline includes: January 29, 2024 (RFP released), February 26, 2024 (Request for Qualifications due), Mid-March 2024 (interviews scheduled), and April 2024 (artist notified and contracts written).