City of Denver: Cherry Creek Trail Public Art Commission

The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) seeks to commission an artist or team of artists to create site-specific artwork for a new segment of the Cherry Creek Trail, a multi-use bike/pedestrian corridor between Holly and Oneida Streets. The project has been made possible through collaborative support and funding from the City and County of Denver, Great Outdoors Colorado, Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, and the Greenway Foundation. The anticipated total public art project budget is $28,000, inclusive of design, fabrication, and installation. The project is open to Colorado artists working in all media and materials.

The new trail section will create a 1.25 mile-long, 10-foot wide concrete pathway along Cherry Creek. The community desires that this area retain its natural, wild feel and sense of being a refuge within the city. The artwork should be considerate of community desires and could communicate concepts including: Open Space/Wilderness in the City; Education/Sustainability/Ecology; History of the Area; Water/Rivers; or A Place of Quiet Respite or Refuge/Urban Retreat. The panel is open to a single work or a series of sequential pieces that might assist in way-finding or serve as trail markers, or artwork that creates areas of respite. The artwork could also activate the underpasses of Holly Street and/or Monaco Boulevard.

Applications must be submitted online via www.callforentry.org by 5:00 p.m. MDT on May 22, 2009. Applicants must submit eight digital images of previously completed artworks. Artists working with kinetic, sound, or media works must also submit a DVD of no more than five minutes. A statement of interest (500 words/2000 characters maximum) and a one- to two-page résumé are required. Up to five artists or artist teams will be short-listed as semi-finalists and asked to return for an interview or prepare a proposal. Semi-finalists will receive a $500 honorarium to prepare and present proposals in person. The selected artist(s) will be required to enter into a contract with the City and County of Denver and obtain required insurance. A pre-submission meeting will be held Monday, May 11, 2009, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. RSVP by emailing [email protected] or calling 720-865-4302.