City of Denver: Public Art Commission for Municipal Animal Shelter and Central Platte Campus

The City of Denver is seeking an artist or artist team to create public art for a new Municipal Animal Shelter and the Central Platte Campus, a 33-acre site that will serve as the headquarters for Denver Public Works operations. The Municipal Animal Shelter, a 35,900 square foot facility located at 1271 West Bayaud Avenue, will be built to LEED Gold Certification standards and include state-of-the-art equipment and accommodations for animal care. The Central Platte Campus will house Fleet Maintenance, Street Maintenance, Solid Waste, Right of Way Enforcement and Traffic Engineering Services, including an Ice Slicer Dome, magnesium chloride storage tanks, fleet maintenance center, warehouse/office building, vehicle wash, fuel island, and parking structures.

The selection panel seeks artwork that addresses one or more of the following themes: identifying and locating the site (visible from Interstate 25 and the Platte River bike path); restoration, reuse, revitalization and regeneration of reclaimed land; and sustainability. Public art may take the form of exterior three-dimensional or kinetic sculpture, artwork incorporating light, sound or new media, environmental or landscape-based art, or interior artwork. Special consideration must be given to engineering parameters related to the soil cap on site.

Up to five artists or artist teams will be selected as semi-finalists and asked to prepare a proposal. Semi-finalists will receive an honorarium of $1,000-$1,500 to prepare and present their proposal in person and will be expected to cover all proposal expenses including travel and per diem from the honorarium. The selected artist(s) will be required to enter into a contract with the City and County of Denver and obtain insurance as required by the City. Applicants must submit eight digital images of previously completed artworks through the CaFÉ online application system. Artists submitting kinetic, sound or media works may submit a supplemental DVD of no more than five minutes to the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, Public Art Program–Shelter/Platte Campus, 201 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 1007, Denver, CO 80202.