City of Palo Alto: City Hall New Media Art Commission

The City of Palo Alto Public Art Program is seeking professional services of artists or artist teams working in new media for a possible commission in the Lobby of City Hall, located at 250 Hamilton Road, Palo Alto, CA. The estimated budget is between $200,000 and $250,000.

Artists working in interactive new media will be considered. The artwork should be engaging to the public and have a highly interactive element, intended to bring the public into this civic space and engage them in a meaningful interactive way. The artwork will be installed in the renovated front Lobby of City Hall, with the large wall facing visitors as the primary space available. Artwork integrated onto other walls or surfaces will be considered, along with interactive sound or light works. The planned renovations include power and data brought to the main entrance wall as well as a bank of monitors that may be utilized for the public art. If an artist chooses not to use the monitor wall, the budgeted amount for monitors may go toward the artist's budget, but the artist must provide a method by which video of civic events can be shown in the lobby space. The artist must include the ability for City staff and stakeholders to display a variety of visual needs including broadcasting meetings, wayfinding, television channel and online broadcasting, agenda displays, and other forms of static and dynamic information communication.

The call is open to all professional artists over the age of 18 residing in the United States. Artists with demonstrated interest in digital and interactive new media projects are especially encouraged to apply. All applicants must have all necessary documentation and permits to work in the United States at the time of submittal. Applicants must submit a letter of interest, an updated resume (5 page maximum), an annotated list of images including title, date, location, and budget for artwork, and up to 6 images of previous work. The selection committee comprised of City staff, public art commissioners, arts professionals and key stakeholders will select 3 to 5 artists to submit a Request for Proposals. Selection criteria include strength of previous work in similar environments, suitability to City Hall, purpose of the artwork, durability of materials, and high degree of interactivity. Qualifications are due February 10, 2014 at 3:00 PM PST. Finalists will be identified March 1, 2014, with Request for Proposals issued the week of March 10, 2014.