City of Santa Ana - Japanese-American Farmer Memorial

The City of Santa Ana seeks to commission a work of public art to be placed at the northwest corner of Flower Street and Sunflower Avenue as part of the "Flower Street Bike Trail Phase II" project. The property was once owned and farmed by a Japanese-American farmer who greatly contributed to the growth and prosperity of the region. The artwork shall commemorate the important role of the Japanese-American immigrant agricultural community in Santa Ana.

The site-specific memorial should capture the extraordinary work of the historic Japanese-American farming community. The property was once farmed by the Sakioka family. Katsumasa "Roy" Sakioka was a Japanese immigrant who began farming other people's land. During World War II, like many Americans of Japanese heritage, he was sent to live in a US internment camp. He returned to farming after his release and developed a highly successful business in agriculture and real estate. The City would like to honor the legacy of this noted farmer and all other local farmers of Japanese heritage who worked hard to provide food and vegetables for the community. Please note: The work of art is not intended to be a memorial specifically to Mr. Sakioka or his family, but to Japanese-American farm workers in general.

Eligibility: This call is open to established professional artists residing in California who are eligible to work in the United States. The selected artist/artist team will receive $80,000 to design, fabricate, engineer, and transport artwork to the project site. Artwork will be installed by the City of Santa Ana. Submissions must include a statement of interest (5000 characters or less), resume in PDF format, three professional references from former public art projects, and 3-6 images of completed past public art works. Applications are accepted only via CaFÉ and must be received by April 1, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.