City of Santa Cruz – Marine Sanctuary Visitor/Exploration Center Public Art Projects

The City of Santa Cruz invites eligible artists and artist-led teams to apply for public art projects at the new Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Visitor/Exploration Center in Santa Cruz, CA. The Center will be located in the heart of Santa Cruz's tourist beach area, directly across the street from the municipal wharf and a few blocks from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Construction is estimated to begin July or August 2010 and extend approximately 12 months.

This project offers two distinct opportunities. Opportunity #1: Exterior Entryway/Plaza ($110K available for multiple elements) includes a place-making element to mark the visitor gathering area, seating elements, bike racks, and optional sidewalk enhancements. Regional artists living or working within 100 miles of the site are invited to apply. Emerging artists must have demonstrated familiarity with the public art process through previous public art experience or comparable training. Opportunity #2: Façade ($125K) includes a Pacific Avenue façade primary element and potential complementary element on the entryway façade. This opportunity is open to professional public artists or artist-led teams with no geographic restrictions; applicants must have experience integrating art into construction projects. All budgets are inclusive of artist fees, design, engineering, transportation, fabrication, installation, insurance and 10% contingency.

Applications must include an Artist's Statement (maximum 4000 characters), current resume (maximum 2 pages for individual artists, 4 pages for teams), up to 8 digital images of previously completed projects, and descriptions of past work including project budgets. Submissions must be received as a complete application by 10:59 pm PST May 26th, 2010. Contact Crystal Birns at [email protected] for more information.