Colorado Convention Center Expansion - Public Art Commission

The City of Denver's Public Art Program seeks to commission an artist or team of artists to create an original public artwork for the Colorado Convention Center Expansion. The selection panel has identified the Exhibit Level South – D Lobby ceiling for a suspended artwork with a budget of $900,000.00 USD. The new artwork will be part of the Colorado Convention Center's current collection of 31 public artworks by local, national, and international artists.

The Colorado Convention Center, designed by Fentress Architects and opened in 1990, is centrally located in Downtown Denver and currently ranked as one of the country's top three centers. The Phase III expansion will include new flexible meeting and ballroom space of up to 80,000 sq. ft., pre-function areas, and an outdoor terrace with views of the Rocky Mountains and city skyline. The panel seeks an interior suspended artwork to activate the vertical space in the D Lobby that will engage visitors from multiple locations and levels and be visible from the exterior. The artwork should have a strong day and night presence, reflect Colorado's daily and seasonal changes, and interact with natural light and shadow. The D Lobby's west-facing glass façade has an unobstructed view of the Rocky Mountains and Denver's vibrant sunsets.

This project is open to all artists internationally. Applicants may apply as a single artist or multi-person collaborative group. Submissions must include six digital images, a résumé, and a statement of interest no longer than 2,000 characters via www.callforentry.org. The selection panel will choose three to five finalists who will create site-specific proposals and be interviewed in a virtual format. Finalists will be paid an honorarium. All applicants are expected to consider long-term conservation and maintenance of public art, fabricating work from highly durable, low-maintenance materials. The $900,000.00 USD budget is inclusive of all costs including design fee, consultation fees, insurance, materials, fabrication, transportation, installation, and any building or site modifications required.