Downtown Fairbanks Greenspace Public Art Commission

The City of Fairbanks, Alaska is requesting artists' qualifications and concepts for public art to be commissioned for a prominent new downtown greenspace with a budget of $300,000. Funding is in place through a Grant Project Memorandum of Agreement with the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, with the funding source being federal Transportation Enhancement program funds.

The Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System (FMATS) Art Selection Advisory Committee is requesting public art concepts that reflect the cyclic and extreme subarctic climate, portraying dramatic seasonal temperatures and arctic light changes as well as related spectacular phenomena. Concepts should reflect an awareness of being 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle and isolated within the heart of Alaska in both form and function. The committee encourages interactive components that provide a periodic and fresh view, and desires public art that is so site specific and appropriate that it could only be envisioned in Fairbanks, Alaska. Any interactive forms should be functional in a subarctic climate.

Applications will be reviewed by the FMATS Art Selection Advisory Committee based on artistic merit, appropriateness of the public art concept as it relates to project goals and setting, project experience, communication skills, references, and durability, maintenance, and safety of concept. Up to five finalists may be selected for an interview and may be asked to submit a more detailed proposal. A $2,000 stipend will be provided for final proposals. Artists must submit an artist's statement, concept drawing or graphic, resume, references, and 4-6 images of past work. The selected artist's budget will include all costs of design, engineering, fabrication, installation, public art transportation, special handling fees, special lighting if any, photographic documentation, approved site visit, liability and automobile insurance, and an identifying plaque made to City standards and specifications. Public art must be installed in the downtown greenspace no later than September 1, 2014.