Empire Avenue & Butler Market Road & 27th Street Roundabout Public Art Commission

Art in Public Places, a non-profit organization that has donated public art throughout Bend, Oregon since 1973, is seeking artists and artist teams to create a public art installation for the Butler Market Road/Empire Avenue/27th Street roundabout in NE Bend. The roundabout opened in October 2020 as part of the Empire Corridor Road Improvements project and experiences approximately 20,000 cars daily on both Butler Market Road and 27th Street.

The roundabout is 4,250 sq. ft. with available land for sculpture footings on the northern edge (430 sq. ft. and 182 sq. ft. strip), west side (95 sq. ft.), and east side (246 sq. ft.). The truck apron is 15 ft. wide, and all footings must be 5 ft. away from underground utilities with a maximum depth of 2 ft. due to drainage infrastructure. The total project budget is $130,000, including permits, engineering drawings, fabrication, installation, landscaping, and traffic mitigation. Finalists will receive a $1,500 stipend for travel and design time.

Applications are open to artists and artist teams residing in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Submissions must include a letter of interest describing relevant project experience from the last 12 years and six digital images of completed outdoor sculptures or installations from the past 12 years. The selection committee will evaluate submissions based on artistic excellence, innovation, originality, experience with public art projects, and ability to enhance the natural landscape. Three to four finalists will be selected to develop design renderings for presentation via Zoom in mid-to-late July 2022, with the final commission selection in August 2022 and installation in Spring 2023.