Fire Station #5 Public Art Commission

The City of Albuquerque Public Art Program is seeking an artwork for Fire Station #5, located at the intersection of Chico and Dallas Streets NE in the La Mesa neighborhood. The new Fire Station #5 is an architecturally notable facility situated in a busy corridor with high visibility to the neighborhood and Central Avenue (Route 66). The structure is contemporary and the committee will evaluate submissions based on originality, the artist's past work/projects, and suitability to the site. A Fire Department Spokesperson states, "We would like the art piece to express the Department's concern with being a good neighbor. Our focus is not only on emergency response to negative situations, but should also reflect our efforts to reach out to the communities that we serve."

The artwork must be fabricated in durable, permanent, outdoor media that is safe and easily maintained. The scale should be appropriate to the site and architectural integrity of the structure. The design challenge is to create a work that brings an uplifting impression while ensuring vision is not impeded for firefighters driving vehicles into and away from the facility. The committee will consider mounted or projected light sculpture, free-standing sculpture, and new technologies such as LED lighting applications. If mounting work to wall surfaces, artists must consult with a structural engineer to assure feasibility and structural integrity. Equipment to support and contain lighting requirements will be the artist's responsibility, though the Public Art Program will assist in researching existing electrical or structural constraints.

This is an open competition for artists residing in the Southwestern United States, specifically Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. $40,000 is available to commission the work, funded through General Obligation Bonds - 1% for Art. Reproduction of the work will be in the form of shared copyright; the Albuquerque Public Art Program needs access to images for advertising and educational purposes, but will not use images for commercial purposes without direct authorization. Artists must submit a current resume, letter of intent describing ideas and proposed media, basic budget outline, visual representations of the work showing 3-dimensionality with design details, and images of five past projects (10 artwork images total). Questions may be directed to Dan Fuller at (505) 768-3837 or [email protected].