Montana RTS Public Art Commission

The City of El Paso Public Art Program is commissioning 1 or 2 artists or artist teams to design and develop original artistic designs and/or images for the Montana RTS corridor. The Montana RTS is a high-quality transit service operated by Sun Metro that consists of 25 stations originating at the Five Points Transit Terminal and continuing to the Far East Transit Terminal with stops at the El Paso International Airport and the East Transfer Center. Each station will feature high-end amenities including free WiFi, bike racks, shade screens, electronic real-time displays, ticket vending machines, and solar-powered compacting trash cans.

The public art project aims to serve as an accent and beautification along the corridor while celebrating the artistic culture of El Paso. Artwork should be interpretive from both pedestrian and vehicular traffic perspectives. The total project budget is $350,000 to include design, fabrication, and installation for all 25 stations. This budget is all-inclusive and must cover design fees, travel expenses, all materials (including lighting), fabrication costs, insurance, engineering expenses, shipping and transportation to the site, and installation. Materials must be durable and sustainable for the highly traveled urban location while requiring minimal maintenance. The selected artist or artist team will need to submit a maintenance proposal upon completion.

This is an open competition. Artists must submit an artist statement, previous work examples, resume, and letter of interest via the CAFÉ Website. Applications will be reviewed by an Artist Selection Panel. The finalist will be selected and presented to the Public Art Committee for approval, then placed under contract to provide design proposals for review and approval prior to fabrication and installation. The anticipated schedule includes a submission deadline of July 2017, artist selection panel review in July 2017, notification to selected artists in August 2017, design work from 2017-2018, fabrication in 2018, and installation in 2019.