Public Art for New Downtown Mixed Use Parking Garage

The City of Durham, North Carolina is seeking candidates with experience in creating public art to design, fabricate, and install permanent public art piece(s) for the New Downtown Mixed-Use Parking Garage Project. The mixed-use garage will be located along West Morgan Street between North Mangum Street and Rigsbee Avenue. Construction will begin in October 2017 and is expected to be completed in January 2019.

Two site opportunities are available: (1) A Gateway Opportunity at the North East corner of the facade at North Mangum and West Morgan Street, approximately 40' H x 70' W (2800 SF), designed to be iconic and reinforce this view as a gateway into downtown; (2) A Pedestrian Friendly installation along the Southern facade with stretched fabric banners on the top three floors and/or landscape screens at the lower level, approximately 21.25' W x 50' long (1063 SF) with nine banners of equal size proposed. The City of Durham will invest up to $100,000 in this project for public art, with the Gateway location as primary.

Candidates must be professional artists or designers eligible to work in the United States and age 18 or older. The objective is to identify up to five (5) candidates to participate in a finalist selection round. Submission requirements include: a statement of interest, 10 work sample images representing no more than 5 previously completed projects with accompanying summaries, résumés for each artist/team member, and three (3) current professional references or recommendation letters. The Selection Committee will evaluate candidates based on aesthetic excellence of past projects, experience and success in community engagement, proven track record with appropriate materials and methods, and demonstrated ability to manage projects with similar budgets on time and on budget. Up to five Finalists will be invited to Durham in November 2017 to view the site, meet stakeholders, interview with the Selection Committee, and submit a design sketch. The selected Awardee will contract with the City to design, fabricate, and install the public art piece(s), with anticipated contract start in fall 2017 and completion upon project completion in January 2019.