Public Safety Center - Public Art

UPDATE: The City is no longer proceeding with the Public Safety Center Art project. The COVID-19 pandemic halted the process and the City Council, through its Essential Facilities Subcommittee, determined not to proceed with the outdoor art component.

The City of San Rafael invited artists to submit images, renderings, or drawings of public art for permanent installation at the main entry of the new Public Safety Center Building located at 1375 5th Ave, San Rafael, CA 94901. The art piece was to be highly visible from both outside and inside the Public Safety Center. The designated installation area is an 8-foot diameter concrete pad on the northwest corner of the building, directly across from City Hall in a vibrant area with apartment complexes, restaurants, commercial storefronts, and proximity to the Falkirk Cultural Center and Boyd Gatehouse.

The three-dimensional exterior art piece must be structurally safe for the general public including children, extremely durable in outdoor conditions with limited maintenance required, and securely anchored to the concrete pad. The artwork base could not exceed 8 feet in diameter. Artists were instructed to avoid profanity, mature content, political statements, and sculptures of people, faces, or busts. Desirable media included stone, metal, concrete, and other materials suitable for permanent outdoor installation. The artwork theme was to embrace first responders' history of courage, honor, sacrifice, family, pride, civic duty, and service to the community while preparing for the future.

This call was open to all artists nationwide, with City of San Rafael residents highly encouraged to enter. All ages were welcome. All work had to be original and produced exclusively by the artist. There was no entry fee. The project budget was not-to-exceed $50,000, an all-inclusive amount covering artist stipend, fabrication, delivery, permits, site prep, insurance, materials, and installation. Final artwork selection was to be made by a panel of qualified judges including artists, art critics, and civic leaders based on artistic merit, context, maintainability, durability, originality, and theme representation. City employees and their immediate family members were ineligible.