Regent Street Public Art Commission

Regent Street is a small street on the east side of the Eccles Theater situated between Main and State Streets in Salt Lake City. Formerly named Commercial Street, it was one of the first streets cut through Salt Lake City's large city blocks and became home to immigrant groups who arrived to work on the railroad system in the early 1870s. In the early 1920s, the street's name changed to Regent as it became the center for publishing Salt Lake's two daily newspapers, The Salt Lake Tribune and The Deseret News. The redevelopment and revitalization of Regent Street merges history with the contemporary to create a welcoming, dynamic urban environment. The project design team developed Regent Street into a new public experiential gathering place designed to host festivals, performances, and interactive opportunities, with permanent public artwork integrated throughout.

This Request for Qualifications seeks a professional artist or artist-led team to produce a site-specific artwork with a commission budget of up to $2,000,000 USD. The RFQ is open to all professional artists based in Utah, nationally, and internationally. Artists must demonstrate experience in innovative placemaking and propose work in all media and materials that are durable and suitable for Utah's variable climate. The artwork should respond to the architectural and natural environment, be of the highest quality creatively and technically, serve as a catalyst for social change, exemplify strong imaginative design, encourage interactivity, be prominent at all hours, and meet all public safety, structural, and maintenance standards including ADA compliance.

Submission deadline is Wednesday, February 7, 2018 by 11:59 p.m. MDT. Applicants must submit 5-10 images of their work. The selection committee will review submissions and recommend selection of an artist and an alternate based on professional experience with site-specific public art projects of similar scope, ability to understand sense of place and design in a context-sensitive manner, ability to create a noteworthy engaging site-specific experience, willingness to consult with the Salt Lake Art Design Board and community stakeholders, and ability to ensure the artwork is permanent, requires minimal maintenance, and meets public safety and ADA standards. The selected artist will participate in site visits and enter into agreements with the City for design development and final installation, with project completion targeted for Spring 2019.