Request for Qualifications: City of El Paso Bataan Trainway Improvement

The City of El Paso's Public Art Program is seeking to commission a professional artist or artist team residing in the state of Texas to assist with design development of public art as part of the Bataan Trainway Improvements project, located in downtown El Paso, TX. The Bataan Trainway Improvement project calls for the reconstruction and improvement of bridges built over the railroad tracks. The repair areas highlighted for the integration of public art include both front and side view fencing to replace chain link fences currently standing on 6 overpasses. The selected artist or artist team will develop a conceptual design to address these locations, defining a theme(s) and strategically approaching overpasses located on 6 parallel streets downtown.

Eligibility is open to all professional artists or artist teams residing in the state of Texas who have developed experience and knowledge while successfully working with project design teams, including engineers, contractors, community stakeholders, and City officials. Artists will be required to perform extensive local research and work with a project design team consisting of engineers, contractors, and City officials. The total project budget is $30,000 design fee, including travel, all design development expenses, and fabrication oversight. Fabrication costs will be part of the bridge construction budget. Up to three finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium to cover costs for proposal development and travel and per diem for an interview with the artist selection panel.

Submission requirements include a letter of interest, current resume, and six (6) images of completed past artworks with title, dimensions, medium, year of completion, a three-sentence description, and value or budget amount for insurance purposes. Images must be sized to 1920 pixels horizontal by 1920 pixels vertical, in Baseline JPEG format, no more than 1.8 MB in file size. Applications must be submitted through the Call for Entry (CAFÉ) online application system. The RFQ application deadline is October 21, 2010. Interviews are scheduled for November 2010, with proposals due in January 2011. Selection criteria are based on artistic merit, context, relevant experience, permanence/maintenance, technical feasibility, budget, and fabrication and installation schedules.