Request for Qualifications - Public Art for Various Durham County Buildings, RFQ No. 24-027

The County of Durham, North Carolina is seeking artists or artist teams to design and install permanent public artworks in collaboration with County departments and other organizations engaged in capital development projects across Durham County. Multiple artists will be commissioned for various project locations including Durham County Administration Building 1, the New 300 E. Main Street Parking Deck, the New 500 East Main Street Parking Deck, and the New Durham County Youth Home. Public art will be commissioned for the inside of both parking decks.

The East Main Street area has long been under-served, and the two parking deck/mixed-use projects are the beginning of a concerted effort to create a distinct neighborhood just east of the downtown core and to connect Main Street from East to West through downtown. This area is being planned to incorporate mixed uses, incomes, and modes of transportation.

Applicants must submit an artist statement describing their experience, discipline(s), and qualifications, along with visual representations of past artwork from at least three different projects. Each project file should include the title, location, cost, materials/medium, and timeline. Applicants must upload at least 15 images/video files/audio files (maximum 20 total, with up to 3 audio and 3 video files). A résumé for each artist/team member should include any public or private commissioning experience and community engagement experience. Three professional references or recommendation letters with contact information are required; artist teams may submit three references collectively. This RFQ is open to all North Carolina residents who are professional artists or designers, age 18 or older, and eligible to work in the United States.