RFQ for Creative Placemaking

The City of Sugar Land, Texas requests artists or artist teams submit a statement of qualifications, letter of interest and other materials for the commission of projects through the Creative Placemaking Program, #AllinforSLTX, a program to aid local small businesses.

The goal of the Creative Placemaking Program is to increase resiliency for small businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and provide local residents with vibrant, creative spaces that encourage patronage. Examples of proposed work meeting the goals of the project could include sun shelters, parklets, outdoor light installations that make an area more welcoming, projections, and concepts that permit businesses (including food service, retail and service-based businesses) to extend their reach to outdoor spaces. Artists working in any medium are eligible to apply. Designs that reflect the history and culture of the City of Sugar Land are encouraged.

Depending on the size and complexity of the work, projects will fall in one of the following budget ranges: A. $15,000 - $25,000; B. $25,001 - $50,000; C. $50,001 - $150,000. The artist's budget will include all artist fees and costs associated with design, fabrication, travel, transportation to the site, site preparation, insurance, permits, installation, shipping and transportation of materials to the site, protective coating (if applicable), any equipment needed for installation, any applicable taxes, time spent in progress meetings, and any other costs incurred by the artist for this project. Artists will be required to participate in one Meet the Artist type event. Payments for selected projects will be made directly to the artist using the following schedule: 20% of total agreed upon fee when contract is signed; 30% after the work is initiated; 50% upon completion.

The City of Sugar Land plans to select approximately 2-5 projects for this program. This is a two-phased selection process. Phase 1 applications will be juried based on economic impact, artistic excellence, professional experience, experience working on projects of similar scale, and health and wellness considerations. Artists selected to move on to Phase 2 will be given a specific site and asked to develop a detailed proposal and will be paid a $500 stipend upon submission of all required materials.

Eligibility: Artist(s) must be over 18 and permitted to work in the United States. Staff members, board members, advisory board members, City Council members and/or family members of City of Sugar Land are ineligible to apply. Public art experience is required.

Submission requirements include: current CV/resume (one per team member); letter of interest limited to two pages describing approach to work, experience in proposed medium, and how the project could assist small businesses; estimated project budget specifying budget range; images of three to five previously completed works (up to 10 images total, with two to three views of each piece); image identification list for each submitted image; brief description of intended proposed materials, the work itself, and required maintenance; and optional support materials (up to three selections such as reviews or news articles).

Work sample requirements: minimum 5 images, maximum 10 images; up to 5 audio files; up to 5 video files; total samples minimum 5, maximum 10. Video and audio files should be limited to no more than three minutes in length.

Timeline: RFQ issued February 26, 2021; RFQs due April 8, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. MST; applications reviewed April 19-30, 2021 with Phase 2 artists notified; RFP released for Phase 2 artists May 3-7, 2021; Phase 2 proposals due June 7, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. MST; proposals reviewed July 6, 2021; installation can begin August 1, 2021; target project completion date December 31, 2021.

Applications may only be submitted electronically through CaFÉ. All materials must be received by 11:59:00 p.m. MST on Thursday, April 8, 2021. Late submissions will not be reviewed. Permanent and short-term work will be considered. For persons with disabilities needing reasonable accommodations, please contact Suzanne Fernandez Gray at [email protected].