RFQ for Outdoor Sculpture at Whitney Mesa BMX Track

The City of Henderson is seeking qualified artist/artist teams with prior outdoor sculpture experience to design and fabricate a site-specific sculpture with upcycled bicycles at the Whitney Mesa BMX Track. This well-loved and programmed track, both locally and nationally, has been named the fastest track in the United States by USA BMX. The track hosts competitive races, clinics, practices and leagues. The sculpture will be situated on the SE corner of the track, adjacent to the well-traveled Galleria Road and sidewalk, sited within the track's fenced area near the viewing and tent-staging zone.

This is a two-part selection process. From the RFQ application, up to 5 artists/artist teams will be selected to develop a full proposal. Finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium to develop a full proposal and may be required to present their proposal to the selection committee in person or via web conference. The Henderson Arts Advisory Commission will select finalists in both parts of the process. The selected artist/artist team will transform 40+ abandoned bicycles to create an outdoor sculpture that represents the unique characteristics of the Whitney Mesa BMX track, the BMX community, and visitors to the site. The artwork commission will be between $90,000 - $150,000 inclusive of all costs and fees for the artist to execute the project from design through structural engineering, permitting, fabrication, site preparation, and installation.

Applications must include: a one-page letter of interest stating why the Whitney Mesa BMX Track is meaningful and appropriate for the applicant's work with initial conceptual ideas; a two-page resume or curriculum vitae; six to ten images of past large-scale public art and infrastructure projects; an optional video edited to no more than two minutes; and an annotated image list including title, media, year completed, dimensions, location, project budget, timeline, and client or commissioning entity for each image or video. This opportunity is open to all professional artists and artist teams with prior outdoor sculpture experience, age 18 and above. Selection will be based on artistic excellence, artistic experience in crafting sculptures that creatively capture the theme and site, and community engagement with meaningful relationship of the artwork to the site, its stakeholders, BMX culture, and the Southern Nevada community. Expected timeline: RFQ Call opens July 28, 2025; RFQ Call closes September 4, 2025; RFQ Finalists selected October 6, 2025; Sculpture proposal due early-mid November 2025; Final sculpture selected by mid-January 2026; Sculpture to be completed and installed on site by June 30, 2026.