RI State Council on the Arts Fire Academy Public Art Commission

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to working artists from New England and New York. Students are not eligible to apply. The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts seeks to commission artwork for the Rhode Island Fire Academy through Rhode Island's Public Art Law, which mandates that 1% of all state capital construction and renovation funds be allocated to the purchase and maintenance of public art.

The Rhode Island Fire Academy, located at 4 Green Lane, Exeter, RI 02822, serves the training needs of Rhode Island's 6,000 volunteer and career firefighters. The newly completed classroom/office building is a single-story, modern facility featuring a 3,550-square foot main structure with secure entry, equipment storage, a 15,000 square foot training pad, and an 8,100-square foot classroom/office building. Approximately 2,000 people annually come through for instruction. The commissioned artwork should explore themes of commitment, dedication, camaraderie, and bravery, and should be uplifting for students, working firefighters, and their families.

Two possible sites for 2D artwork exist within the main classroom/office building: a main daylight-filled hallway wall leading to locker rooms (windowed on one side, viewable inside and outside), and a wall on the right as you enter through the main entrance double doors. The budget is $20,000 all-inclusive, covering engineer fees, permits, installation, lighting, and wiring. No restriction on media except electronics will not be considered. The work must be to scale for the selected sites. One artist or artist team will be commissioned.

Submissions must include six digital images of relevant artwork completed within the past ten years, current resumes for each artist, and brief descriptions of potential site-specific proposals. Three finalists will be selected and paid an honorarium of $500 each to develop detailed proposals including itemized budgets, scale models, renderings, and in-depth project descriptions. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EST. All applications must be submitted via CaFÉ (www.callforentry.org) in digital format. No hard copy materials will be accepted.