RI State Police Headquarters Public Art Commission

Request for Qualifications for a public art commission to design, fabricate and install a bronze statue of a state trooper in full uniform for the exterior entrance of the new Rhode Island State Police Headquarters at 311 Danielson Pike, North Smithfield, RI. The sculpture will be visible to those entering the facility and to vehicular traffic in the front parking area and on Smithfield Pike. The installation pad is 75 feet wide and 25 feet deep. Electricity for lighting is accessible; there is no water access. No sound installations or kinetic work will be commissioned.

The commission carries on a tradition reflecting the iconic nature of protectors and the Greco-Roman military tradition. The sculpture should honor the State Police force and echo the intent of a ceremony held during National Police Week involving retired personnel and their families. Panelists emphasized that the trooper should be alive and vibrant, with important facial expression, and noted that the idea of a lone trooper is powerful. This piece should not be a memorial with officer names; troopers are memorialized in the museum located on site.

Total budget: $160,000, inclusive of all costs for fabrication, installation, transportation, artist's fees, engineer's fees and site preparation. RFQ submission deadline: December 8, 2009, 5:00pm. Semi-finalists will be notified by mid-January 2010 and invited to a preparatory site visit. Finalists will present full proposals in February 2010 and receive an honorarium of $1,500. Open to all visual artists. RISCA council members, staff, family members, and art selection panelists and their family members are excluded from participation. Submissions consist of current resume, written proposal statement (not to exceed 2,000 characters), and six digital images of relevant work completed within the past five years.