Robert Crown Community Center and Park Public Art Call

The City of Evanston is seeking public art proposals for the redevelopment of Robert Crown Community Center and Park, a 15-acre park located at the northeast corner of Main Street and Dodge Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. The facility will combine outdoor leisure and recreation with indoor ice rinks, community rooms, and a public library. The public art should be equally ambitious and community-based.

Proposed artwork should meet one or more of the following criteria: be community-based, create a destination for the park and center, be site-responsive and interactive, encourage activity, integrate with the architecture, improve the experience of residents and visitors, relate to diverse groups, be long-lasting and durable with minimal maintenance, and be appropriately scaled for public spaces. Potential installation areas include the main public entry hall/lobby, library, hardscape/parkland installations, architectural integration, and interactive landscape art. The budget for artwork cannot exceed $400,000 and must cover all expenses including design, labor, fabrication, materials, installation, permits, licenses, insurance, engineering, transportation, and delivery.

Applications are open to artists and artistic teams of all backgrounds and levels of accomplishment worldwide. Ineligible applicants include anyone receiving funds directly from the City of Evanston. Submissions must include artist resume(s), artist statement or letter of intent (one page maximum), and images/descriptions of proposed artwork with approximate dimensions. Up to 3 shortlisted teams will be invited to develop their proposals further and will receive a $2,000 stipend each. Selection will be based on aesthetic excellence, relevance, placement, community engagement, durability, public safety, public programming potential, past experience, and financial and technical feasibility. The submission deadline is October 12, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. MDT. Questions should be directed to [email protected] by September 14, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.