San Jose Convention Center Public Art Commission

The San José Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program is seeking an artist or artist team to design, fabricate, and install an artwork as part of the renovation and expansion of the San Jose Convention Center. The project will be developed in partnership with a Silicon Valley technology partner, offering the commissioned artist an exceptional opportunity to utilize innovative technology. The artwork should represent core San Jose values such as sustainability, communication and technological innovation.

The Convention Center site is located at 150-170 West San Carlos Street in downtown San Jose, adjacent to the light rail transit corridor, parks, museums and hotels. The expansion will add approximately 130,000 square feet of new space. With over half a million conventioneers and community members moving through the facility annually, this is an opportunity for a large-scale iconic artwork. The City will partner with a technology and engineering partner to support the creation of a major permanent artwork using distributed screen networks, telepresence and/or similar technology. Artists familiar with interactive media and networked telepresence technology are encouraged to apply. Additional considerations may include: social networking, augmented reality, light, LED, video, kinetic, data mining and visualization, web-based interaction, gaming, and robotics.

The total project budget is $480,000, including $50,000 artist design fee, $400,000 for programming, fabrication and installation, and $30,000 contingency. Work sample requirements: 8 images (required), 0-2 videos, 8-10 total samples. Entry deadline: October 4, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. MDT.