Sculpture for Roanoke Virginia 811/E-911 Center

The City of Roanoke is accepting applications from artists or teams of artists for a permanent sculpture to be placed on the plaza at the new Virginia 811/E-911 Center located at 1830 Blue Hills Circle, NE, Roanoke, VA 24012. The Center will house dispatch for both protection of the state's underground utilities and emergency calls.

The artwork should respond to or illustrate the themes of "Safety, Care, Service, Communication, and Partnership." The sculpture should help create a place of inspiration, meditation and rejuvenation for the employees of the 911 and 811 call centers, as well as for the citizens of Roanoke. The City is seeking artwork made of durable materials suitable for outside elements and temperature changes, as impervious to vandalism as possible, and requiring little or no maintenance. A circular pad up to 20 feet in diameter is planned in the site design in front of the main entrance plaza. An appropriate height is estimated at 10 to 15 feet above the pad (potentially including a plinth), or massing is approximated at 5 cubic feet.

This is a two-step qualifications-based competitive negotiation process. Full qualifications must be received by November 8, 2019. Up to four Qualified Offerors will be invited to submit proposals for the second step, or an existing piece may be chosen. The not-to-exceed budget is $25,000, which includes all artist fees, materials, fabrication, shipping, installations, accommodations and travel. Those selected as finalists but not awarded a contract will receive a set fee of $1,000. The selected artist will be required to present a final design proposal and/or maquette to the Roanoke Arts Commission and Roanoke City Council for review and approval prior to fabrication. Installation is planned for February 2020. Costs associated with transporting and installing the work are the responsibility of the artist, though limited assistance from the Public Works Department is available on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility is open to all artists and artist teams, age 18 and over, who are residents of the United States. Application materials must include a current résumé, an artist statement addressing your vision for this project and how you will capture the themes, up to 10 images of prior work executed within the last seven years with a descriptive list including dimensions and budget, and a minimum of two references with complete contact information from individuals you have worked with in the last five years. You will be notified by email of application status by November 18.