Tigard Outdoor Museum Major Works

The City of Tigard, Oregon and partner organization Tualatin Valley Creates seek qualified artists/artist teams to create original or significantly updated outdoor work(s) for the Tigard Outdoor Museum, a three-quarter-mile linear museum that will connect a new public plaza on Main Street in Downtown Tigard to employment and housing areas. Works may utilize varied media including but not limited to sculpture, mural, soundscape, and lightwork. Earthworks are not possible due to land constraints. This project is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town program.

The museum will artistically interpret the history of Tigard and the surrounding region through the common thread of rail (the museum will be located along a former railroad bed). This thread provides an opportunity to explore Native American displacement, migration patterns, the use and exploitation of immigrant labor, agricultural heritage, suburbanization and gentrification, and a variety of other themes in a way that reveals the rich and sometimes complicated palimpsest of history. Artists from historically underrepresented cultures and communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Artist(s) are encouraged to consider personal historical narratives from underrepresented communities when creating work(s). The city can provide existing research on these types of personal narratives, or artist(s) can do original research. Original research, if included explicitly in works, must be vetted by an outside party of city's choosing. Oregon Artist Suenn Ho will be creating a series of smaller interpretive works for the museum that more explicitly explore the themes listed above. The commissioned works should harmonize with the interpretive portion of the museum; however, the artist(s) commissioned for the larger installations will have artistic freedom to articulate their individual vision for the project.

No more than three works will be commissioned for the Outdoor Museum. Each work has a maximum budget of $35,000 which includes all expenses incurred from design, fabrication, transportation, installation, and artist fees. Artists who apply may indicate their interest/willingness to contributing one, two, or three works for the project. The work should be pedestrian scale. Artwork must be durable and free of materials that may be considered precious or fragile. All materials used in the fabrication and installation must be suitable to the outdoor setting with pedestrian, skateboard and bicycle traffic, and must be reasonably vandal-resistant. The artwork should be easily maintained, and must meet all public safety and accessibility requirements. The artwork must be appropriate for an all-ages audience. Application deadline is August 15, 2019. Notifications to selected artist(s) will be sent August 30, 2019. A site walk with project managers is scheduled for September (date TBD). Complete proposal of design(s) is due September 30, 2019. Confirmation of completed works is due April 15, 2020. Artwork(s) will be installed in May (date TBD) with an Outdoor Museum Reception in June (date TBD). There is no fee to apply. Applications must include a brief letter of interest (one-page), professional resume, three to five images of past relevant work with relevant descriptions, no less than three professional references, and an optional artist's statement. Proposals will be reviewed by a jury composed of City of Tigard staff, Tualatin Valley Creates staff and affiliates, community members, business owners, and other as deemed appropriate. Applications will be evaluated based on professional qualifications, proven artistic merit of prior relevant work, experience fabricating and installing permanent artwork suitable for the outdoor environment, project management experience, and experience working with local governmental agencies. For questions, contact Tualatin Valley Creates at 503-567-1713 or [email protected].