University of Colorado Denver Academic Building Public Art Commission

The University of Colorado Denver, with assistance from Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), seeks to commission public art for the new Academic Building. The five-story building will provide 156,000 gross square feet of teaching and advising space, lounges, study spaces, and a café. Located at a busy intersection where the campus meets downtown Denver, the building will serve as a one-stop-shop for incoming students' needs, housing admissions, student affairs, disability services, and financial services, along with classrooms, flexible lecture halls, and event spaces. When completed in August 2014, the building will be a city and university landmark on Speer Boulevard.

The Art Selection Committee has identified three premier locations for public art: the Speer Boulevard Gallery (a two-story wall space on Level 1), the Café (walls and ceiling on Level 1), and the Auditorium Lobby (walls and ceiling on Level 2). Acceptable artwork types include wall and ceiling sculpture, murals in any media, and video. The public art budget is $145,000, which may be allocated to one or multiple artists. Selected semi-finalists will be invited to propose artwork and will receive an honorarium of $500-$1,000, with travel expenses reimbursed.

All applicants must be legal residents of the United States with skills and experience commensurate with completing a major public art installation. The Art Selection Committee may give preference to artists residing in Colorado. Applications must be submitted through CaFÉ by May 26, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. MDT and include six digital images of previously completed artworks, a résumé, a statement of interest (250 words or less), and responses to specified questions. No application fee is required. Semi-finalists will be notified the week of June 9, 2014, visit campus June 9-20, and present proposals the week of July 28, 2014. Artist contracts will be executed in August 2014.