Thursday, February 22, 2007

Opportunities in Other Cities

Las Vegas
2 projects

Longmont, Colorado
The Art in Public Places Commission of the City of Longmont is pleased to
announce the Call to Artists for Phase I of the Mid Town Redevelopment
Project
.

Utah
The Utah Public Art Program announces a new call for
qualifications and a letter of interest from artists and/or artist
teams interested in creating site-specific art for the new Digital
Learning Center at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. It is the
intent of the committee to commission art for this new facility that
is part of the College focus on modern, contemporary culture and
media.
The total budget is $313,000. The deadline is April 27, 2007. The full RFQ is available on our web site at this link.

The University of Central Arkansas

Budget: $500,000 inclusive
Deadline: March 17, 2007
Request for Qualifications from artists or artist teams interested in creating a new site-specific, outdoor public artwork for Alumni Circle Plaza. View the RFQ at http://www.uca.edu/publicart. Contact: Dr. Gayle Seymour 501-450-3295; e-mail: gayles@uca.edu

City of Wilmington, DE: Justison Landing Redevelopment Project
Deadline: March 23, 2007
Budget: $200,000 – not-to-exceed $500,000
The City of Wilmington in conjunction with the Riverfront Development Corporation, Public Arts Committee, Delaware Department of Transportation, and Riverfront Design Team is seeking artists or artist teams to participate in a competitive design process for the creation of a public sculpture. This sculpture will serve as the focal point of a newly designed urban plaza, which is part of Justison Landing, a new 33-acre urban redevelopment on the Christina River. Interested artists or artist teams are invited to submit their qualifications, in required format, to the selection committee no later than March 23, 2007. Please address all questions regarding the RFQ in writing via email by March 9, 2007 to the Wilmington Riverfront Sculpture Committee Coordinator at sscarfone_oasis@attglobal.net.

West Palm Beach, FL Gateway Park-Public Art Competition
Budget: $199,000
Deadline: March 28, 2007
The City of West Palm Beach is commissioning a site- specific work of public art for Gateway Park situated on the approach to downtown West Palm Beach. Artists or multi-disciplinary teams are invited to submit proposals which demonstrate their ability to create a site-specific Work that will become a signature brand for the City. www.cityofwpb.com/Purchasing/opportunities.php

New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), State Parks Division
Budget: Up to $50,000
Deadline: April 20, 2007
The EMNRD, State Parks Division wishes to commission an interior mediation pedestal and sculpture for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park Peace and Brotherhood Chapel located at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, north of Angel Fire, NM (27 miles east of Taos). The artwork will be the focal point of the interior of Chapel. The concept and impression to be embodied and conveyed by this artwork is based on honor, tranquility, healing, peace and brotherhood to all mankind. This was the first major Memorial established in the United States to honor Vietnam veterans and has drawn worldwide attention as a place of healing for those affected by the Vietnam conflict. See www.nmparks.com for complete RFP information Deliver or mail to: Sharon Schultz, State Parks Division (EMNRD), Marketing Section, 141 E. De Vargas Santa Fe, NM 87501 Telephone (505) 827-1472

Portland, ME Turnpike Authority Headquarters
Budget $100,000
Deadline: April 25, 2007
The Maine Turnpike Authority is calling artists to submit proposals to design, execute and install artwork at its new headquarters to be located at the intersection of Congress Street and the Airport Connector Road in Portland, Maine, I-95 EXIT # 46. Contact Donna McNeil, Assistant Director at the Maine Arts Commission with questions at donna.mcneil@maine.gov, 207/287-2726

Save the Date!

Thursday, April 5, 7:00 PM

The UrbanArt Commission will host public artist Tom Otterness at a lecture at the University of Memphis Rose Theater, 470 University Ave.

Tom Otterness, a high profile public artist whose amusing cartoon-like figurative sculptures have been seen lining the city streets of New York and many metropolitan cities, will conduct a public slide lecture and begin a dialog on the importance of public art, focusing on how college and school campuses across the nation have embraced public art.




This program is being funded by an ABC Grant from the Memphis Arts Council.

Job in Texas

This just in from Amy Gill at the City of Fresno, TX:

City of Frisco, TX seeks Public Art Manager to administer the City Public Art Program and implement Master Plan. Will develop and implement annual work plans; oversee the acquisition, maintenance and conservation of the collection and the development of new programs and projects for public education and community enrichment. Applications and resumes requested by 3/2/07. Please visit this link and follow application procedures listed on website.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Public Art Conference in Vegas, Baby

The UrbanArt Commission has attended the Public Art Network's public art pre-conference pretty much every year in our 9-year existence. The folks at Americans for the Arts, the parent organization of PAN, are doing things a little differently this year and incorporating public art into their main conference. Sounds fun! And it's in Las Vegas!

Other conferences that we've attended have been in Austin, Milwaukee, Washington DC, New York City, and even up the street in Nashville. They usually include lots of case studies of projects that public art geeks like us just eat up. And the public art tours are fun, usually great to see, and sometimes let us know just how well we're doing.

One of the best features is the Year in Review, a juried selection of the best public art of the past year. Some of our projects have been awarded this honor, including the Cooper Young Trestle by Jill Turman, Roof Like a Liquid Flung Over the Plaza (at the Cannon Center) by Vito Acconci and Acconci Studios, Untitled bathroom sculptures by John Salvest, and Explicitus est Liber (at the Central Library, and pictured below) by Brad & Diana Goldberg and Garrison Roots. We can't wait to see what's picked this year!

Fire! Water!

This past Sunday there was a fire in the office above ours and eighteen hours after it was put out, we came in to survey the damage. Though it seemed like everything was wet, not everything was ruined. Whew.

We moved to temporary space on the 5th floor of our building, so if you are looking for us, no we did not skip town, we are just upstairs.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The UrbanArt Commission Welcomes You

UrbanArt Commission (UAC) is a non-profit organization committed to creating a dynamic, nurturing, vibrant community through art and design.

UrbanArt the blog is here to share information and encourage discussion about what the UrbanArt Commission is up to, and what the rest of the public art world is up to.

It's our job to keep you, the public, informed because, well...it's public art! There are only so many emails you want to see in your electronic mailbox and only so much paper you want to see in your actual mailbox. With a blog, you can come to us when you need a little fix on what the UAC is up to or you're looking for information about programs around the country. Besides, blogs are fun, and very 2007. Maybe one day you'll be seeing us on YouTube!