Request for Qualifications
Rhode Island State Council On The Arts
Public Art Commission For the Rhode Island State Police Headquarters,
311 Danielson Pike, North Smithfield, RI, 02857-1907
Application Deadline: December 1, 2009
Completion Date:  Scheduled for fall 2010
Budget: $160,000
Introduction:
The Rhode Island State Police Force was founded in 1925 with the motto, “In the Service of the State.” They are a statewide law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in all 39 cities and towns. There are presently 215 sworn members and 51 civilian staff members. Their main charge is to enforce all motor vehicle and criminal statutes of the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island and to assist city, town and federal law enforcement agencies. To that end, their work ethic is reflected in the Division Creed as follows:
You are always to remember that you are in the Division of State Police and In the Service of the State. It is a call of honor. It requires unselfish devotion to duty, the highest type of honesty, and downright courage.
Please consult their website for additional information: http://www.risp.state.ri.us/
Project and Site Descriptions:
** The goal of this request for qualifications is to commission an artist to design, fabricate and install a bronze statue of a state trooper in full uniform for the exterior entrance at the front and center of the new State Police Headquarters in Scituate, Rhode Island. The sculpture will be visible to all those entering the facility, as well as vehicular traffic in the front parking area and on Smithfield Pike. The pad is 75’ wide and 25’ deep.
** The new headquarters are in the process of being built on the grounds of the pre-existing rural campus in North Scituate, RI.
** Landscaped elements and memorials are planned for other locations on the grounds.
** Electricity for the pad will be accessible to accommodate lighting. There is no water access. No sound installations or kinetic work will be commissioned.
** There is a 16 car front visitor parking lot and a parking along the road in the front of the building. Another lot for employees is in the back south corner.
 

The Work
** The commission carries on a tradition that reflects the iconic nature of the knight in shining armor, the Greco-Roman military tradition, the Roman soldier, the protector.
** Panelists do not want applicants to memorialize past officer’s names with text. Troopers are memorialized in the museum located on the site: http://www.risp.state.ri.us/museum/. This piece should not be a memorial.
** A ceremony which takes place on the site during National Police Week involves retired personnel and their families. A sculpture that is installed on the pad should echo the intent of the ceremony as it serves to honor the force.
** Panelists related the following comments to the commission:
“The goal of the State Police is to make people feel safe. We work hard to protect our reputation”.
“Once you’ve taken your oath, you are in it for life”.
“You’re trained to think a little differently. Things that you do, when you’re retired, they still follow you”.
“We are always, at heart, uniformed officers”.
“The expression on the face (of the statue) will be important. The trooper should be alive, vibrant”.
“The idea of a lone trooper speaks volumes. We often have to go into things alone. The lone figure is powerful”.
 

Process
As dictated by RI State law, a five-member public art selection panel composed of a representative of the RI State Police, a community representative, two professional artists, and the project architect, met to discuss the RI State Police project and to formulate this RFQ.
Project Budget:
A total of up to $160,000 has been designated for the acquisition of exterior public art for the project.  Inclusive in this budget are all costs for fabrication, installation and transportation of artwork, as well as artist’s fees, engineer’s fees and site preparation.  The selected artist will be responsible for the management of the commission.
 
 
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) Submission Requirements:
 

Proposals for the Rhode Island State Police Headquarters public art commission will be submitted online through CAFÉ ™ at www.callforentry.org by the submission deadline of December 1, 2009. All materials must be submitted through CAFÉ ™.  There is no charge for this service. No slides or hard copy materials will be accepted.  First-time CAFÉ ™ applicants must allow ample time to prepare their proposals and digital images for electronic submission in accordance to CAFÉ ™ requirements in order to meet the deadline.  (CAFÉ ™ survey estimates approximately 1.5 hours to prepare images and submit applications via their system.)
 
Note:  If an artist would like to apply as an individual as well as part of a team, two separate applications must be submitted.
 
 

Submissions will consist of:
 

• Current resume of principal artist and of key assistants and/or subcontractors, if applicable. Teams must submit all resumes within one document.
• A written proposal statement not to exceed 2,000 characters specifying the site and describing the concept and materials, proposed budget and installation requirements;
• Six (6) digital images of relevant work completed within the past five years.  The following information must accompany each image:

·                  media
·                  dimensions (HWD)
·                  title
·                  brief description ~ include date of completion here
Note: If you wish to submit a “detail” image, it will be considered one of the six images allowed.
 
RFQ Finalist Selection Criteria:
 

The Rhode Island State Police Headquarters public art selection panel will review all submitted proposals in late December, 2009 and choose semi-finalists based on the following key criteria:

• Quality and suitability of applicant’s artwork in relation to project description, stated goals, and budget;
• Demonstrated ability of artists or teams to enter into a contractual agreement and complete contract agreement on schedule and within proposed budget;
• Demonstrated ability to address and meet all ADA standards, safety standards and other codes;
• Permanence and durability of artwork and minimum maintenance requirements.

 
 
Full Proposals:
 

Semi-finalists chosen by the public art selection panel will be notified by mid-January, 2010.  Concurrent with notification, a preparatory site visit to the Rhode Island State Police Headquarters will be arranged for each finalist by RISCA.  This will allow finalists to meet with the architects and project and construction managers in order to gain a better sense and understanding of the project scope.  Finalists will be asked to create a full proposal to be presented in person to the art selection panel in February, 2010.  This presentation should clearly convey the artist’s concept for artwork through plans, drawings, and/or scale models with a clear description of materials, fabrication, installation requirements (including engineering and other specifications), and overall project cost.   For their completed proposals, an honorarium of $1,500 will be awarded to each finalist. 
 
RISCA will be responsible for all travel and lodging arrangements and expenses, as well as a small per diem for both the preparatory site visit and the final presentation visit.
 
RISCA reserves the right to retain all artist proposal materials for up to one year and the right to reproduce final proposals for documentation and public education purposes.  The public art selection panel reserves the right to determine which proposals will be funded and the extent of funding for each commission and installation.  The panel also reserves the right to reject any final proposal submitted. Upon final approval by RISCA for the purchase of artwork, the selected artist(s) will enter into contract with RISCA. The completed artwork will be owned and maintained by the State of Rhode Island.
 
The final amount of money allocated for the Rhode Island State Police Headquarters project is up to the discretion of the Public Art Selection Panel. Any unspent funds from the commission will be allocated to future public art calls.
 
Deadlines for submission:
 

RFQ submission deadline: December 1, 2009, 5:00pm
Proposal review and finalist selection: late-December, 2009
Semi-finalist notification: by mid-January, 2010
Semi-finalist site visit:  TBA
Semi-finalist presentations: February, 2010
Finalist selection and notification: TBA
 
 
Artist Eligibility:
Open to all visual artists.  The panel will not discriminate against any applicant based on age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or physical challenges.  Excluded from participation are RISCA council members, staff and their family members, as well as, art selection panelists and their family members.
 
If you have questions regarding the submission of materials, or the scope of the project, please contact Elizabeth Keithline, elizabeth@arts.ri.gov. For CAFÉ ™ technical support contact cafe@westaf.org.

Electronic Lit Organization Seeks Conference Papers and Presentations
The Electronic Literature Organization’s Fourth International Conference and Program of Digitally Mediated Literary Art will be held June 3-6 at Brown University. This conference is being organized by ELO and the Brown University Literary Arts Program, who are inviting paper and presentation submissions for the conference. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, December 15.