RFQ submission deadline:
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (EST)

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
Request For Qualifications
Public Art for the Wickford Junction Station,
North Kingstown, RI

Request for Qualifications

Wickford Junction Station

North kingstown, Rhode Island

Budget: $315,000

Deadline: Friday, may 4, 2012, 5:00 pm eastern

Artwork for the facade and grounds of the Wickford Junction Train Station, 1051 Ten Rod Road, North Kingstown, RI, will be commissioned through Rhode Island’s Public Art Law, which mandates that 1% of all state capital construction and renovation funds be allocated to the purchase and maintenance of public art.  Through this program the State recognizes that “public art creates a more humane environment: one of distinction, enjoyment, and pride for all citizens.” 

THE PARTNERS

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is responsible for a diverse transportation system of more than 1,100 miles of roads and approximately 800 bridges that provides a variety of convenient, cost-effective mobility opportunities for people and the movement of goods to support economic development and improved quality of life.

Established in 1967, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) is charged by the state legislature to stimulate public interest and participation in the arts and to serve as the liaison to the state arts community.

THE STATION

Wickford Junction is a train station on Ten Rod Road, (Route 102) in North Kingstown on the Northeast Corridor, extending the Providence/Stoughton Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail south from Providence. It will serve local commuters to Providence and Boston, Massachusetts. The new station will have a park and ride garage and is part of a $336 million project that includes the new T. F. Green Airport station. It has one 840’ platform. There are 1100 parking spaces in the garage.

Ground was broken for the new station on August 18, 2010 and service is expected to start in spring 2012 with eight trains in each direction per day[9] Travel time to Providence will be 25 minutes; time to Boston will be approximately 100 minutes. Some 80% of the 1700 riders per day projected for the extension to T.F. Green and Wickford are expected to board at Wickford Junction.[10]

The name, "Wickford Junction," comes from a previous station in the same area that also served the now-abandoned branch to Wickford Landing.[4] The previous station was served by a state-subsidized Providence-to-Westerly commuter train starting in 1972, and later by Amtrak's Beacon Hill from 1978 to 1981.

For more information: http://www.dot.state.ri.us/intermod/index.asp#Wickford

THE PROJECT

• ·      Panelists chose one, two or three of three possible sites for the commission: an 11’ high by 9’ wide panel on the side of the station tower; exterior parcels bordering Route 102; and/or the center oval of land in front of the station. Panelists felt that it makes sense to offer the site bordering Route 102 as a teaser that pulls riders into the station and then include the possibility of artwork that offers a more personal experience as you get on the train, situated either on the tower or on the oval in front of the station. They are interested in the possibility of artwork that creates a relationship between the sites.
• ·      Maintenance and durability are an important component for this exterior commission.
• ·      Stationary work is preferred over kinetic; if work is kinetic, extra attention to durability, longevity and minimal maintenance requirements will be critical
• ·      Interactive - A digital, wireless piece could be considered, but artists might also offer a piece that includes  interactive buttons, touch screen, or other electronic/technological means that viewers push or touch to connect with information about the history of rail travel. They are possibly interested in work that includes an educational component or a community component.  Artwork can be traditional or multisensory – considering visual, aural, and/or tactile experiences.
• ·      The history of North Kingstown and the history of transportation should be the focus of the commissioned work. The work might manifest itself in traditional forms, such as murals, mosaics or sculpture, or it might be commissioned in the form of an interactive technological artwork.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Please note: This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is the first step in the public art selection process.  This is a preliminary round. If you are chosen as a finalist, you will then be asked to provide many more specifics.

RISCA will conduct the Wickford Junction Station application process online, with all materials submitted in digital format through CaFÉ (see below). There is no charge to the artist for applying or for submitting digital images.   At this preliminary selection stage, we are requesting submissions from artists or art teams consisting of six (6) images representing current work (completed within the past ten years), resumes, and very brief descriptions of potential site-specific proposals.  

If an artist wants to apply as an individual as well as part of a team, two separate CaFÉ profiles and two separate CaFÉ applications must be completed (i.e., one application submission for you and one application submission for your team).

Applications consisting of six images, answers to designated questions, and resumes will be reviewed by the public art selection panel to assess the quality and appropriateness of the artist's work, interest in their proposal idea, and the artist’s ability to carry out a substantial public art commission.

Applicants are asked only to provide a short description of their proposal for artwork at the site along with a rough outline of expenses for the design and construction totaling no more than $315,000. Three finalists will be selected from the pool of RFQ applicants and those finalists will craft detailed proposals including an itemized budget, scale models and renderings, and an in-depth project description. For this they will each be paid an honorarium of $2,500. This stipend includes all travel expenses: hotel, transportation, mileage, etc., for both the site visit and the subsequent presentation meeting. Finalists will not be reimbursed separately for any travel costs.

No slides or hard copy materials will be accepted for this call. First time CaFÉ applicants must allow enough time to prepare their CaFÉ formatted digital images and electronic submission prior to the deadline. CaFÉ surveys have shown that it takes approximately 2-4 hours to prepare images and submit an online application, dependent on a variety of factors.

Each application must be submitted via the CaFÉ (tm) web site (www.callforentry.org) and must include:

• 1.                         A current resume for each artist. If you are applying as a team, include all team member resumes within one document.  

• 2.                         Six digital images of relevant artwork. In the Description of Image, accompanying image annotation must list media, size, title, date of completion and a brief description of the artwork if necessary.  Please do not present more than one view of artwork per image.  If you wish to show a "detail", include it within the six (6) artwork images.

• 3.                         A written statement, not to exceed 3000 characters, that addresses the artist's/team's preliminary concept or potential approach for creating site-specific public art for the Wickford Junction Station, as well as the proposed project budget.  At this stage, the artist’s budget should simply list anticipated cost of the installed work, anticipated administrative costs, and whether or not artists will charge the full $315,000.

ESTIMATED TIMELINE

May 4, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) Deadline for submissions

Early June 2012: panel meeting for selection of finalists; artist notification

July 2012: Finalist site visits

September 2012: Finalist presentations to selection panel; panel selects commissioned artist

September 2012: Final approval by RISCA Council

TBD: Contract signed

TBD: Work installed and completed

According to law, recommendations of the selection panel will be presented to the governing council of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts who will have final approval of the public art selection.

Finalist’s site-specific proposals should convey artist’s ideas and plans through designs, renderings and/or scale models with a statement that describes the project's intent, proposed materials, fabrication and installation methods, and an itemized budget. Artists chosen as finalists are also asked to explain how their artwork will be sourced and fabricated.  The finalists will be supplied with plans, photographs, and specific information about the Wickford Junction Station. A site visit as well as a meeting with the architect and the Station administration will be scheduled for the finalists.  An honorarium of $2,500 will be awarded to the finalists following presentation of their proposals. The proposals will remain the property of the artist. However, RISCA reserves the right to retain proposals for up to one year for display purposes and the right to reproduce final proposals for documentation and public information purposes.

The Public Art Selection Panel reserves the right to determine which proposal will be funded and the extent of funding. The panel also reserves the right to not accept any final proposal submitted. If the recommendations of the Public Art Selection Panel are approved by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the selected artist/s will enter into a contract with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for the selected commission. The accepted artwork will be owned and maintained by the State of Rhode Island.

The commission process can be lengthy. It is within the purview of RISCA and the other commissioning agencies to request changes in the original proposal.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The panel will select the artist based on the following criteria:

• ·        Artistic Quality: Quality and suitability of the final proposal in relation to the project description, program goals and site descriptions.
• ·        Ability of the Artist/Artist Team: The artist's ability to carry out the commission, to keep the project within budget and to complete and install the work on schedule.
• ·        Value: The quality and scope of the proposed completed work in relation to the commission and fees paid to the artist/artist’s team.
• ·        Durability of the Work: Permanence and durability of materials for this heavily used public facility. It is the artist’s responsibility to ensure that all artwork meets safety standards, adheres to building codes and other state regulations. Artworks must be durable and require minimal maintenance.
• ·        Collaborative Spirit: Willingness of the artist to consult with community members, the architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, general contractor and building staff (or designated representatives) to assure smooth integration of the artwork into the site and to make necessary adjustments in relation to building codes and other construction issues.

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY

This call is open to all artists.  Applications may be submitted individually or in collaboration with others. The panel will not discriminate against any applicant artist on the basis of 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 Public Art Selection Panel members and their families.

If you have questions about the RFQ, email Elizabeth Keithline: Elizabeth.Keithline@arts.ri.gov.   

If you require technical support for CAFÉ, please email cafe@westaf.org