REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS – DRAFT (as of 8.14.13)
Release Date: Monday, September 4, 2013
Budget : $60,000-100,000
Deadline : Monday, September 30, 2013
Eligibility : National: Artists currently living in the United States of America.
Scope of Work
The Binghampton Development Corporation in partnership with the UrbanArt Commission, the
Broad Avenue Arts District and Livable Memphis are inviting artists/teams to apply for the
Discover Binghampton project, which will lead to the installation of four art exploration stations along the Overton-Broad Connector, a cycle track currently in design. Discover Binghampton is intended to add to the sense of local identity of the neighborhood. Each station will artistically reflect a story of the Binghampton Community. The goal is to offer an interactive art experience targeting people of all ages and backgrounds.
The commissioned artist/team will be selected based on previous experience with the design and production of exterior public art installations. Interactive art and or story reflection experience is preferred, but not required. Applicants are expected to have the technical capabilities to design and install such projects, including preparation of maintenance instructions. The finished project must require little to no regular maintenance. The selected artist/team will be expected to engage the community and collaborate closely with the project team, including site engineers, designers, and other parties as appropriate for the successful installation of the project. Commissioned artists may choose to work with outside contractors to fabricate the actual work of art.
This project is funded by an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private sponsors, including Iberia Bank. The UrbanArt Commission is facilitating the Project.
Site and Project Description
The four Stations will be located along the two-mile Overton Broad Connector (OBC), connecting Overton Park and the Shelby Farms Greenline, located in the Binghampton community. This connector links the eastern most communities of Shelby County to Overton
Park – the City of Memphis’ central urban recreational greenspace and cultural destination housing major Memphis cultural attractions, such as the Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis
Zoo and Memphis College of Art. Information regarding the OBC can be found on the Broad
Avenue Arts District website at http://www.broadavearts.com
and the Green Line Project blog at greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/the-overton-broad-connector .
Two Binghampton Exploration Station sites have been designated at either end of the green space fronting the Lester Community Center at 317 Tillman Street, one at 2835 Broad, and the forth one at the green space at the western terminus of Broad Avenue.
In addition to becoming a bicycling hub in the City, the Binghampton neighborhood has also continued to develop as an emerging arts district through the Broad Avenue Historic Arts
District. Broad Avenue, a major artery for the neighborhood, is home to several artist studios,
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art galleries, a dance collective, locally owned bicycle shop, restaurants, and a farmer’s market. The Broad Avenue Historic Arts District hosts semi-annual Art Walks as well as numerous art events throughout the year that bring visitors from around the City to the neighborhood. The District was recently awarded an ArtPlace America grant to develop a community-based performance center, which will also be adjacent to the OBC.
Binghampton History
Binghampton began as an independent and racially integrated rural Memphis town in the late
1800s and early 1900s. Annexed by Memphis in 1919 when the city's growth pushed to the east, Binghampton eventually came to be surrounded by more affluent neighborhoods. Today,
Binghampton is an extremely underserved and distressed neighborhood. This is largely the result of the planned Interstate 40, when this community was literally split in half. The decline was exacerbated by the building of Sam Cooper Boulevard in 2001, effectively removing traffic from Broad Avenue, the community’s major commercial/retail corridor.
However, the efforts over the past ten years have made a significant impact. The art exploration stations will serve as an additional catalyst to encourage utilization of the OBC and bring visitor to the neighborhood.
Demographics of the Binghampton Community
45% of residents live below poverty; 52% of heads of households are female; 39% are under the age of 18; and two neighborhood public schoo ls have been designated “failing” by the
State of Tennessee. 69% of residents are African American, 6% Hispanic/Latino, 2% Asian, and 3% other. Binghampton has a large refugee population from 12 different countries.
Budget
$60,000-100,000, all inclusive. Successful outcome of an ongoing fundraising campaign will determine a project budget above $60,000.
Projected Timeline
Monday, September 4, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
By Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
By Friday, November 22, 2013
Summer 2014
RFQ released
RFQ deadline
Finalists announced
RFP issued
RFP deadline
Artists interviews and artist commissioned
Installation
Artist Selection Process & Criteria
The Artist Selection Committee will select a short list of up to 3 finalists based on their applications; professional qualifications; ability to work within a budget and meet deadlines; and successful completion of other public art projects. One artist/team will be commissioned for the four stations.
Guidelines
Please review the UrbanArt Artist’s Handbook , for detailed instructions for applying to UrbanArt projects and how the selection process works. A copy may be downloaded from the ‘Artist’s
Toolkit’ section of the UrbanArt website – www.urbanartcommission.org
.
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Please submit the following materials online by following the “Discover Binghampton” link at www.urbanartcommission.org/open-projects:

Typed, letter explaining your interest in the project and your general approach/concept to its design and production. NOTE: this should not take the form of a formal design proposal, but rather a description of your methods for producing a design and finished project if selected.
 Résumé, not to exceed 2 pages.

Images of your work that are relevant to this project and are good representations of your style of work, 20 maximum. Proposals are not expected during this phase.

Image identification sheet with location, brief description, and project budget.

List of three professional references, including current phone and email.
 Complete applicant’s materials should be uploaded via the UrbanArt website only.
Hardcopy packets, digital files, and CD-Rs will not be accepted.
For more information please contact:
Siphne Sylve, Interim Director of Public Art
(901) 454-0474 / ssylve@urbanartcommission.org
Disclaimers
Applicants will be notified as to the status of their application. Commissioning of artists by UrbanArt and the pursuit of all UrbanArt activities are implemented without preference to racial or ethnic origins, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability or age.
UrbanArt reserves the right to modify this solicitation and to request additional information from participating artists.
UrbanArt reserves the right to accept or reject, at any time prior to the commissioning of a work, any or all proposals when the acceptance, rejection, waiver or advertisement would be in the best interest of the project. In addition,
The staff of UrbanArt will be responsible for all correspondence and communication by and between applicants and members of selection panels. Discussion regarding these projects by and between any applicant and any member of a selection panel outside of regularly scheduled meetings during the selection process may be grounds for the disqualification of the applicant. Such determination shall be in the discretion of UrbanArt.
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Overton-Broad Avenue Connector route, along which the four Exploration Stations will be installed.
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