Moscone Expansion Project Art Enrichment

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS/ REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Issue Date: February 2, 2015

APPLICATION DEADLINE
EXTENED TO Monday, May 18, 2015, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

Applications are available through SlideRoom (https://sfgov.slideroom.com), an online application system for calls for entry. There is no charge to artists for using SlideRoom. Please be sure to allow adequate time to submit your application as technical difficulties can occur. Applications that are mailed, emailed, faxed, or hand-delivered will not be considered. Applications will not be accepted after the May 18, 2015, 11:59 p.m. (PST) deadline.

Please note that Arts Commission staff will be available to answer questions about this call until 5 p.m. (PDT) on the deadline date, May 4, 2015.

SlideRoom technical support is available Monday – Saturday by email until 8 p.m. (CST). support@slideroom.com.

PROJECT BUDGET
There are two budgets for the commissioning of new artwork or purchase of existing artwork for Moscone Center. The total budget for each opportunity is inclusive of all artist's fees and associated expenses for design, fabrication, insurance, transportation and installation. The two budgets are:

Howard Street (1 sculpture)   $1,450,000

Park Bridge (several sculptures)    $400,000*

*Amount is to be divided between total acquisitions for Park Bridge

FINALIST HONORARIA
Finalists selected on the basis of an available artwork for either opportunity will be paid an honorarium of $2,000 (travel included) for participation in the selection process and panel interview. Finalists selected to develop proposals for a single sculpture for the Park Bridge opportunity will be paid an honorarium of $3,000 (travel included). Finalists selected to develop a proposal for a series of sculptures for the Park Bridge opportunity or a single large-scale sculpture for the Howard Street opportunity will be paid an honorarium of $5,000 (travel included).

ELIGIBLITY
Eligibility is open to professional, practicing artists who reside in the United States. Entries not meeting eligibility guidelines will be withdrawn from consideration.

MOSCONE EXPANSION BACKGROUND
Moscone Center, San Francisco's premier meeting and exhibition facility, is located in the city’s arts and culture district. Nearby institutions include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. The area is also an active residential neighborhood. The Moscone and Yerba Buena complex features two large gardens connected by a raised pedestrian bridge across Howard Street, the busy thoroughfare bisecting the convention campus. Both Moscone Center and Yerba Buena Gardens house a large collection of public art, including works by Keith Haring, Stephen deStaebler, Viola Frey, Jim Dine, Terry Allen, John Roloff, Hung Liu, and others.

The expansion project seeks to create an iconic public realm that increases Moscone’s civic presence, connecting it to the surrounding parks and neighborhood. As such, the project will replace the existing pedestrian bridge across Howard Street at Fourth Street with an expanded Park Bridge that will include landscaping and sculpture. The improvements will also enhance the pedestrian circulation and traffic flow along Howard Street. This new streetscape will include an opportunity for a highly visible large-scale sculpture located on the sidewalk just below the north end of the Park Bridge.  

PROJECT GOAL
The San Francisco Arts Commission’s goal is to promote enjoyment of Moscone’s public space through the permanent display of sculptures of the highest aesthetic quality. The artwork will also be made of durable materials suitable to an outdoor, urban location.

ART OPPORTUNITIES
The Howard North sculpture will be located on the north sidewalk of Howard near Fourth Street and is not to exceed a height of 50’.

Howard North Sculpture Location

Several sculptures will be sited along the length of the Park Bridge spanning Howard Street and connecting Yerba Buena Gardens’ Esplanade to its Children’s Garden. The sculptures will be a serial experience and may consist of distinct artworks acquired from different artists or a series of related work by a single artist. The project team will work with the artist(s) to finalize the bridge’s landscape and hardscape elements once the sculptures are selected.

Park Bridge Sculptures Location

ARTIST SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS

•             Complete application submitted prior to the application deadline.

•             Artwork examples submitted represent the artist’s own original creative work.

•             The artist’s work reflects artistic excellence, innovation and originality, as evidenced by professional quality of craftsmanship and mastery of skills, techniques; professional approaches to processes and presentation, and/or communicate a unique vision or perspective.

•             The artist’s work is judged to be appropriate to the project.

•             The artist's professional experience is adequate to meet the demands of the project. Qualifying activities would include some combination of the following: education and training as an artist, an exhibition record in museums and commercial art galleries, previous public or private commissions; participation in artist-in-residency programs, or other related activities indicative of a professional art practice.

•             The artist is available to participate in the design, approval and implementation of the project as required, with a minimum of 4 in-person visits with the San Francisco Arts Commission and project team.

•             Assessed ability to meet project deadlines and to perform work in a timely and professional manner.

•             Results of reference checks for project finalists.

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS
Professional, practicing artists residing in the United States are eligible to apply by submitting documentation (images and price) of available sculpture or a portfolio of past work representative of the scale and price of a new sculpture to be considered for these opportunities. Artists’ agents or galleries may submit on an artist’s behalf upon agreement by the artist.

Artist Qualification Panel: After the application deadline the applications will be reviewed by an Artist Qualification Panel to select a short list of qualified candidates to forward to the Artist Selection Panel for further review.

Artist Selection Panel: The list of qualified candidates will be presented to a selection panel. The panel will identify finalists (up to three finalists per sculpture location) who will be invited to propose available artwork for sale or to develop a conceptual proposal specific to the site. Finalists will be asked to attend an orientation session with the project team and key stakeholders.

Proposal Development Display: The finalists’ proposals will be on display for public comment near the project site and on the SFAC website prior to the final selection panel meeting.

Final Selection: The Moscone Expansion Project selection panel will reconvene to consider the finalists’ proposals in an interview format and will select the artwork or proposals for the project for recommendation to the Arts Commission.

Arts Commission Approval: The Artist Selection Panel’s recommendation will be submitted first to the Visual Arts Committee (VAC), a subcommittee of the Arts Commission, and then to the full Arts Commission for approval.

Public Meetings: All Arts Commission meetings and Public Art Selection Panel meetings are open to the public and are posted on the Arts Commission website at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. To check the meeting schedule for public art projects, please go to our website at: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/category/public-meetings/.

ARTIST SELECTION TIMELINE (dates subject to change)

RFQ/RFP Issued: February 2, 2015

RFQ/RFP Deadline: May 18, 2015

Qualification Panel: Early June, 2015

First Artist Selection Panel: Mid-June, 2015

Applicant Notification: Late June, 2015

Finalists’ Site Visit/Orientation: Early July, 2015

Finalists’ Proposals due: Early September, 2015

Public Display of Proposals: Mid-September, 2015

Final Artist Selection Panel: Late September, 2015

VAC Approval of Artists/Proposals: October 21, 2015

Arts Commission Approval: November 2, 2015

Artist under Contract: November, 2015

TO APPLY
All application materials must be submitted online via SlideRoom (https://sfgov.slideroom.com) by Tuesday, May 18, 2015, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Applications sent via email or post will not be considered. Application materials include:

Resume

•             25,000 characters maximum.

•             If you are applying as a team, please include your team/studio resume. If that is not available, please combine the individual resumes (one right after the other) of each team member into one document.

Letter of Interest

•             5,000 characters maximum.

•             This should be a summary of your artistic focus and professional career, especially as your background relates to your qualifications for this project. Do not make a specific proposal for a new commission.

10 images of previous work

•             SlideRoom accepts jpg, png, and gif files up to 5MB. Images should at least 72 dpi and no larger than 1500 x 1500 pixels

•             For a team application, please indicate the lead artist for each project.

Image descriptions

•             When you upload your images, SlideRoom will prompt you to fill out image descriptions. Please include the title, medium, dimensions, price or commission budget if applicable,  and year for each work. You may also include a brief statement (2 sentences maximum) about each work.

There is no application fee to apply or to use the SlideRoom online application system. To view the application, go to https://sfgov.slideroom.com/ (no “www”) and sign up for an account.

FOR SLIDEROOM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Applicants can receive SlideRoom technical support by emailing support@slideroom.com, or by accessing the online help desk: http://slideroom.besnappy.com/applicant-guide.

FOR QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RFQ
For questions regarding the Moscone Expansion Project Art Enrichment RFQ, contact Zoë Taleporos, Public Art Program Associate by email at zoe.taleporos@sfgov.org, or by phone at (415) 252-3215.

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ADDITIONAL POLICIES

Rights Reserved by the Arts Commission
The City reserves the right to not accept any applications, to not accept any artist recommended by any of the selection panels, to initiate an alternate Selection Process, or to reissue the RFQ for additional pre-qualified artist candidates.

Proposal Board and Maquette Policy
In the event that you are asked to develop a proposal, the following policy will apply. The Arts Commission will:

•             At its sole discretion, have the unconditional right to own proposal maquettes or drawings selected for implementation as part of commission awards or may alternatively choose to retain all such maquettes until the project is complete.

•             Retain first right of refusal to purchase proposal maquettes and drawings submitted by the artists not selected for implementation.

•             Be given credit upon display and/or reproduction of any maquette or proposal commissioned, whether selected for implementation or not.

•             Require that all proposals and/or maquettes submitted are original and unique.

Local Business Enterprise Goals and Participation
The requirements of the Local Business Enterprise (LBE) and Non-Discrimination in Contracting Ordinance set forth in Chapter 14B of the San Francisco Administrative Code (collectively the “LBE Ordinance”) shall apply to this RFQ. The artist selected may be required to subconsult a percentage of the total value of the contract to a subcontractor certified by the Contract Monitoring Division (CMD), and submit documentation of the good faith outreach efforts required by Chapter 14B. The City strongly encourages proposals from qualified LBEs, and a ratings bonus will be in effect for the award of this project to any proposers certified as a CMD LBE. All contractors and subcontractors awarded contracts are required to use the Elation secure web-based Local Business Enterprise Utilization Tracking System (LBEUTS) to submit payment information. More information on CMD certification and requirements can be found at http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=6711, or contact Lupe Arreola, CMD Compliance Officer for the Arts Commission at 415-581-2306, or at lupe.arreola@sfgov.org.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Benefits Ordinance
The City and County of San Francisco, in its effort to provide equality of opportunity and equality of benefits, requires that individuals and businesses doing business with the City comply with Sections 12B and 12D of the Administrative Code. This requires that if you are an employer, and if you provide health or other benefits to the spouses of your employees, you must provide equal benefits to the registered domestic partners of your employees. This section also requires demonstration of good faith efforts to hire local disadvantaged business enterprises. More information on these policies may be found at:  http://www.sf-hrc.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/sfhumanrights/docs/over12b.pdf

Americans with Disabilities Act
The selected artist(s) will be required to comply with Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements in addition to related federal, state and locals codes and will be encouraged to develop artwork(s) sensitive to programmatic as well as physical accessibility issues in cooperation with the Arts Commission and disabled communities.

Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO)
(This requirement only pertains to artists who have over 20 employees, or artists who may have their artwork fabricated by a company with over 20 employees.) The selected artist(s) will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO), as set forth in S.F. Administrative Code Chapter 12P. Generally, this Ordinance requires contractors to provide employees covered by the Ordinance who do work funded under the contract with hourly gross compensation and paid and unpaid time off that meet certain minimum requirements. For the contractual requirements of the MCO, see paragraph 42 of the Ordinance. Additional information regarding the MCO is available on the web at: http://www.sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=403.

Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO)
(This requirement only pertains to artists who have over 20 employees, or artists who may have their artwork fabricated by a company with over 20 employees.) The selected artist will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO), as set forth in S.F. Administrative Code Chapter 12Q. Artists should consult the San Francisco Administrative Code to determine their compliance obligations under this chapter. Additional information regarding the HCAO is available on the web at www.sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=407.

Required Forms and Contracts
In addition to the proposal MOU, as part of the City’s contracting process, the artist selected and approved by the Arts Commission will be asked to enter into contract with the City and County of San Francisco for the entire duration of the project. Artist applicants should review the Arts Commission standard template contract which can be found on the Arts Commission website:  http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/documents/pa03-sample-artist-contract/. While some items specific to individual projects such as scope of work, payment schedule and schedule of deliverables may be negotiated, the terms of the contract will not be changed. Depending upon the specific scope of the project, prior to the issuance and throughout the duration of the contract, the artist will also be required to maintain a San Francisco business tax license, go through the Vendor set- Non-Discrimination and Equal Benefits Ordinance

The City and County of San Francisco, in its effort to provide equality of opportunity and equality of benefits, requires that individuals and businesses doing business with the City comply with Sections 12B and 12D of the Administrative Code. This requires that if you are an employer, and if you provide health or other benefits to the spouses of your employees, you must provide equal benefits to the registered domestic partners of your employees. This section also requires demonstration of good faith efforts to hire local disadvantaged business enterprises. More information on these policies may be found at:  http://www.sf-hrc.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/sfhumanrights/docs/over12b.pdf

All information contained herein does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract, and these provisions are subject to change.