Request for Qualifications – Art in Public Places Opportunity Oregon State Police, Central Point, OR

The Oregon Arts Commission is accepting qualifications from artists or artist teams for a Percent for Art in Public Places opportunity at the Oregon State Police Office in Central Point. The OSP-Central Point Percent for Art project is a complete renovation and modernization of the whole facility. The OSP Central Point office is used by Patrol, Fish & Wildlife, Criminal Troopers, Dispatch, Evidence techs, professional staff, Forensic Lab, and Medical Examiner. The renovation is scheduled to be completed in early summer 2024.

Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, January 15, 2023.

Eligibility: Oregon professional artists and artist teams are eligible to apply. Artists from traditionally or currently underserved communities including (but not limited to) rural communities and communities of color are especially encouraged to apply.

Artists with current contracts for an artwork commission through Oregon’s Percent for Art in Public Places Program are not eligible to apply unless it has been at least two years since signing the commission contract.

Budget: The anticipated art budget for the project is $130,000.00. The budget includes artist fees, materials, fabrication, insurance, shipping, travel, installation, documentation and any other project costs.

About Oregon State Police and OSP-Central Point Percent for Art Project

The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a multi-disciplined organization that includes Patrol, Fish & Wildlife, Criminal Troopers, Dispatch, evidence technicians, professional staff, Forensic Lab, and Medical Examiner.

The OSP Central Point Office, initially constructed in 1996, housed the Southern Command Dispatchers (911), Detectives, Fish & Wildlife, and Forensics in the single-story square building in the center of the site along the Rogue Valley Highway. This project is a complete renovation of the office building in Central Point with a new addition. The existing building will remain to accommodate various Area Command departments as well as the Medical Examiner. The new and prominent two-story westward addition, the Forensics Lab and Dispatchers, who were originally in the back of the building, will relocate to new spaces in the front highway-facing side of the building. There will also be a gathering space for training and meeting. This space will occupy the white box that cantilevers over the south corner of the building to provide shade to the Forensics Lab windows and shelter to the pedestrian plaza and public building entry. The relationship between the training/meeting space above the building entry and the pedestrian plaza represents a connection between the police and the public they protect and serve. For this reason, the pedestrian plaza has been identified as a potential art zone.

OSP’s mission is to serve all people with a priority of safeguarding life, property, and natural resources by building upon a diverse, professional, and trustworthy workforce. Guided by its core values of compassion, honor, integrity, loyalty, and dedication, OSP seeks to deliver high- quality services that support and enhance public safety in the 21st Century. Central Point is a city located in southern Oregon. The city shares its southern border with Medford and is a part of the Medford metropolitan area.

Themes, Goals and Characteristics for the Art

The art selection committee has identified themes, goals and desired characteristics for the OSP-Central Point Percent for Art project. The selection committee seeks artwork that:

• Focuses on the agency’s core values (compassion, honor, integrity, loyalty, dedication)
• Contributes to a welcoming environment
• Encourages engagement, interaction, and curiosity
• References local community and fostering a positive connection between law enforcement and the general public
• Complements neighboring facility

Art Locations

The potential art zones are located in the pedestrian area of the building’s exterior. Images of the art locations are in the final pages of this document.

• Pedestrian Plaza. There are three locations between the parking lot and sidewalks and the building. Artists/artist teams may consider site-specific in one of the potential locations, or the artist/artist teams could create contingent works in more than one of the
• Public Building Entry: This location is near the Forensics Lab windows and near the public entry into the Artists/artist teams may consider integrated artwork in this location.

Selection Process

A selection committee for this project includes Oregon State Police employees and administrators, arts professionals, and the project design team, and is facilitated by an Oregon Arts Commission project manager. The committee will review submitted qualifications and select up to four (4) finalists.

The following criteria will be used to select finalists, based on the submitted materials:

• Appropriateness of scale, material (including long-term durability), and style of past work as they relate to the project values/goals and site.
• Artistic and technical quality of past work, including mastery of skills and techniques, communication of a unique artistic perspective, and/or consistent application of professional practices, conceptual framework or use of materials.
• Demonstrated ability of the artist to successfully complete artwork with a project timeline, limited budget and input from community stakeholders.

Finalists will receive $1,750.00 per artist/artist team to design and propose an artwork. The design proposal will include: a concept narrative, a description of materials and durability, visual representations of the proposed work, an estimated budget and a timeline. Finalists will present their proposal to the selection committee.

The selection committee will also consider an applicant’s experience with:

• Completion of two or more prior public and/or private artwork commissions with a minimum budget of $50,000.
• If you are an established artist emerging into public art without the above experience, in your letter of interest, address the reasons why you believe you are qualified for the opportunity and/or the steps you would take to ensure the successful completion of an architecturally integrated or large-scale artwork commission.

Anticipated Schedule

January 15, 2023         Submission of qualifications deadline

January 2023                Finalists notified

February 2023              Finalists virtual site visit

March 2023                  Design proposal presentations to selection committee*

March 2023                   Artist selection

April 2023                      Contracts awarded to selected artists Design, fabrication and installation schedule to be determined depending on scale and budget specific to the artwork

June 30, 2024              (On or before) Artwork installed and complete

*Presentations may be conducted virtually.

How to Submit Qualifications

To be considered for this opportunity, submit all required materials by 11.59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, January 15, 2023. Send the materials described below via a file share program of your choice to [email protected].

Artists currently on the Oregon Art in Public Places Artist Roster may use Roster application materials for this opportunity, with the addition of a letter of interest specific to this project.

Please email your letter to: [email protected] and indicate that you’d like your Roster materials to be used.

Application Materials

Letter of interest. As a PDF file named with “artist’s last name, first initial, letter” (garciamletter.pdf); limit 1 page.

1. Letter of interest. As a PDF file named with “artist’s last name, first initial, letter” (garciamletter.pdf); limit 1 page.
   • Describe your interest in this project and how your artwork and art-making process would be a good fit for the opportunity.
   • If you are an established artist emerging into public art, in your letter of interest address the reasons why you believe you are qualified for the opportunity, or the steps you would take to ensure successful completion of an architecturally integrated or large-scale artwork commission.

2. Resume. PDF or DOC format; name file with “artist’s last name, first initial, resume” (garciamresume.pdf); limit 2 pages. For artist teams, include resumes of each team member. Include complete contact information: street address, phone number,

3. Up to 10 Images of Past Work. JPG or PNG format; name files with: “artist’s last name, first initial, number that corresponds to the image information on the image list” (garciam01.jpg). File size: minimum 1200 pixels on the longest side and 5 MB

4. Image Descriptions. PDF or DOC format; name file with “artist’s last name, first initial, list” (garciam.pdf); limit 1 page. Provide a description for each image including:
   • Key details: title, location, cost/budget, date completed, materials, dimensions, commissioning agency (if applicable), project partners (if applicable);
   • Brief description of your vision or conceptual ideas for each

Assistance

For questions about the project and the application process, contact Oregon Arts Commission project manager Renee Couture: [email protected] or (541)580-9666.

The information in this RFQ is available in alternate formats upon request. For more information or assistance with the application process, contact Oregon Arts Commission project manager Renee Couture: [email protected] or (541)580-9666.

Oregon’s Percent for Art in Public Places Program

Managed by the Oregon Arts Commission, the Percent for Art in Public Places program places art in state buildings and public universities throughout Oregon. The collection, including more than 2,500 works of art, is searchable via Oregon’s Percent for Art in Public Places Collection website.