Shoreline Signals is proud to be funded through generous grants from The Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Project. It is hosted by the Great Outdoors Foundation and supported by Polk County, IA, Bravo Greater Des Moines, and ISG Engineering.
Request for artist’s qualifications
DEADLINE EXTENDED! SUBMIT QUALIFICATIONS BY 11/11/2020
Shoreline Signals Integrates with River Access Points to Combine Beauty, Safety, and Conservation
Part of the Central Iowa Water Trails initiative, Shoreline Signals will install at river access points across the larger Des Moines region. Artists are asked to create a repeatable prototype project that is interactive and performs two functions:
Beckon people to the river’s edge and
Advise river users of the water’s relative safety, including flow rate for paddlers and anglers. Water quality data for flow rates, nitrates, and other measures are available at a limited number of sites.
This is an ambitious and large scale regional initiative with a budget to match. We seek interest and qualifications from highly-qualified artists by Nov 3, 2020. Three artists (or teams) will be selected by mid-November to develop proposals.
TO APPLY
Review the RFQ and RFP documents—at this time we are only accepting qualifications. Be prepared to submit a short statement of your interest, three to five images of completed, relevant projects, your CV and your web site. To apply with your qualifications, respond to the call on Café.
Download the 2-page RFQ here. (pdf, 241kb)
For an expanded view of the information, download the RFP here. (pdf, 1.6Mb)
THE OPPORTUNITIES
Three unique sites are identified for activation. Installation of a prototype project in at least one of these sites will complete this phase of Shoreline Signals. Regional municipalities will then be able to work with the artist to install additional iterations of Shoreline Signals at up to 86 different river access points across Central Iowa. Because each municipality will have to pay for their own installations, successful proposals should offer a scalable solution, from an inexpensive ‘base model’ to a more spectacular installation that may be customized to each local community’s interests and needs.
BUDGET
Three artists (or teams) will be selected to develop proposals. Proposal development will be paid at $5,000 each plus a site visit travel stipend. The overall project has a generous artist fee and a fabrication budget of $75,000 for one or more installed proof of concept prototypes. Additional funds are allocated to support the project with insurance, engineering, and artwork transportation.
TIMELINE
Request for Qualifications is open for submissions now through Nov. 3, 2020.
Three artists selected to develop proposals in mid-November.
Proposals selected early Spring 2021.
On-site testing and prototyping summer 2021.
Prototype project installed at up to three locations, completing this project, in summer 2022.