CITY OF MEMPHIS | UrbanArt Commission
HEIGHTS LINE | CALL TO ARTISTS
Release Date: Friday, March 15th, 2024
Budget: $90,000 (includes three finalist honoraria of $1000 each)
Deadline: Monday, April 29, 2024 at 11:59 pm
Eligibility: Any artist living and working within 250 miles of the Memphis metropolitan area. Artists are invited to submit collaborative work if desired, but may only submit one proposal per project opportunity. While there is no limit to the number of calls an artist may apply to at once, UAC strongly encourages artists to consider both the time and scale of each call.
Information Session: Wednesday, April 3 @ 5:30pm, RSVP now.
BACKGROUND
About The Heights neighborhood:
In the 1830s, the Heights neighborhood was east of Memphis and largely controlled by the Pope Cotton Plantation. In the late 1880s, Shelby County acquired the western side of Holmes Road (Lamphier and neighboring streets) for the Shelby County poor farm, work house, and insane asylum. Today you can see these small identical buildings, now private homes. In 1905, the Raleigh Street Car Line fostered development of bedroom communities for those who worked in Memphis. The streetcar line ran along Broad Avenue from Memphis to Binghampton, turned north along National Street, and continued east after crossing the Wolf River. Access to public transportation sparked commercial and retail development along Summer, National, Highland and Macon.
The Heights is an inclusive neighborhood term to include residents of Mitchell-Heights, Highland-Heights, Graham-Heights, and Brinkley-Heights. This is a diverse neighborhood (51% Black, 17% Hispanic, 15% White non-Hispanic, and 12% additional Ethnicities). The Heights has primarily English and Spanish speaking residents with a growing immigrant community originating from Mexico, Honduras, Vietnam, Yemen, and more. Some notable community members include Penny Hardaway and Elliot Perry (Treadwell High alums).
About Heights Line:
The Heights Line is a 1.75-mile multi-use path and linear park located in the median of National Street between Summer Ave and Bayliss Ave, connecting to the Hampline and Wolf River Greenway. This is a neighborhood-led initiative to create the longest linear park in Memphis along a former trolley line. The project will provide a much-needed public space amenity in North Memphis and connect disinvested historic neighborhoods to nearby parks, urban centers, and transit routes. It is designed to narrow lanes and decrease speeds making it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Heights Line will also provide the first urban connection between two of Memphis’ premier greenways– the $60 million Wolf River Greenway and the 13-mile Shelby Farms Greenline.
Local residents began work in 2017 by reclaiming excess road capacity and building a temporary demonstration of Heights Line. Completion of the permanent installation of the first phase from Summer Avenue to Macon is expected in Spring 2024.
From:
About The Heights CDC:
The Heights CDC builds community through just housing redevelopment and a commitment to serve with and learn from our neighbors. This non-profit was incubated by Binghampton Development Corporation and serves the neighborhoods north of Summer Ave.
Although its primary focus is on rehabbing blighted properties, the Heights CDC seeks to revitalize the community by building relationships with residents, supporting community leaders, and creating shared green spaces.
About UAC:
The UrbanArt Commission (UAC) works to create opportunities for artists and neighborhoods to connect and shape spaces through public art. Since 2002, UAC has managed the City of Memphis’s Percent-For-Art Program, which allocates funds annually to develop public art in connection to capital improvement projects. UAC also facilitates public art projects throughout the city working with various partners and clients to support artists and new experiences with art.
SITE SPECIFICS
UAC and the City of Memphis, in partnership with The Heights CDC, are seeking an artist to create a gateway sculpture for the Heights Line. The preferred location for the sculpture is at the corner of National Street and Summer Avenue, which is the southern entrance to the Heights Line. The Heights Line project strives to revitalize National Street through people-focused design.
Intersection of National and Summer facing North
Intersection of National and Summer facing North
Intersection of National and Summer facing South
SCOPE OF WORK
UAC and The City of Memphis, in partnership with The Heights CDC, are seeking an artist to create a gateway sculpture that speaks to the pride and history of the community, engages neighborhood youth, and pays tribute to The Heights diverse demographics.
The selection committee has expressed interest in a gateway sculpture that:
Consider the both historical and current context of the Heights neighborhood
Includes student engagement in the creation and/or installation process
A desire for one wow sculpture that delineates the space (when people see it they know they have now entered the Heights/Heights Line)
Invites all of the neighborhood to the space (Heights Line is a place to come together rather than a place to divide)
Incorporates solar-panel lights (to add both beauty and safety during the evening hours)
Fits into the neighborhood architectural landscape
The commissioned artist(s) will be selected based on the strength of their qualifications submitted, ability to adhere to deadlines and work within the stated budget. Applicants are expected to have or collaborate/subcontract with appropriate vendors to meet the necessary technical capabilities to design and install such projects, including providing maintenance instructions. The artist(s) will work with the UAC Program Managers to coordinate community engagement efforts. This engagement should help inform the final design. The finished project must require little to no regular maintenance. Final artwork should complement the characteristics and neighborhood identity of the site. The artist(s) selected shall be expected to collaborate closely with site engineers, landscape architects, and any necessary party for the successful installation of the project, including residents. NOTE: Commissioned artists are permitted to work with outside contractors to fabricate the actual work of art.
PROJECT EXPECTATIONS
A selection committee organized by UAC will review submitted portfolios, and will invite finalists to submit site-specific design proposals. All finalists will receive a stipend of $1000 for their designs. The selected artist will be expected to work closely with the Selection Committee and UAC to execute the proposed murals.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Marcha Allen- City of Memphis Parks Division- Deputy Director (non-voting)
Ray Atkinson- City of Memphis Bikeway and Pedestrian Program Manager, Engineering Division (non-voting)
Jasmine Avila- Heights Resident
James Chambers- The Heights CDC- Operations Manager, Heights Resident
Sasha Collins- Heights Resident, ButterCream Dreams- Baker/Owner
Vernice Foster- Heights Resident
Paulina Garibaldi- Heights Resident
Justin Gibbs- City of Memphis Parks Division- CSA Representative (non-voting)
Sarah Gilmore: Heights Resident; The Heights CDC- Director of Community Engagement (Community Partner)
Michael Gong- Heights Resident; Kingsbury High- Teacher
Jay Harris- Cxffeeblack Barista; Artist, Heights Resident
Emily Holmes- Heights Resident; Emily Holmes- Photographer/Owner
Colin Kidder- Sculptor, Heights Resident
Mike Lemm- City of Memphis Engineering Division (non-voting)
Jared Myers: The Heights CDC- Executive Director
*Public Vote: Collected public votes will serve as one additional selection committee vote for the final selected artist following the submission of proposals from project finalists.
PROJECT BUDGET
Total project budget is $90,000, including artist honoraria - up to three finalists will receive a $1000 honorarium for a site-specific proposal. Design budget $21,750; Fabrication budget $65,250 all-inclusive.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Friday, March 15, 2024 RFQ released
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 UAC Information Session
Monday, April 29, 2024 RFQ deadline
Friday, May 10, 2024 Notify finalists of RFP invitation
Monday, June 24, 2024 RFP deadline
Winter 2025 Completion celebration
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Please submit the following materials online by clicking the submit button below.
Completed application form
A typed letter explaining your interest in the project and your general approach/concept to its design and production. Please do not submit design proposals at this point.
Up to 20 images of past work including title of work, date, medium, budget and project partners, if any.
Résumé or CV, not to exceed 2 pages.
List of three professional references, including current phone and email.
Clicking on the Submit button will redirect you to our Submittable page, which contains all of our current open opportunities. Click the Submit button next to the opportunity that you wish to apply for, or if you are already within an opportunity, scroll down to the Create your account / Have an account? Sign in form.
If you already have a Submittable account, click the Have an account? Sign in tab to sign in to your account.
If you don’t have an account, you must create one to apply. Create your free account by filling out the Create your account form. Fill in all information and click the Create Account and Continue button to continue with the submission process.
From there, you will be able to complete and submit your application. You can now use this account login when submitting to all future UAC opportunities. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email that confirms receipt of your full application.
For more information about this project, please contact: Kayla J. Smith-Hardy | Sr. Program Manager
901.343.6983 | kayla@uacmem.org
This RFQ can be found on www.uacmem.org/calls-to-artists
INFORMATION SESSIONS
UAC will host an information session for interested artists on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 5:30 pm. The session will be recorded and a link made available to applicants who are unable to attend during that time. Interested artists who have not completed a public art project previously or not completed a mural at this scale are strongly encouraged to reach out to the UAC team in advance of submitting their application. Artists may also schedule a meeting with UAC staff to review their application and portfolio. Appointments are available until 1 week prior to the close of the call to artists. See project contact information in the above section.
DISCLAIMERS
UAC is committed to equity and inclusion in our work. People of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, differently-abled and neurodiverse persons, indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applicants will be notified as to the status of their application. Commissioning of artists by UAC and the pursuit of all UAC activities are implemented without preference to racial or ethnic origins, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disability, or age.
UAC reserves the right to modify this solicitation and to request additional information from participating artists.
UAC 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.
The UAC team 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 at the discretion of UAC.
