CITY OF MEMPHIS | UrbanArt Commission
JESSE TURNER PARK | CALL TO ARTISTS
Release Date: Thursday, July 6, 2023
Budget: $98,925 (total budget inclusive of three finalist honoraria of $1,000 each)
Deadline: Monday, August 14, 2023, 11:59pm
Eligibility: Any artist living and working within the United States. 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 to which an artist may apply, UAC strongly encourages artists to consider both the time and scale of each call.
Information Session: Wednesday, August 2 @ 5:30pm, RSVP now.
BACKGROUND
About Jesse Turner Park:
Jesse Turner Park, located at 1310 S. Bellevue Boulevard, is a South Memphis park in District 4. The park is named after civil rights pioneer, Jesse H. Turner. Turner was the first Black chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, former President of Tri-State Bank, and a longtime NAACP supporter. The family-oriented neighborhood is historically African-American and home to important historic residents including, Rev. Brewster, the Nicholson family (developers), Maceo Walker, son of Dr. Joseph Edison Walker, and the Art Gilliams family. The Negro Baseball League played in the district on Sunday afternoons.
Community institutions are the East Trigg Church, Greenwood CME Church and Zion Cemetery, the oldest African-American burial ground in the City. The churches offered gospel composers like Dr. W. Herbert Brewster the opportunity to write and perform new spirituals. The Greenwood School was historically important, as well.
Historically, Jesse Turner Park is baseball-oriented and home to the Tri-State Baseball organization, a local non-profit that specializes in promoting the Academy, recruiting coaches (women and men) and training players from 4-18 years of age in the area of baseball from all communities in the Tri-State area (Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi). It has two diamonds: one at the north end and the larger one in the area of the project site.
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 are seeking an artist to create a sculpture for Jesse Turner Park. The preferred location for the sculpture is at the corner of South Parkway and Bellevue Blvd. near the heavily used baseball field. The park is an active gathering place for families in the neighborhood, offering open space and shade from plenty of mature trees in the park.
SCOPE OF WORK
The selection committee has expressed interest in a large-scale sculpture that:
Emphasize the entrance to the park and baseball field for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic
Celebrate the neighborhood leaders who have left their mark on the South Memphis community and engage families visiting the park
Reference the architecture of the neighborhood and/or nearby landmarks
Be easy to maintain
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 three 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 artistic enhancements.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
Marlon Foster, Executive Director, Knowledge Quest
Dr. Earnestine Jenkins, art historian, University of Memphis
Johnny Rudd, coach, LeMoyne-Owen College
Marcha Allen, Deputy Director, City of Memphis Parks Department
James Carter, Soulsville resident
Toonky, artist
Chloe Lane, architect, Archimania
Mike Lemm, City of Memphis Engineering Department (nonvoting)
*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 $98,925, including artist honoraria and travel - up to three finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium for a site-specific proposal. Design budget $23,981; Fabrication/installation budget $71,944 all-inclusive.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Thursday, July 6, 2023 RFQ released
Wednesday, August 2, 2023 UAC Artist Information Session
Monday, August 14, 2023 at 11:59pm RFQ deadline
By Friday, September 1, 2023 Notify finalists of RFP invitation
Wednesday, October 16, 2023 RFP deadline (TBC)
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Please submit the following materials online by following the “Jesse Turner Park” link at uacmem.org/calls-to-artists:
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.
Resume or CV, not to exceed 2 pages.
List of three professional references, including current phone and email.
To apply to an open Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposals (RFP), go to uacmem.org/calls-to-artists. Follow the Jesse Turner Park link to view more details.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to click on the Submit button which will redirect you to our Submittable page, containing 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 | Program Manager
901.343.6983 | kayla@uacmem.org
This RFQ can be found on www.uacmem.org/calls-to-artists
INFORMATION SESSION
UAC will host an information session for interested artists on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023. 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 project of 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.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86488006710?pwd=OEQ1TTNWWjl0SFNpckZnTFlDWktlZz09
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.
