Requests for Qualifications: Public Art Call for Railside at The Forks

RFQ for Manitoba artists for the first public art commission within Railside at The Forks

Rendering of Railside at The Forks

The Invitation

The Forks Renewal Corporation invites established Manitoba artists and artist teams to submit their qualifications and expressions of interest for a permanent public art commission within the Railside at The Forks development.

This is an open competition for an “Established Manitoba Artist”, with an all-inclusive budget to completion of $350,000. It is being administered by Forks Renewal Corporation with funding from Tax Increment Financing from both the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba.

The winning commission will be completed and installed within Railside in early 2025. This RFQ contains all the information required to apply for this opportunity. Up to three Established Artists will be chosen from this RFQ to develop a proposal.

The deadline for submissions is November 9, 2023.

This is a public competition open to professional artists and artist teams either residing in (i.e., the applicant’s primary residence) or originating from (i.e., born or spent formative years) Manitoba.

Artists working in any media may apply individually or as an artist team.

Through this RFQ, Forks Renewal Corporation is seeking to commission at least one (1) work from an Established Manitoba Artist or artist team; an Established Manitoba Artist being a mid to late-career artist who has garnered national or international attention for their work, including prior public art experience.

For the purposes of the Railside Phase 1 Public Art Opportunities, the Artist Selection Panel will shortlist artists based on the following definition and the selection criteria listed in the competition RFQ.

Established Manitoba Artist: One whose qualifications and professional experience in the field of public art demonstrate artistic excellence and the technical ability to plan, coordinate, and execute large-scale permanent installations.

The Established Manitoba Artist selected through this RFQ may be asked to participate in the review and selection process of the Emerging Manitoba Artist.

The commissioned artist will work collaboratively with Forks Renewal Corporation’s site design advisors on the Railside Design Advisory Committee and project architects to refine and integrate their artworks within the overall site design.

Forks Renewal Corporation intends to create an artistic mentorship opportunity whereby the winning established artist will mentor an emerging artist, to be selected during a future RFQ process.

Rendering of Railside at The Forks

Total Budget

The total budget available for the Established Artist public art competition, including artist fees and related expenses, is $350,000 plus GST and PST. Artists selected to develop a proposal will receive an additional proposal fee. No further compensation will be made to the artist for costs associated with participating in the selection process of the Established Artist competition.

The $350,000 budget includes but is not limited to artist fees; technical consultation; travel to the site and project meetings; purchase of relative materials; engineering fees; fabrication; site preparation and labour; delivery and installation of artwork; insurance and/or permit fees as required by the FRC and/or the City of Winnipeg; electrical lights integral to the art; contingency; maintenance plan documentation; and, attendance at the unveiling of the completed artwork(s).

Both the artist shortlist and final awards will be conducted by an Artist Selection Panel. The Artist Selection Panel is composed of independent arts professionals. Representatives of Forks Renewal Corporation and a member of the Railside Design Advisory Committee will serve as technical advisors.

Upon review of all submissions, the Artist Selection Panel will select a shortlist up to three (3) artists as finalists to develop a proposal.

Finalists will be invited to respond to a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) package and will be paid $2,500 CAD (plus GST) to develop their proposal submissions.

The shortlisted finalists will be invited to present their proposals virtually to the Artist Selection Panel. Based upon the proposal reviews and interviews, the Panel will award commissions to up to one (1) artist and/or artist team.

The commissioned artworks must comply with all applicable City of Winnipeg standards and regulations, including permitting, safety, and accessibility.

Artist teams may not change over the life of the project.

Rendering of Railside at The Forks

A complete application must include:

1. Contact Information – Including full name, business name (if applicable), mailing address, telephone, and email. Teams must identify one artist to be Forks Renewal Corporation’s primary contact for the team, as well as contact information for each artist on the team.

2. Statement of Interest / Artist Statement – (PDF or DOC format only, 1 page max.) – Written expression of interest in creating a public art project for Railside.

3. Curriculum Vitae (PDF or DOC format only, 4 pages max.) – Please submit a CV for each person on the primary team.

4. Portfolio of Artworks or Past Projects – (up to 10 files/images of past work max.; PDF or JPG format only, 72 DPI min, 5 MB max. per file) – Submit images of completed artwork; teams are encouraged to include projects created by the team. Each of the image files must include the title of the image, year, size, materials, and brief description. For any commissioned project(s), also include the client, budget, and location.

5. Two References – Including full name, business name (if applicable), telephone, email, and their relation to your work.

*Additional material included that is not requested by Forks Renewal Corporation will not be reviewed.

Applicants should not include any specific proposal(s) at this time. Any such elements will be redacted from the application prior to review by the Artist Selection Panel (refer to the “Selection Process” section), or the application may be deemed disqualified and not be reviewed.

All applications must be submitted by email to: publicart@theforks.com
Subject line: Established Artists RFQ – Railside at The Forks

Application Deadline: November 9, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. CT

For additional information and to view the full RFQ, please visit: Railside Public Art RFQ

The Forks
1 Forks Market Road
Winnipeg, MB
www.TheForks.com