Pasadena Seeks Proposals from Artists for Rotating Public Art Exhibition Program

The City of Pasadena is now seeking proposals from artists, artist teams and galleries for the selection or commission of artworks to be installed at various highly visible key locations within Pasadena as a part of the City’s Rotating Public Art Exhibition Program.

Launched in 2011, the Program has two components of temporary artworks: a rotating exhibition of loaned, existing sculptural works, and changing exhibitions of public artwork commissioned for specific sites.

Honorariums range from $6,000 for loaned art, to $12,000 for commissioned site-specific works.

This will now be Phase III of the Rotating Public Art Exhibition Program, which will include phased installation of eight public art projects: three site-specific and five loaned artworks.

The City’s Cultural Affairs Division has published a Request for Proposal seeking to loan five existing sculptural works from artists, artist teams and/or galleries for exhibition. Parties interested in responding are asked to submit two collated copies of the proposal no later than 5 p.m. on May 15, 2017.

City Cultural Affairs Manager Rochelle Branch said the parties may also submit written questions related to the Request for Proposal by email only until 12 noon on April 25. On April 17, the City is hosting a public meeting to review the program and the Request for Proposals at the Permit Center Hearing Room, 175 N. Garfield Avenue in Pasadena.

To qualify for the Program, works should be engaging, sufficiently durable for placement outdoors, and must allow for attachment to a structural footing at the site.

Works are expected to be in place throughout the 36-month exhibition or three-year period. If works are sold during that time, a replacement work may be substituted at the artwork owner’s expense upon approval by the Cultural Affairs division.

The City also seeks to commission three temporary, site-specific installations for exhibition. Artists will create public artworks for a specific site expected to be in place throughout the exhibition period. Site-specific commissioned works should be uniquely conceived projects specific to that location.

As envisioned, the Rotating Public Art Exhibition Program is intended to complement permanent Private Development and Capital Public Art Programs by placing artworks throughout the City, using unusual locations and transforming small, often unnoticed areas in the city into exciting and stimulating destinations for visitors and residents.

Artwork sites are unsupervised and could include traffic islands, medians and smaller, more intimate parcels.

Developed for the City’s Capital Public Art Program, the Rotating Art Program created a new model for community engagement by utilizing neighborhood advocates in the artist and artwork selection process, in addition to public art professionals.

For more information, visit the Cultural Affairs Division webpage at www.cityofpasadena.net/arts.