Lynchburg Bluffwalk Project Creates Public Art Opportunity

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Summary:

Revised Issue Date:                 November 8, 2013
Project Name:                         Downtown Lynchburg Bluffwalk Ramp/Stair Enhancement Project
Application deadline:               January 2, 2014
Project Budget:                       $12,000.00
Completion Date:                    To be determined; projected unveiling June 2014

Organization Description

Lynch’s Landing is a national Main Street™ program, accredited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street™ Center, and a designated Virginia Main Street community.

A winner of the 2006 national Great American Main Street Award, our mission is to identify opportunities and develop resources that position and sustain downtown and the riverfront as a vital economic, cultural, historic, recreational and residential center for our community. We envision a downtown environment where people, businesses, organizations and events can be successful.

The Main Street Approach® is a unique preservation-based economic development tool that enables communities to revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging local assets - from historic, cultural, and architectural resources to local enterprises and community pride. It is a comprehensive strategy that addresses the variety of issues and problems that challenge traditional commercial districts.

Project Description

In 2010, the City of Lynchburg designated the James River Arts & Culture District to celebrate and promote the arts in Downtown Lynchburg, with an understanding that when theatres, performing arts centers, museums, art galleries, and artist’s studios locate in the same district, the neighborhood becomes a magnet for revitalization, attracting restaurant and retail, commercial enterprises, downtown residential spaces, and the general public.

This grant will support artwork – murals or other artistic media – on the stairs at 11th Street leading from Jefferson Street to Commerce Street. The ADA ramp and stairs is the first completed section of Lynchburg’s Bluffwalk project, a pedestrian street located between the buildings that face Jefferson and Commerce Streets.  The Bluffwalk will create opportunities for an entirely new environment for the existing and proposed buildings along its path and is envisioned to be a spine for a new, mixed use cultural district with galleries, shops, cafes, courtyards and overlooks. The public investment in this transformative improvement is timed to support the current momentum of private development, creating links to active public places that provide routes to the riverfront area.

The winning design will incorporate elements of Lynchburg’s culture and history and compliment the vision of the Bluffwalk, Jefferson Street, and Riverfront Park improvements. The selected artist will be encouraged to involve or educate the public and/or students during fabrication and installation (through artists’ talks, open sessions, other methods to be determined).

The grant is supported by funds from Lynch’s Landing Foundation, Virginia Main Street, CSX, and the James River Arts & Culture District Grant.

Artwork Location & Specifics

The approximate size of the proposed public art space is 1,300 square feet in size and will be highly visible to Jefferson Street traffic, Riverfront Park, railroad tracks and the James River. The primary scope of work should include the stairs and walls. The adjacent ramp is not included in this request for proposals, but artists may include the ramp if possible. Images attached for clarification.

Eligibility

This art commission is open to all professional artists, artisans, architects, or landscape architects, or a team thereof, capable of designing the piece and also arranging for installation. There are no geographic limitations; however, housing and transportation costs are not included in the overall project budget.  

Honorarium

The total project budget, including site preparation, supplies, artist fee, signage, and marketing materials, is $12,000.00.

Lynch’s Landing Foundation will provide a $1,000.00 prize to the selected artist(s), who will grant all rights to the image to Lynch’s Landing Foundation and the City of Lynchburg. A maximum budget of $11,000.00 for project’s execution has been established, but artists are encouraged to think about sustainability and reuse when planning this project. This budget covers all expenses associated with, but not limited to, the design, labor, materials, tools, contracted services, operations and meetings, and travel required to complete the artwork plus installation. Any expense that exceeds the contracted amount will be the artist’s responsibility.

Application Requirements

• Resume with current contact information
• Artist Statement (1 page maximum)
• Statement of proposed work, including a draft materials list, cost breakdown and timeline.
• Up to 10 images of previous artwork formatted at 300 dpi resolution with a maximum file size of 1 MB.
• A corresponding list of any previous work with title, media, dimensions, locations, brief description, date of the work, project budget, and project partners, if applicable.
• Optional: Additional support material, including press clippings or other relevant information on past projects (1 PDF file maximum).

Electronic submission preferred.

Deadline

All submissions must be received by 5 p.m. EST on January 2, 2014.

Selection Process

Lynch’s Landing staff, volunteers from the Lynch’s Landing Design Committee, representatives from Lynchburg Parks & Recreation, the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development, the James River Council for the Arts & Humanities, and other downtown stakeholders, will convene to choose the artist and project.

Contact

Please direct all questions and submissions to:

Anna Bentson
Executive Director, Lynch’s Landing
anna@downtownlynchburg.com
901 Church Street 
Lynchburg, Virginia 24504
Phone (434) 485-7250 
Fax (434) 528-3169

About Lynch’s Landing Foundation
Lynch’s Landing is Lynchburg’s leader for downtown revitalization. Lynch’s Landing is a non-profit volunteer and membership organization dedicated to the development and revitalization of downtown Lynchburg. The mission of the organization is to identify opportunities and develop resources that position and sustain downtown and the riverfront as a vital economic, cultural, historic, recreational and residential center for our community. Learn more at www.downtownlynchburg.com.