Friday, April 17, 2015

Utah Arts & Museums Public Art Program Requests Artists Qualifications

Request for qualifications from artists and/or artist teams interested in creating site specific artwork(s) for the new Utah State University facility in Brigham City, Utah. 
 
DEADLINE FOR MATERIALS: May 22, 2015
 
 
USU BRIGHAM CITY
 
The USU Regional Campuses & Distance Education Mission Statement is to provide access to higher education through the use of innovative technologies, delivering a wide range of relevant high quality courses, degree programs and research opportunities. In addition USU’s Distance Education vision is to be a leader in innovative education, research, and economic development.  The USU Distance Education Program values: Quality, Accessibility, Relevance, and Efficiency
 
Most of the students at the Brigham City Regional Campus are working adults, and many are parents.  The average age of the student-body is about 30, and includes many who have returned to school to improve their careers and ability to provide for their families in their 40’s and beyond.   These students are place bound with family, work, and other responsibilities, and don’t have the opportunity to move full-time to a traditional residential campus.
 
The purpose of this campus is for Utah State University to be able to provide increased access to a high quality college education.  A college education brings the power to change for good through better career opportunities and earning potential.  A parent with a college degree is more likely to have children who go to college or obtain other training after high school.  This campus brings those opportunities to where people live, and in a format and schedule that make them practically available as well as geographically proximate. Besides this, though, USU Brigham City is known to its students as a friendly, comfortable, and welcoming environment – especially for students returning to school after being away for several years.
 
In addition to what this regional campus means to individuals and their families, this new regional campus in Box Elder County will be an engine for economic development.  It changes the stature of the whole community and it will attract new business as employers see an educated workforce and opportunities for their current employees to obtain more education.
 
This new campus represents a collaboration between the university, state and local government, and local businesses and individuals.  The university has contributed almost $7 million in purchasing the land and demolishing the existing buildings, the state legislature has appropriated $7.5 million, and the city of Brigham City has bonded for the other $7.5 million to build this $15 million building.  This bond was supported by the local taxing entities who agreed to a new redevelopment project area receiving property taxes that these taxing entities will forgo for the period of the bond.  Such support and collaboration shows the belief of many in the importance of a USU education in giving people the power to change for good.
 
THE USU BRIGHAM CITY BUILDING
 
The new Academic building will have a great impact on the community, as a new resource, as well as a new identity.  An Iconic design in this case is created by the building as a whole becoming an icon by using strong and pure form.  The meaning behind the design is created by picking up on cues from the surroundings.  An interesting mixture of historical, cultural, and geological features make up the character of Brigham City.  These surrounding features were used to help organize forms, materials, layouts, and concepts throughout the building design process.

The 50,000 square-foot Academic Building will create the first roots for a future campus to grow. It is designed to be unique, iconic, and timeless in order to be the cornerstone to the community, and front entrance to campus. Brigham City lies on the confluence of a series of fascinating historical, cultural, agricultural, and geological features.  Many of these contextual features contain great ingredients for developing a conceptual framework for design. As such, the design for the new Academic Building, including the building’s formal qualities, functional qualities, and experiential qualities, are in direct harmony with its surroundings.

During the programming process the architect gathered key words from the owner and user group that represent their vision of the new Academic Building: Presence, Community Campus Design, Civic, Intuitive, Clear Way-Finding, Strong Sense of Place, and Paying Homage to Historic Site Uses. 
Campus master plan: http://brighamcity.usu.edu/new_building.cfm

Building Exterior
Thousands of years ago, Lake Bonneville covered much of Utah.  After a natural dam was breached, the water receded and formed many of the horizontal shoreline characteristics seen along the Wasatch Mountains and adjacent to Brigham City. These incredibly distinctive lake lines, a combination of alluvial deposits and sediment from the lake, create a strong defining impression when entering Brigham City. The Four distinct wings of the new Academic Building are defined by horizontal striations that are representative of the lake lines, in constant change as the lake raised and lowered each year. The striations are at consistent heights around the entire perimeter, as if each wing was carved from the same geological make up.  Whereas the individual wings represent the Academic functions within, and have their own identity marked by horizontal striations; the center structure of the building, represents the community anchor, pure in form and monolithic in stature. This Iconic centerpiece identifies with the peaks of the Wasatch that rise above the lake lines that border its lower edges.

The exterior materials of the building will stand the test of time, both timelessly and durably serving as a landmark, while at the same time being complimentary to the surrounding context of Brigham City.

Within the building, the design provides a clear intuitive way to navigate through the building. The use of natural daylight, tactile materials, and contrast as related to wide-open spaces for large gathering, or small nooks for small gathering, also contribute to guiding occupants through the building in an effective and experiential way.

Building Interior:
The Main Lobby is the first space that a visitor, student, or community member will experience within the new building so it is important the spaces are inviting, exciting, light filled, and comfortable. The space functions as a central node and interior landmark for interior way finding.
 
A major component of the building is the Multipurpose Room. The intention of this space is to provide an area to support community events such as banquets, gatherings, and pickle ball tournaments.

This room includes a mobile stage area that can be located at various positions within the room and is divisible with partition walls. The Multipurpose Room has frontage on the large exterior plaza through large curtain wall of glass.
 
The classrooms and Lecture Hall have been programmed to accommodate high quality learning and a collaborative/interactive environment for a variety of types of teaching pedagogy including traditional (face to face), broadcast (originating/ receiving), online, and hybrid (asynchronously/synchronously). Classes are generally in the evening and can last from 2.5 hours to 5 hours so the program has included provisions for comfortable seating arrangements.  The Lecture Hall will primarily be used for community events.  
 
The general space design includes various study nooks throughout the building for students to use for individual or group study.  
  
BRIGHAM CITY, UTAH  and SURROUNDING AREA
 
The Northwestern Shoshone Tribe established many migratory paths throughout the west that included this area of Utah for hunting, fishing, and natural harvesting. The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Tribe continues to have a presence in Box Elder County today.
 
The first group of European settlers to arrive in Brigham City were led by William Davis in 1851. The difficulties of settling this new community were numerous but circumstances improved as the town grew. Many of the merchants united their businesses for the benefit of the community through cooperative living. The Cooperative offered a wide variety of services and thrived until the late 1870s.
 
The Golden Spike Monument in Promontory, Utah recalls the joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in 1869. The track took six years to construct and would change the United States forever by facilitating expansion to the west. Coast to coast travel time was reduced from six months to one week.
 
The Bushnell Hospital was built in 1942 and brought a significant boost to the Brigham City economy. The hospital specialized in wartime related illness and injuries including amputation, malaria, neurology, and psychology. As one of the largest military hospitals in the country, it had state of the art equipment and served thousands of wounded soldiers. The 60-building facility sat on 235 acres and was in service for only four years, but had a lasting impact on the community. Once discontinued, the buildings sat empty for roughly three years until the Intermountain Indian School was established.
 
The Intermountain Indian School served Navajo students from the southwest for the first 24 years then changed its name to Intermountain Inter-Tribal School and welcomed students from almost 100 different Native Tribes from across the country. Elementary through high school levels were taught in addition to other types of vocational training. The campus was like a small community where students would live throughout the school year. The facilities included a swimming pool, theater, medical facility, printing press, and bowling alley. As federal policy on education changed and enrollment declined, the school was closed in 1984 after operating for almost 25 years. Many of the buildings would then sit vacant for nearly 30 more years before being demolished
 
Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is on the northeastern side of the Great Salt Lake in water that has a red tone from bacteria and algae. The work was built in 1970.  The combination of black basalt rocks and earth from the site creates a clockwise coil 1,500 feet long and 115 feet wide.  The Spiral Jetty is submerged when the lake level rises but has been well above water level for the last ten years.
 
Brigham City's outstanding distinguishing factor is quality of life. Residents and visitors both describe it with a variety of terms such as "small-town atmosphere," or "hometown feel." Brigham City offers a picturesque location at the foot of the Wellsville Mountains, tree-lined streets, historic architecture, adjacent wildlands, and outdoor recreation areas. Our parks and recreation programs offer year-round activities for all ages. Brigham City has a pleasant, four-season climate.
 
World class artistic and cultural offerings are available both at home and nearby. The annual Brigham City Heritage Arts Festival is a popular event highlighting the various periods in Brigham City's history. The Brigham City Museum offers a variety of traveling exhibits as well as a permanent collection of artwork that is regularly displayed.  The Heritage Theater, in nearby Perry, offers live productions drawing on local and regional talent.
 
COMMITTEE STATEMENT

As stated earlier in this document, this inaugural building is the beginning of an investment in the community of Brigham City, Utah.  The State of Utah, Utah State University, Brigham City, local businesses and individuals all invested in this vision for the future of Brigham City.  With this vision there is a reverence and desire to honor the natural environment of this part of Utah as well as the human history of this unique spot nestled into the foothills overlooking the Great Salt Lake.  The architects used these as context for their design and the Selection Committee is hopeful the artist commissioned will as well.
 
The Selection Committee has identified the West or South exterior plazas and the main center atrium as possible sites for this public art commission but are also open to sites and interpretations offered by the artist(s)
 
BUDGET
 
$62,500 is available for all related expenses of this Public Art commission(s) including (but not limited to) artist fees, fabrication, insurance, shipping, travel, installation, documentation, etc.
  
ELIGIBILITY
 
Utah and resident American or legal resident artists / artist teams are encouraged to apply.  Art Selection Committee members, staff and Board of Utah Arts & Museums and Jacoby Architects are not eligible to apply for this commission.  All Art Selection Committee members will declare any conflict of interest and recuse themselves from the vote when reviewing artist applications.

SUBMISSION OPTIONS, INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIRED MATERIALS
 
Interested artists may submit applications EITHER online or by compact disc/DVD.  The deadline is the same for both methods and is not a postmark deadline.  Please do not include supplemental materials beyond the requirements listed below:

ON-LINE METHOD:

Register at www.callforentry.org and follow the directions for registration and submitting material for this Public Art Request for Qualifications   

​This online application process will prompt you for all necessary documents.   If your work cannot be documented well with still image you may submit movie files via the “Compact Disc or DVD Method” listed below.  Movie files cannot be submitted via the online method.
 
COMPACT DISC METHOD:

  • A PC compatible CD labeled with applicant's name, and contact information containing:
  •  A letter of interest of not more than two typewritten pages in pdf format. This letter should include the artist’s reasons for interest in this project in particular.  In doing so, the artist should also describe how his/her work and/or experience relates to the project. 
  • Up to six (6) images maximum of previous site-specific public work. All images must be in JPEG format, 1920 pixels maximum on the longest side, 72 dpi, with compression settings resulting in the best image quality under 2MB file size. The image files should be named so that the list sorts in the order of the image listing.
  • A pdf document indentifying each image to include title, year, medium, dimensions.
  • A professional resume in pdf format
If the work cannot be documented well with still images a DVD (of no more than 3 minutes) may be submitted as documentation of artist’s projects.  Please note only one media, movie file or images, can be presented to the committee per artist in this preliminary phase.

If the artist wishes the material returned, an addressed and stamped envelope of ample size and postage for return of the CD or DVD should be included. Material that is not accompanied by a stamped envelope cannot be returned.

Utah Arts & Museums will not be responsible for applications delayed or lost in transit.  While all reasonable care will be taken in the handling of materials, neither the Utah Division of Arts & Museums nor the USU Brigham City Art Selection Committee will be liable for late, lost or damaged materials or electronic files.  Faxed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted.

USU Brigham City Art Selection Committee reserves the right to withhold the award of a commission or re-release the call for entries.  

DEADLINE
Complete application packages must be RECEIVED on or before May 22, 2015 by 5 p.m. (THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE.) All supporting materials must accompany application.
 
Please send, deliver or courier compact disc method applications to:
Jim Glenn, Utah Public Art Program
Attention: USU Brigham City
Utah Arts & Museums
300 S Rio Grande
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
 
SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
 The Selection Committee will review all material properly submitted.  Finalists will be selected from the first phase of applicants submitting qualifications.  Selection of the commissioned artist(s) will be based on proposals presented to the Selection Committee on July 30. 
 
Once selected as a finalist we will work to provide as much information and access as possible to assist in the artist’s research while developing their proposal.
 
An honorarium will be offered to the finalists to assist with the costs associated with the preparation of a proposal and travel. This honorarium will be applied toward the commission amount for the artist(s) awarded the commission.
 
Schedule: 
May 22, 2015 - Deadline for receipt of preliminary materials
June 9, 2015 - Committee Review
August 4, 2015 - Finalists interviews
October, 2015 – Project substantial completion (while desirable, it is understood the art commissioned for this project  will likely not be completed at the time of the building opening
 
 ARTIST SELECTION COMMITTEE
Mike Ambre    Utah Division of Facilities Construction & Management
Sydney Peterson              USU, Office of the President, Chief of Staff
Karen Woolstenhulme       USU Brigham City
Thomas R. Lee                 Dean, Utah State University, Brigham City
John Fitch       USU Project Manager, Facilities Design & Construction
Thomas M. Alder              Board of Directors, Utah Arts & Museums
Joe Jacoby                      Jacoby Architects, Inc.
                       
If you have any questions about this or other projects information is available at: www.utahpublicart.org
Or contact:  Jim Glenn at 801-245-7271 or e-mail at: jglenn@utah.gov
Felicia Baca at 801-245-7272 or  fbaca@utah.gov
 

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