REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Deadline: Friday, December 14th, 2007, at 5pm (EST)

Budget: $5,000 per project

Eligible Artists: Must be over 18 years of age and a resident of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, or Kentucky.

Call to Artists Riley Area Development Corporation and the Arts Council of Indianapolis are seeking submission of proposals for temporary site-specific public art installations for the Mass Ave Cultural District. We encourage innovative installations that may include but are not limited to environmental works, work that use ephemeral materials, and multi-sensory new media work. The goal of this program is to provide artists in Indiana and the contiguous states the opportunity to create a vibrant, unexpected experience for pedestrians through a diverse presentation of 21st century art in the public realm. Providing visual experiences that promote the flow of traffic up and down the Avenue is also important. Project concepts may include previous work or new work, but the work's ability to relate to the site is paramount. Considerations including appropriate scale, use of materials, content, and overall aesthetic impact on pedestrian and vehicular traffic will be considered.

Project Sites Projects must be conceptualized for and installed on Mass Ave in downtown Indianapolis between Delaware Street to the southwest and Interstates 65/70 to the northeast.

NOTE: There will be construction on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail on the east end of Mass Ave on the southeast side of the street from the Interstate to College Avenue. Please avoid developing projects for this area.

Artists who submit project concepts should be prepared to meet with the Arts Council's Public Art Project Coordinator, representatives from the Riley Area Development Corporation, city officials, and Mass Ave stakeholders and neighborhood representatives.

Project Period Artists must be able to install their projects between June 6th and June 20th, 2008 (We've talked about your doing new window installs during this time. Since the other projects on Mass will still be up according to Susan - what if we push these dates into July?). Installations must remain up for 18 to 24 months. Artists may propose a specific installation lifetime as required by the nature of the work and/or materials used. Otherwise all projects will be installed for up to 24 months. All artists will coordinate project development timelines with Riley Area Development Corporation (see Contact Information section).

Budget A $5,000 fee will be paid to each artist. Up to 4 projects may be selected.

Installation/Deinstallation and Insurance Several Mass Ave stakeholders are willing and able to provide in-kind goods and services relative to installation and deinstallation. In the past, up to $500 in in-kind goods and services have been provided. Examples of previous kinds of complimentary services include pouring bases and foundations, equipment for installation/deinstallation, labor, etc. Please articulate your anticipated needs in your proposal and coordinate these needs with Riley Area Development (see Contact Information section).

Significant site preparation costs will be the responsibility of the artist as well as round-trip transportation and de-installation costs.

Artists are also responsible for the restoration of the project site to its original condition following the de-installation of their project.

All artists whose projects are commissioned will be required to sign a contract. Insurance on the artwork will be provided by Riley Area Development Corporation for a value to be agreed upon with the artist.

Submission To submit a project for consideration, applicants must create a user profile at www.slideroom.com.

Attached to these guidelines, please find a Frequently Asked Questions sheet that includes helpful tips and image formatting guidelines.

Applicants must upload the following to www.slideroom.com:
A. Artist Statement and Resume
B. Narrative: Describe the proposed project discussing its relationship to the site physically and/or conceptually, the materials you would be using, the methods of construction, and the lifetime of the project (up to 24months). Be sure to indicate where on Mass Ave the project would be installed. C. Combine all text from sections A an B into a single document and paste into artist statement box in applicant screen. See slideroom.com for more details D. Images of proposed installation: At least 2 and no more than 5 images of the proposed installation uploaded to slideroom.com. E. Images of previous work: At least 2 and no more than 5 images of previous work uploaded to slideroom.com

For technical assistance contact info@slideroom.com

Selection Process & Criteria Project proposals will be judged on the following criteria by a conflict-free panel of creative professionals and neighborhood stakeholders. The Arts Council's Public Art Project coordinator will facilitate the panel.
&#bull; Quality of the artwork - formal and conceptual rigor &#bull; Appropriateness of the work for the site, including aesthetic and conceptual content as well as issues of public safety &#bull; Feasibility of the project given timeline and budget &#bull; Durability - The project's ability to withstand weather and interaction in a high traffic, public area over the course of the exhibition period (up to 24 months) &#bull; Display a consideration of the pedestrian and vehicular flow up and down Mass Avenue

Selected artists will be notified in early-February 2008.

Contact Information For more information about the administration of the Artist Selection Process or the Public Art Indianapolis program, please contact:

Malina Jeffers, Project Coordinator for Public Art and Artist Services Arts Council of Indianapolis Tel: (317) 631-3301 ex. 229 Email: mjeffers@indyarts.org

And visit www.indyarts.org and www.culturalindy.org

For more information about contracts, management of the installations, possible project locations, the Mass Ave Cultural District and surrounding communities, please contact:

Susan Vogt, Deputy Director Riley Area Development Corporation Tel: (317) 637-8996 ex. 202 Email: svogt@rileyarea.org

And visit www.discovermassave.com