City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council consider the Cultural Affairs Commission’s
(CAC) recommendation to approve the attached Call to Artists (Request for
Qualifications (RFQ)/Request for Proposal (RFP)) for a public art concept on West
Washington Boulevard and direct staff to proceed.
BACKGROUND:
At the May 10, 2005 meeting, the CAC considered staff’s recommendation to include
funding for public art on Washington Boulevard (west of the 405 Fwy.) In the FY 05-
06 Cultural Affairs budget and work program. Per the CAC’s recommendation,
$100,000 from the Art Fund – a restricted fund -- was included in the proposed FY
05-06 budget and approved by the City Council.
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to adopted Cultural Affairs policy, staff convened an Advisory Panel
comprised of eight residents of the proposed project area (West Washington
Boulevard between the 405 Fwy. and Lincoln Blvd.), plus one representative of the
Culver City Rotary Club. (The Rotary Club expressed an interest in contributing up
to $6,000 toward an art project on West Washington Boulevard.) Included among
the nine panelists were representatives of the three area neighborhood associations
(Culver West, Herbert Street, and Culver Triangle).
Meeting Date: February 27, 2006 Item Number: C-6
AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposal
for Public Art Concept on West Washington Blvd.
Contact Person/Dept.: B. Christine Byers/
Cultural Affairs
Phone Number: (310) 253-5776
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: West Washington Blvd. Advisory Panel Notified (02/16/06); Cultural
Affairs Master Notification List Notified (02/16/06); Cultural Affairs Commission
(02/14/06); Master Notification List (02/22/06)
Department Approval:
Susan Evans (02/15/06)
CAO Approval:
Martin Cole for Jerry Fulwood (2/21/06)
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang (02/20/06)City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
The Advisory Panel met on January 24, 2006 with staff, the CAC Public Art sub-
committee (Susan Deen and Gayle Smashey) and one of the City Council’s sub-
committee members (Alan Corlin) for this project area to review possible concepts
and discuss general themes. Mr. Corlin, Ms. Deen, and Ms. Smashey were present
as observers and as an additional resource for questions.
Staff began the meeting with a short presentation accompanied by images of
examples of completed installations or proposals for art concepts. Examples
included narrative-based art forms (i.e., art that told a story with pictures or words
over time or over distance) and also installations that utilized light or lasers.
Examples were chosen by staff in part for their appeal to vehicular traffic and for the
ability to rotate or alter the installation to help perpetuate a sense of change and
movement. Discussion among panel’s members ensued. At the end of the
discussion, which lasted about an hour, the following criteria were identified as
important considerations for art concepts in the immediate and/or near future:
Art work should be along Washington Boulevard (between 405 Fwy. and
Lincoln Blvd.);
Art work should help unify the project area;
The cultural/ethnic diversity of the project area should be considered;
Regional artists should be targeted;
This installation could be part of a multi-phase, temporary installation;
Culver City’s unique identity (or history) within the larger context of Los
Angeles should be considered;
After de-installation, art work could be sold at auction to raise money for
future art work in the project area; and,
Other areas to consider for future installations (possibly using light) are
Washington Blvd. at Wade St.; Washington Blvd. at Inglewood Ave.; and,
Washington Blvd. at Lincoln Blvd. (as a “gateway” into Culver City feature);
The attached Call to Artists (which comprises an RFQ and RFP) incorporates many
of these themes but intentionally remains broad in its guidelines so as to encourage
the widest possible range of proposals. The Call to Artists does specify using the
approximately 176 light poles on both sides of Washington Boulevard as a venue for
original outdoor artwork.City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Pending City Council approval, the first step will be to reach out to as many
California-based artists via mailing lists, listservs and web postings requesting
statements of qualification which include a resume and images of past work. All
qualified submissions (deemed timely and complete) will then be reviewed by a
Selection Panel comprised of arts professionals and up to two members of the
Advisory Panel who met on January 24th. The Selection Panel will recommend a
short list of qualified artists to the CAC Public Art sub-committee and staff. Short
listed artists will be given further details about the scope of the project and proposal
submission criteria and asked to prepare an original art concept and detailed cost
estimate. The Selection Panel will reconvene to review the final proposals and
interview the artists. The Selection Panel’s recommendation for a finalist or finalists
will be forwarded to the CAC via the sub-committee for consideration and then to the
City Council. (The CAC Public Art sub-committee will attend both meetings of the
Selection Panel as observers and as an additional resource for questions.)
The CAC Public Art sub-committee met with staff to review the attached draft Call to
Artists on Wednesday, February 1, 2006. The attached document incorporates the
sub-committee’s comments.
The Cultural Affairs Commission considered this item at their regular meeting on
February 14, 2006 and unanimously approved the attached Call to Artists.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
$100,000 is allocated in the FY 05-06 budget from the Art Fund (41300861.730100).
Depending on the scope of the proposals selected, staff estimates the costs to range
from $50,000 - $85,000. Based upon the high end estimate ($85,000), the
remaining $15,000 allocated for this project area, would be held in reserve to off-set
potential in-house installation costs, publicity or other related expenses.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Call to Artists incorporating both a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request
for Proposal (RFP).
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Approve the Call to Artists (RFQ/RFP) for an art project on West Washington
Boulevard and direct staff to proceed.
MEETING DATE February 27, 2006
AGENDA ITEM
Consideration of Request for Qualifications/Request
for Proposal for Public Art Concept on West
Washington Blvd
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1 Ca// to Artists incorporating both a Request for 1 - 3
Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP)Cattivz, CITY
March 1, 2006
Call to Artists
Introduction/Project Site
This is the first phase of what is anticipated to be a multi phase art program focusing on the 2 5 mile
section of West Washington Blvd between the 405 Freeway and Lincoln Boulevard The project site
represents a section of the historically significant Washington Boulevard that connects the Pacific Ocean
to downtown Los Angeles It is also the major commercial thoroughfare in the western-most section of
Culver City, off which, quiet residential neighborhoods branch out The boulevard -- a wide, open street
with low-rise buildings on either side - presents a unique opportunity for artists to infuse the area with a
sense of change and energy in an art concept that also unifies the street visually within the project site
(Include information about demographics in project area here )
Scope of Proiect
• This project is intended as a temporary installation lasting 1 2 years and may change or rotate
within that time frame,
• Artists are to use the light poles along Washington Boulevard as the primary venue
(approximately 176 along both sides of the street) for original, site specific art work,
Art work must be easily visible to vehicular traffic,
• Art work must be fabricated from durable materials which require minimal maintenance and can
withstand outdoor conditions for approximately 18 months after installation,
• Art work concept can be a one time installation for the 1-2 yr time period or be a multi-phase
installation within that time period, and,
• Turn around time for fabrication and installation shall be relatively short (target date for
completed installation is fall/early winter 2006)
The City
Culver City, with a resident population of approximately 42,000 residents within five square miles, is
located eight miles west of downtown Los Angeles and seven miles east of the Pacific Ocean In the 20th
century, Culver City was home to three major film studios, thereby earning its title as The Heart of
Screenland " Today, Culver City is the headquarters of Sony Pictures Entertainment The City
distinguishes itself as a residential community that is known as a center for creative business, including
film and design, as well as an emerging art and cultural center More information on the City's history is
available at www culvercity org/cityinfo/history/index html
Guidelines & Deadline
By 5 00 pm, Friday, March 31, 2006, submit the following materials
• Ten Images of past work Images shall be provided on a CD, submitted as jogs at 72 dpi and
identified by artist's name and image number, for example Jones_01, Jones_02, etc Submittals
shall include hard copy of color contact sheet of images with artist's name
Page 1 of 3• Image list To include image number, title, medium, dimensions, date and brief written
description of each image (25 words or less)
Resume Include 8 copies of current resume
• References Address, telephone and e mail contact information for two professional references
qualified to testify to your artistic achievements and performance
Please Note Due date is the receipt date and not the postmark date Submissions will not be
returned and become the property of City of Culver City
Selection Process
Phase 1
A Selection Panel comprised of arts professionals and up to two representatives of the project area's
Advisory Panel will review all qualified submissions and make a recommendation to the Cultural Affairs
Commission's Public Art sub-committee Up to three artists or artist teams will be selected to develop
original art work proposals Short-listed artists will be provided with a written set of guidelines and will
be required to attend a briefing session with staff Short-listed artists will be given a six week time
period to complete their designs Short-listed artists will be selected based on the following criteria
• Quality of past work (weighted at 80%) Artistic merit as evidenced by quality of submitted
work, and,
• Experience (weighted at 20%) Professional experience as evidenced by resume and
reference recommendations and demonstrated ability to successfully complete public art projects
of similar scale and scope
Phase 2
The Selection Panel will reconvene to review original artwork created by short-listed artists and
recommend that one, two or up to three short listed artists or artist teams have their art work concept
installed along Washington Blvd A 45-minute interview with each artist/artist-team will be part of the
Selection Panel's evaluation process (The number of artists or artist teams selected will in part be
determined by cost estimates as they relate to other aspects of the proposed project ) Finalist(s) will be
selected based on the following criteria
That the art concept
• Conveys superior artistic merit
• Is site specific
• Is engaging to vehicular (and pedestrian traffic)
• Provides an improved and more attractive streetscape
• Is well designed, safe, made of durable materials and requires minimal maintenance
• Project cost estimate vs scope of project
• Fabrication and installation timeline
The Selection Panel will make its recommendation for a finalist or finalists to the CAC Public Art sub-
committee who in turn will forward a recommendation to the Cultural Affairs Commission The City
Council makes the final decision based on the Cultural Affairs Commission's recommendation Both the
Cultural Affairs Commission and City Council meetings will be open public meetings at which time artists
will have an opportunity to make a short statement
Page 2 of 3All art concepts are subject to review by the City Attorney's Office, Building & Safety and Public Works
Department (and other departments or divisions as necessary) for compliance with City codes, policies
and regulations Depending on the nature of the proposed project(s), Public Works staff may be involved
with installation
Budget
Short-listed artists not selected as finalists will be paid a $1,000 honorarium Finalist(s) will be paid a
$10,000 design fee Artist teams selected as finalists will be paid as a team the $10,000 design fee The
total available for this project Is $85,000
This opportunity is open to professional artists and illustrators residing in California Artist teams are also
encouraged to apply
The City of Culver City reserves the riaht to cancel, postpone or otherwise not select
any artist for a commission
All submissions should be delivered or mailed to
B Christine Byers
Cultural Affairs Division
Community Development Department
9770 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
For questions, please contact Christine Byers at
(310) 253-5776 or chnstine byers@culveraty org
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