The Utah Public Art Program, in cooperation with Weber State University Tracy Hall Science Center, is accepting qualifications from artists or artist teams interested in creating integrated public art for this new facility on the campus in Ogden, Utah.
THE TRACY HALL SCIENCE CENTER
The College of Science at Weber State University provides first-rate math and science instruction to its active core student majors, and plays a critical role in enhancing the success of the science disciplines in not only Davis County, but to all of Utah. The College of Science at Weber State University is particularly renowned for its ability to engage its undergraduate science students in research activities.
The college offers majors and minors in seven departments: Botany, Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, and Zoology. The college also supports students through its Developmental Mathematics Program. The departments and programs of the College of Science support professional and graduate school preparatory programs, and contribute significantly to the general education of students by improving scientific understanding of the natural world and quantitative literacy.
The Tracy Hall Science Center is one of the largest architectural building projects that Weber State University has undertaken on its main campus since the original Student Union was renovated in 2008. The Tracy Hall Science Center project is also, arguably, the most important academic building project in the University’s history and holds the promise to provide a world class science learning facility that will help educate Utah’s next generation of science professionals and other allied fields of study.
It is the desire of WSU for the Tracy Hall Science Center to serve as a learning tool to its students, demonstrating concepts of science through the building design, public art and theme integration. These concepts may manifest in all elements of the building, such as building organization, structure, geometry, material patterns, textures, and finishes.
BUILDING DESCRIPTION:
The building has been designed with two distinct massing elements. The first is a sweeping curve that pulls the building into the core of the campus and creates a prominent, yet elegant, statement at the north end of the bell tower plaza. The second is the two laboratory tower wings that are located on the west side of the curve. Functionally, the curve houses the offices, some classrooms and building support areas, and the two tower wings house the teaching laboratories, faculty research and laboratory support spaces.
There are key locations within the floor plan where the pathways in and through the building converge, creating nodes of activity and opportunities for interactions. These nodes - or activity hubs and entrances, marked on the following plans - are intended to integrate elements that contribute to a series of experiences for the users of this facility.
The lobby at level one provides an opportunity to engage campus community entering from lower campus. This location also has a unique view up toward the level 2 entry corridor.
The convergence of level 1 and level 2 at the entry stair will be a focal area and primary convergence of paths.
The atrium will serve as the social heart and be a central gathering and event area for the science community. It will provide space for student studying, events and provide daylight to the center of the building.
There are also unique opportunities to engage both the campus and scientific communities at the building entry, at the north end of the bell tower plaza.
OGDEN UTAH and WEBER COUNTY
Weber County’s population is just under 200,000, with another 200,000 in adjacent Davis County. Salt Lake City, a major airline hub, is 45 minutes away. Industries such as Flying J, America Online and Kimberly-Clark have corporate offices or facilities in the area, and federal government installations include Hill Air Force Base, a U.S. Forest Service regional office and an IRS service center.
Ogden City has long been one of the most diverse communities in Utah and a center for industry, technology and finance. Historic Twenty-Fifth Street is a district of distinctive shops, galleries and restaurants so picturesque it provides the setting for the television series “Everwood.”
Northern Utah’s landscape is breathtaking, and outdoor recreation opportunities abound. Residents fish local rivers, boat on the Great Salt Lake and Pineview Reservoir, and hike and bike trails that are literally “just up the street.” Ogden Valley’s three ski resorts include Snowbasin, home of the 2002 Olympic downhill.
Weber State University serves the educational needs of nearly 19,000 students. Founded in 1889 with an emphasis on teaching, WSU offers more than 200 degree programs – the most comprehensive undergraduate offering in Utah.
Abundant classrooms and laboratories, a new computing center, outstanding performing and visual arts facilities, a spacious library and a well-equipped health and fitness complex occupy some of the 60 buildings on the 526-acre mountainside Ogden campus.
In the community, WSU is a leader in economic development partnerships. The Center for Automotive Science and Technology, the Science and Mathematics Center, the Center for Chemical Technology, the Technology Assistance Center and the Center for Business and Economic Development are all examples of university-community partnerships that strengthen business as well as provide learning opportunities for students. Other community partnerships range from hospitals and nursing outreach programs throughout Utah, to the Midtown Dental Hygiene Clinic, to participation in the renovation of Peery’s Egyptian Theater and the construction of the David S. Eccles Conference Center in downtown Ogden.
WSU offers bachelor’s degrees, two-year associate’s degrees and professional certificates in applied science and technology, arts and humanities, business and economics, education, health professions, science, or social and behavioral sciences. Master’s degrees are available in accounting, business administration, criminal justice and education.
As the cultural center for the northern Wasatch Front, WSU offers a variety of speakers, performers and touring groups from around the world who perform in the renovated Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. The Utah Symphony, Ballet West and Utah Opera visit campus regularly, and the WSU Department of Performing Arts produces a wide array of theater, music and dance performances. Ogden, Park City and the Salt Lake City metropolitan area host The Sundance Film Festival, three annual jazz festivals, Broadway touring company productions, as well as the symphony, opera, ballet and a number of theater troupes.
From the time the early founders of the school mortgaged their homes to guarantee the construction of campus buildings, Weber State University has benefited from its century-old partnership with surrounding communities. The institution’s role has been strengthened over the years by the active and enthusiastic support of its neighbors, faculty, staff and alumni.
COMMITTEE STATEMENT
The vision for the Tracy Hall Science Center is to utilize a blend of art and science to engage the building visitors and users. Throughout the design process, the Steering Committee has identified three elements that together will inform the building theme. These are: Patterns | Place | Aesthetics
There is a sense of beauty that underlies and enhances the essence of our place. As you turn from the telescope to the microscope you discover vast webs of patterns, interconnections and layers. We live in a world that is created from diverse and beautiful systems that complement one another and work in tandem to contribute to the whole.
Ideally, there would be a recognition of the location of the Tracy Hall Science Center's place in Utah, and even more specifically, between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Front.
The public art commission for the Tracy Hall Science Center may reflect the beauty of the place and/or the sense of wonder and excitement that accompanies discovery. It is the hope of the committee that the art might transcend being just a visual object but to be integral and integrated into the building experience. Hopefully, the work(s) will be a connection between the wonder of art and science and the place we live - inspiring visitors to want to use scientific principles and tools for their own personal discovery and exploration.
The selected artist(s) will be working collaboratively with the project committee to develop and design work(s) that contribute to the learning environment that is this building. This may manifest itself through interactive art or even a series of works that create a unique and engaging experience.
The Committee is excited for new and innovative elements that might bring art and science together, creating both an aesthetic and scientifically engaging experience.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The Committee is looking for an artist to be a member of the design team. The artist and the steering committee will work collaboratively with the artist to create work that incorporates into the building design. The selection committee is seeking artists that are willing to be engaged in this collaborative process and whose work contributes to this vision of the melding of art and science as mentioned above.
The Committee encourages artists to provide work samples of their work that demonstrates examples of place specific, scientifically appropriate and integrated works. The selection committee may select one or more artists, for this project.
BUDGET
$472,000 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.
This arts budget is the projected 1% based on the overall construction budget. The project is still in design phase and the final approval for the percent for art project has not yet been formalized by the Utah State Legislature. In the event this project is not approved in the Legislative session scheduled to end mid-March 2014 there may be up to a one year delay before the project can commence. Finalist honoraria funding has been secured.
ELIGIBILITY
Resident American or legal resident artists / artist teams are encouraged to apply. Art selection committee members, Utah Arts & Museums, and VCBO employees, family members or consultants are not eligible to apply for this commission.
SUBMISSION OPTIONS, INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIRED MATERIALS
Interested artists may submit applications online or hard copy. 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. All applications must include the following:
ON-LINE METHOD:
- Register at www.callforentry.org and follow the directions for registration and submitting material for this Public Art Request for Qualifications
HARD COPY METHOD:
A PC compatible CD labeled with applicant's name, and contact information containing:
A letter of interest of not more than three 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 Weber State University Science Building Art Selection Committee will be liable for late, lost or damaged materials or electronic files. Faxed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted.
Weber State University Science Building Art Selection Committee reserves the right to withhold the award of a commission or re-release the call for entries.
DEADLINE
All online applications must be submitted by 12 Midnight (MST) March 14, 2014.
Complete application packages submitted via the "Hard Copy" method must be RECEIVED on or before March 14, 2014 by 5 p.m. (THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE.) All supporting materials must accompany application.
Please send, deliver or courier "hard copy" applications to:
Jim Glenn, Utah Public Art Program
Attention: WSU Science Building
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 will be based on interviews between the finalists and the committee. Finalist will be asked to come to the interview on April 24, 2014 with an idea(s) of directions they may be interested in pursuing for the project with the understanding these ideas may change in the collaborative process. Finalists are not required to come to this interview with proposals or maquettes but may do so if they feel it important to convey their ideas.
Due to the time table of this project and the desire to include the commissioned artist(s) in the design plan, the selected artist(s) will be asked to participate in design work as soon as possible after notification by the committee.
An honorarium of $4,000 will be extended to the finalists to cover the costs associated with the interview and travel. This honorarium will be applied toward the commission amount for the artist(s) awarded the commission. Final selection(s) will be made from the finalists interviewed.
SCHEDULE
January 29, 2014 - Release RFQ
March 14, 2014 - Deadline for receipt of preliminary materials
March 28, 2014 - Committee Review
April 24 - Finalists interviews
ARTIST SELECTION COMMITTEE
Taylor Christenson - WSU, Student Representative
Bruce Daley - WSU, Campus Planning and Facilities
Jim Jacobs - Artist & WSU, Department of Art Professor
David Matty - WSU, Science Chair
Matthias Mueller - Utah Division of Facilities Construction & Management
Norm Tarbox - WSU, V.P. of Administrative Services
Whitney Ward - VCBO Architecture
Utah Arts Council Board of Directors
Please do not contact Selection Committee Members. 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 OR
Felicia Baca at 801-245-7272 or fbaca@utah.gov
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