Artwork Competition to Commemorate the 19th Amendment

Important Update


The registration deadline for this artwork contest has been extended! The new deadline is Wednesday, February 19, 2020 | 5PM PST.

We have also had some questions about what is actually due by WeTransfer next Wednesday. Artwork submissions for this competition are not due by the registration deadline. All that is due by the registration deadline is:

  1. An artist resumé including name, mailing address, phone, email, bio, and webpage (if applicable);
  2. A one-page letter of interest addressing your artistic practice and why this project interests you;
  3. Up to five work samples;
  4. An annotated image list for your work samples;

General Contest Description

Join LA County in celebrating 100 years of passion, purpose and progress as we look to the past and craft the future. On August 6, 2019, the LA County Board of Supervisors introduced a motion directing the Women and Girls Initiative to collaborate with the Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) to commission artists to create commemorative artworks for the Centennial Celebration of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

Arts and Culture is proud to hereby invite its creative community to reflect on the centennial, celebrate the achievements of the suffragists, and place the movement in a larger historical context. We welcome LA-based artists to submit their qualifications, including a letter of interest, resume, images, and annotated image list to be considered for the final award. Final awards will be offered to a maximum of five artists to create two original artworks commemorating the centennial.

Awards:

Maximum of five prizes at $4,000 each

Fee:

No entry free

Submittal Deadline:

February 19, 2020

Awards


Selected artists will be awarded a contract of $4,000 to create two original artworks.

To Respond


All submittal materials must be received by February 19, 2020 | 5PM PST. Any materials received after that date and time will not be accepted or considered.

Submittal materials must include the following components in the below mentioned order:

  1. Resume including name, mailing address, phone number(s), email, web page (if applicable), and bio. Resume should not exceed three pages.
  2. A maximum one-page letter of interest addressing your artistic practice, sources of inspiration, why this project interests you, and how you plan to celebrate women’s empowerment and equity in the final artworks.
  3. Up to five images of your relevant work.
  4. An annotated image list that indicates title, date, medium, dimensions, and brief project description of the maximum five images submitted (maximum 100 characters).

The required method for submitting materials for this RFQ is through WeTransfer.

WeTransfer Instructions:


  1. Resume, letter of interest, and annotated image list must be saved as a PDF document.
  2. Images must be saved as a single PDF or Powerpoint document. Individual images that are not compiled into a single pdf or Powerpoint document will not be accepted and your application will be considered incomplete.
  3. Save your application materials in a single folder. Name your folder using the following naming convention: FirstInitialLastName-Application (example: JJones-Application). If you are applying as a collective, use your collective’s name instead of FirstInitialLastName (example: JonesStudio-Application).
  4. Submit your application file or folder through Wetransfer.com to MMorris@arts.lacounty.gov.

Please submit additional questions about the competition to Civic Art Project Manager Marah Morris at (213) 202-5923 or MMorris@arts.lacounty.gov before February 7, 2020 | 5PM PST.

Responses to additional questions will be posted on the Arts and Culture website on February 12, 2020.

Resources


Selected artists will each create two original artworks reflecting a diversity of women and perspectives, and celebrating themes such as women in leadership, advocacy, elections and voting. Artworks should reflect aesthetic and technical quality, innovation and civic engagement.

The original artworks shall be graphic design, photography, painting, or other two-dimensional, flat surfaced works. They will be accessioned into the County's Civic Art Collection, framed and installed in the LA County Board of Supervisors and Arts and Culture offices. The original artworks will be documented by Arts and Culture in the highest resolution and fabricated into 18"x24" posters for distribution throughout all 34 LA County departments and duplicated into a limited run of LA County Library cards.

Event Date
Issuance of Request for Qualifications Jan 27, 2020
Date to Submit Additional Questions Feb 7, 2020 | 5PM
Response to Additional Questions Posted Feb 12, 2020
Submittals Due Feb 19, 2020 | 5PM
Jury Deliberations Week of Feb 24, 2020
Finalists Announced Week of Mar 2, 2020

This RFQ is open to emerging and established professional artists who reside, work, study, or teach in LA County. Artists who have previous artwork in the County’s Civic Art Collection will be eligible if this project has a higher budget than their previously commissioned project, or if the artist has not completed a Civic Art project with Arts and Culture for five years.

Artists must submit a complete application to Arts and Culture. A jury of arts professionals and LA County stakeholders will deliberate proposal materials anonymously and select up to five final artists. Artists will be selected based on the quality of their work and their ability to demonstrate applicability to and potential impact on the above stated project goals.

For questions about this RFQ, please contact Marah Morris, Civic Art Project Manager, at (213) 202-5923 or MMorris@arts.lacounty.gov. For further information about Civic Art, please visit the Civic Art web page.

  • Do not send original artwork.
  • Late applications will not be considered.
  • If artists are applying as a team, the team must be declared at the time of application in the letter of interest. Include team bio, outline for the roles and responsibilities of each member, and brief resumes for all team members with the application. Please submit a minimum of five images per team (not per artist).
  • Arts and Culture reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses received, or commission an artist through another process.
  • All artists who submit their materials for review will receive written notification of the results of the selection process, including identification of the selected artist(s).
  • This request for qualifications does not constitute an offer to contract or a promise for remuneration, recognition, or any other thing. Submission of any materials in response to this request for qualifications will not constitute an express or implied contract. The information contained and/or any program or event described herein may be changed, amended, modified, canceled, revoked, or abandoned without notice at any time and for any reason in the sole discretion of Arts and Culture or the County of Los Angeles.
  • Priority will be given to artists who have had no prior commission of the same or higher budget with Civic Art.
  • If artist proposal is selected, the artist will be required to enter into a contract with the County of Los Angeles. Because the artwork will be located on public property, and because the County of Los Angeles is a public entity subject to laws, rules, and regulations which are not necessarily applicable to private persons or companies, the Department of Arts and Culture has prepared a form agreement for use in connection with artwork commissioned for Civic Art. A copy of the form agreement can be found on Arts and Culture’s website, at www.lacountyarts.org/civicart_opportunities.htm. If an artist is selected, the artist acknowledges that they are willing and able to enter into a similar contract as the sample form agreement made available on the Arts and Culture website. Arts and Culture reserves the right to revise or change its form agreement at any time, for any reason, and to require artists to use the revised form for contracting purposes.
  • Selected artists will be required to have commercial general liability insurance, automobile insurance, and be a registered vendor with the County of Los Angeles.

LA County Women and Girls Initiative
The mission of the Women and Girls Initiative is to establish Los Angeles County as a leader in creating opportunities and improving outcomes for all women and girls. Please check their webpage for additional resources that can guide and inform proposed artworks and imagery.

LA County Department of Arts and Culture
The LA County Department of Arts and Culture advances arts, culture, and creativity throughout Los Angeles County, framed by the vision and guiding principles of the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative. Arts and Culture's Civic Art Division provides leadership in the development of high-quality civic spaces by integrating artists into the planning and design process at the earliest possible opportunity, encouraging innovative approaches to civic art, and providing access to artistic experiences of the highest caliber for the residents of LA County. Working with leading artists, emerging public artists, County departments, and communities, the Civic Art Division creates artwork, design, public engagement activities, exhibitions, temporary art, and event-based programming for new and renovated facilities throughout Los Angeles County.

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View and download a PDF version of this RFQ.

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