Call for artists/teams for Hopkins, MN project

rendering of a dynamic civic space with city amenities as well as greenery and water access

Call for 5 artists/teams for Hopkins, MN project

Call for Artists: 325 Blake Road, Hopkins, Minnesota
Issue Date: June 16, 2022
Application Materials Due: July 15, 2022 at 4:59pm CT
Artist Fee: $8000 for each of 5 artists/teams plus a shared $10,000 materials budget

Letters of Interest + Qualifications due July 15, 2022

Background

The City and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) are working together on the restoration and redevelopment of the 17-acre site at 325 Blake Road. The City and MCWD selected Alatus as the development partner to lead a transformative redevelopment of the site, which will include a variety of housing, restaurants and commercial space, as well as a strong public realm with plazas, courtyards, promenades, and connections to Minnehaha Creek, Cottageville Park, the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail and the future Blake Road LRT Station. A goal for the overall development is to be open, inviting, and serve as a community hub, rather than feeling like a private neighborhood.
Find more information about the development.
View a fly-through video of the development.

Goal

The City of Hopkins and Alatus, along with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, seek to have an artist-led community engagement process as part of the transformation of 325 Blake Road into a water focused, mixed use, transit-oriented neighborhood. Ultimately, the goal is to incorporate public art into the site design that reflects who lives in the Blake Road corridor today, honors the first people who inhabited the area, visually ties the site to Cottageville Park and the Blake Road LRT Station, informs the opportunities for neighborhood serving businesses within the site, and leads the public through the site to Minnehaha Creek.

The project will build upon previous community engagement which has informed the planned private development and the site’s public natural spaces along Minnehaha Creek and will focus on residents who live near the development site. We will work to engage participants from groups that are less likely to participate in civic processes, such as renters, youth, and BIPOC residents. The project will focus on using artists and art to facilitate community engagement that will inform and influence aspects of the site design and commissioned public art, including:

Public art that reflects the diverse Blake Road community
Wayfinding and educational signage
Public realm amenities and activations, such as at gathering spaces and trails
Mix and opportunities for neighborhood serving businesses within the site

We are looking for five artists/artist teams who

Can use art to inspire and engage with the community.
Are comfortable talking to strangers & meeting new people.
Listen to the community’s vision for a welcoming, inspiring, fun place to inform a clear call to artists to be developed by Forecast for future public artworks.
Are connected to this neighborhood or its diverse cultures in some way.

In order to

Share information about this project with community members through creative engagement activities that are inclusive, hands-on and engaging for participants, where they have opportunities to share their thoughts, comments, and concerns in a variety of ways (written, spoken and visually).

This work will

Seek input on how the public realm can be safe and welcoming to all, and especially the surrounding residents.
Inform future public art and wayfinding projects in the development to reflect the diverse cultures in Hopkins and this neighborhood.
Be shared with the entire project team [the City, developer, landscape architects, and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District] to create visual cohesion across the development and signal that it is public space and available for everyone.
Help inform other future adjacent public art projects, such as a mural project led by Three Rivers Park District for the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail tunnel that is adjacent to the site.

We are especially looking for artists with the following skills & identities

Artists with a sense of connection to the area. Hopkins is a dynamic community with a population of more than 19,000, where 40% of the residents are people of color and 65% of the housing is rented. The City of Hopkins understands the role of arts and culture to create a place where a diverse community can live and thrive.
Indigenous Artists, Latinx artists, Somali artists, artists connected to the cultures reflected in the neighborhood
Bi/Multilingual Artists
Poets, Musicians, Writers

We would like to hire at least one artist who has an interest in and knowledge of the environment (especially water), and at least one artist that uses technology (video, projection).

We will work to engage participants from groups that are typically less likely to participate in civic processes, such as renters, youth, and BIPOC residents.

Some examples of strategies we have used before include

Working with the school system to involve students/youth
Translating materials into languages represented in the area
Providing incentives to community members engaging in conversations
Developing relationships with localized businesses and organizations to provide incentives
Developing options for participation that are both scheduled and independent
Social media
Polls, contests, challenges, scavenger hunts, and other opportunities to “gamify” activities encouraging people to get out into the neighborhood
Creating activities and engagement opportunities based on leisure activities area residents are already participating in [biking, sports, cultural activities]
Non-traditional group conversations
Aligning with existing local activities, community events, and festivals

How to Submit

Individuals or teams are asked to provide the following, combined into a single PDF document:

One page letter stating interest in the project, approach to design, your connection to the neighborhood, and contact information.
Statement of Qualifications and Work Samples – Please provide information that describes your qualifications and past experience in community engagement. Please
share your website or social media where we can see relevant past projects.

All materials must be received by July 15, 2022 by 4:59pm CT

Please submit all RFQ materials via email to: Yarlyn@forecastpublicart.org

If you need clarification or further information, contact Yarlyn Rosario, Forecast Project Manager, at yarlyn@forecastpublicart.org

Late applications will not be reviewed.

About Forecast

Forecast firmly believes that culture and creativity are important drivers of creating a more just society. As one of the country’s first nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing the field of public art, we are called to advocate for and advance public art practices that advance justice, health and human dignity. We are invested in public art that plays a crucial role in creating a sense of belonging, and supporting people to realize their potential and live healthy lives. We emphasize access for artists of color, indigenous artists, and groups that are traditionally excluded.