This application period has closed

Background

HS Lake Nokomis, LLC has contracted with Forecast Public Art to facilitate a call for two artists/teams to design and create two murals on a new mixed-use development in south Minneapolis located in Standish-Ericsson neighborhood at Cedar Avenue and Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail. Artists are hereby invited to submit qualifications to be considered to participate in the design phase for the public art opportunity described below.

About Nokomis Mixed Use Development

The Lake Nokomis development will include 130 residential apartments and 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, which will be occupied by the supermarket Lunds & Byerlys. The property is located at 4720 Longfellow Avenue S. and construction is slated for completion in the spring of 2021.

The Lake Nokomis development will offer a mix of studio, alcove, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Residents will have access to plentiful nearby local businesses, the full-service grocery store, and an abundance of recreational opportunities (Lake Nokomis, Lake Hiawatha, Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail) within walking distance. The project’s architect is ESG Architects and the general contractor Stevens Construction Corp.

The murals will be on the exterior walls of the Lunds & Byerlys grocery, on the ground level.

Russell T. Lund began his grocery career in 1922 at Hoves, a small corner grocery store located on the corner of Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. An entrepreneur by nature, Lund experimented with pre-popped and packaged popcorn to sell in Hoves’ cracker department. A short time later, Lund turned his experiment into a profitable business called the Red E Popt Popcorn Company and established the guarantee of customer satisfaction with the promise to “cheerfully refund your money.”

In 1939, Lund partnered with his former employers, becoming a full-partner in the Hoves’ perishable department. Using profits from his popcorn business, Lund opened a new grocery store on Lake Street under the Hove name, which was one of the first self-service grocery stores in the area. Three years later, he opened another store in Edina on 50^th Street and France Avenue. The Hoves stores’ lease expired in February 1964 and soon, Hoves grocery stores were renamed Lunds. In April 1997, Lunds acquired a local friendly competitor called Byerly’s Inc., which was founded by Don Byerly in 1968. In 2015, the separate “Lunds” and “Byerly’s” store brands were combined under one unified name: Lunds & Byerlys. Lund Food Holdings currently owns and operates 27 Lunds & Byerlys throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding area.

Request for Qualifications

Artists or Artist Teams are hereby invited to submit qualifications to be considered to participate in the design phase for the public art opportunity described below.

Successful murals for this site would fit the neighborhood context and respond to “nature” and “community” themes as desired by the selection committee.

Site Information

The murals will be located on two separate spaces on the building. One mural will be in a recessed space facing Cedar Avenue on the west facade. A second mural space will occupy 4 separate wall spaces on the east facade on Longfellow Avenue. One artist/team will be selected for each mural.

Schedule

• September 1 – deadline for Artists/Teams to submit qualifications
• Week of September 14 – Committee selects 5 finalists
• Week of October 12 – Artist/Team finalists present concepts and committee makes selection of two Artists/Teams
• November/December 2020: Based on approval of final design, artists/teams commence with fabrication
• April/May 2021 – projects installed/project completion

Budget

Five Artists/Teams will be selected to design a concept to present to the selection committee. Artist/Team finalists will each receive a stipend of $1000 for the creation of a concept and a virtual presentation.

The committee will select up to two Artists/Teams to produce the murals.

Cedar Avenue (west) facing mural wall budget is $5000.

Longfellow Avenue (east) facing mural walls (4 wall spaces in total) budget is $15,000.

These do-not-exceed amounts must include all fees, materials, transportation, and any other costs associated with the project. Forecast will work with artists on logistics of storage and space to make murals, if assistance is requested.

Selection Criteria

Phase 1 | Qualifications criteria

• Quality of letter and approach to the project.
• Quality of work samples.
• Ability of artist/team to successfully complete projects based on bio and/or prior work experience and/or team make up.
• Early career artists are encouraged to submit.

Phase 2 | Design Concept criteria

Design concepts for the Cedar Ave mural must meet the following criteria:

• Art should be welcoming, accessible, and creative.
• Design concepts are energetic, dynamic, unique, and engage the entire wall in some way.
• While the mural does not have to be a literal representation of “Community,” it should capture the qualities that community can evoke [belonging, togetherness, connection, civic pride] and is relevant to its context.
• The mural has a high impact and conveys artistic excellence.
• The mural should require very little maintenance and be resistant to vandalism and extreme weather conditions.

Design concepts for the Longfellow Ave mural must meet the following criteria:

• Art should be welcoming, accessible, and creative.
• Design concepts are energetic, dynamic, unique, and engage the entire wall in some way.
• While the mural does not have to be a literal representation of “Nature,” it should capture the qualities that nature can evoke [joy, peace, tranquility, relaxation, beauty, other] and is relevant to its context.
• The mural has a high impact and conveys artistic excellence.
• The mural should require very little maintenance and be resistant to vandalism and extreme weather conditions.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be experienced visual artists, muralists, illustrators or teams connected to at least one of the communities adjacent to the new building location.
• Applicant or Applicants must demonstrate ability to execute a mural project of this scale and budget.

We are committed to a policy of providing opportunities to people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or physical ability.

Selection Process Overview

The committee will review applications and select artists or teams to participate in the design phase. Each artist/team will be paid a stipend of $1000 to prepare design concepts.

Deliverables include graphic depictions of the proposed artwork, a brief narrative description, a draft budget and draft timeline. Artists/teams will have approximately 4 weeks to prepare preliminary concepts, including the presentations to the selection committee.

Submission Info

Required Submission Materials (in digital format only)

Please provide the following text in 12-point font, in a single PDF document:

• Contact information for lead artist and, if applicable, all team members
• Three references (contact information only) for recently completed projects
• One-page letter describing interest in project and approach to design; please include statement addressing eligibility criteria and connection to adjacent neighborhood[s]
• One-page listing of each work sample; please provide a brief description and budget for each work sample
• One-page biographical information or resume; if you have multiple team members, please keep biographical information for each team member to one page
• Work Samples: Up to 10 digital images of your recent and relevant projects. Individuals and teams are limited to 10 images maximum. Save all images as standard JPEG and label each with applicant’s full name and number in sequence corresponding with list of work samples

NOTE: Do not submit a proposal for artworks at this time.

Please submit all RFQ materials via email to: ryan@forecastpublicart.org. All materials must be received by 4 p.m., CDT, Tuesday, September 1, 2020. No RFQs will be accepted after this time. If you need clarification or further information, contact Jen Krava at 651-641-1128 EXT 111.