Request for Proposals
Danny G. McBeth Recreation Center
Application Deadline: Midnight, Friday, August 7, 2009.
Artist Information Meeting: Monday, June 29, 5:30-6:30 pm. The meeting will be held on site at the McBeth Recreation Center at 2401 Columbus Drive in Zilker Park.

The City of Austin Art in Public Places (AIPP) program of the Cultural Arts Division, Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office seeks to commission an artist/design professional to design and construct a work of art that will contribute to the Danny G. McBeth Recreation Center located in Zilker Park. The public artwork created for the McBeth Recreation Center is intended to define the entryway to the site and be accessible to members of the public with differing abilities. The scope of the work will include either reuse or removal of an existing concrete sculpture base. Read the complete Request for Conceptual Proposals here.

The City of Austin requests conceptual proposals from visual artists/design professionals who live or work in Austin or the surrounding area within a 100 mile radius.

The total public art for this project for public art is $32,000. The artist/design professional contract must include all aspects of design and construction including design fee, fabrication and materials cost, and installation (including site preparation) to either provide for re-use of the existing concrete base and curb or for its demolition.

Request for Qualifications
2nd Street District Streetscape Improvement Project – Sidewalk Enhancements
Application Deadline: Midnight, Friday, July 17, 2009.

The City of Austin’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) program of the Cultural Arts Division, Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office seeks to commission 3 artists/design professionals who live or work in Austin or the surrounding area within a 100 mile radius to create sidewalk enhancement works of art to be integrated into the 2nd Street District at the northwest corner intersections of San Antonio, Guadalupe and Lavaca Streets.

In response to the streets intersecting 2nd Street having been named after Texas rivers, the overall design intent of the streetscape improvements is to focus on the natural or cultural history of each river and to celebrate one of Austin’s greatest resources, its natural springs and water resources. Selected artists will be asked to research the history and life of their assigned river, which shall inform the design, and to consider conditions and context of the site during design development. The AIPP program is looking for unique, innovative, cutting-edge and contemporary perspectives on altering the streetscape experience through works of art.

The budget for each of the three public art projects is $20,000 ($60,000 total), inclusive of all aspects of design, construction, installation and related fees. Read the complete Request for Qualifications here.

Request for Qualifications
Mueller Northwest Greenway (EMS #33) AIPP Project
Deadline: Midnight, Thursday, July 2, 2009
Artist Info Meeting: Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
At the Northwest Greenway located at the intersection of Ragsdale Street and James Wheat Street.
Directions to site: From Airport Blvd., south of IH-35, turn east on Wilshire Blvd. Turn left on Mueller Blvd.. Turn left on Ragsdale Street. Ragsdale Street terminates at the greenway.

The City of Austin Art in Public Places (AIPP) program of the Cultural Arts Division, Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office seeks to commission an artist/design professional to design and construct a work of art that will contribute to the parkland experience of the Northwest Greenway located within the Mueller Redevelopment area. The City of Austin requests qualifications from visual artists/design professionals, at least 18 years of age who live or work in Austin and the surrounding area within a 100 mile radius. Artists/design professionals who have completed a public art project through Austin Art in Public Places within the past 5 years, or who are currently under contract with a contract value of over $25,000 are ineligible to apply. The public art budget is $40,000. Application deadline is Midnight, Thursday, July 2, 2009. Read the complete Request for Qualifications here.

Deuce Gates at the Austin Tennis Center

Opening Celebration and Public Art Dedication
POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER: STAY TUNED FOR NEW DATE!
Austin Tennis Center (7800 Johnny Morris Road in NE Austin)

The City of Austin’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) Program commissioned artist, Martha Gannon, to design and create artwork for the newly constructed Austin Tennis Center in NE Austin. Gannon’s work, Deuce Gates, consists of two steel gate panels featuring abstracted tennis players, which greet visitors, users and staff at the entrance to the facility. The artist will be on hand during the dedication to discuss her work. The dedication will also feature guest speakers and a first-hand introduction to the programs and features of the new 12-court facility. Read the Press Release.

Texas Biennial: Temporary Outdoor Public Art
Exhibition Dates: March - December 2009
Opening Weekend: March 6-7, 2009
Locations throughout the City of Austin

Art in Public Places has partnered with the Texas Biennial this year to commission temporary outdoor public artworks by seven Texas artists. The temporary works will be installed from March through December, 2009. The official opening weekend of the Texas Biennial is March 6-7, 2009... Read More and download Maps!

New Web-Based Application System and Registry

The new Application System for Art in Public Places (ASAPP!) is available now! Please click the colorful logo above to access this new web-based Registry and Application System.

~~~~~~

Public Artworks Recently Added to Austin's Public Art Collection

NORTH VILLAGE BRANCH LIBRARY: AIPP unveiled two artworks by renowned Austin glass artist, Kathleen Ash on Saturday, May 30, 2009, as part of the Grand Opening of the new North Village Branch Library, located at 2505 Steck Avenue. In the main browsing area, Ash created Sea of Knowledge as a window wall, using colorful laminated glass to depict children sailing on open books over an ocean of letters heading towards an island of discovery. In the library’s "living room" her creation Read More Books is a mobile of large laminated glass letters suspended by cables. These letters, comprised of translucent white glass which emulates parchment, are inscribed with quotes from literature. Read the Press Release.

~~~~~~

The César E. Chávez Memorial Project: AIPP dedicated Rayo de Esperanza – A Beacon of Hope: Sculpture, Community Information Kiosk and Benches, by Connie Arismendi and Laura Garanzuay, for the César E. Chávez Memorial Project at the Terrazas Branch Public Library 1105 E. César Chávez Street)on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. Arismendi and Garanzuay were commissioned to create permanent public art to commemorate the civil rights and labor leader at the Terrazas Library, which is to be the repository of Austin’s largest collection of books and videos regarding the life and work of Chávez. Read More!

~~~~~~

SPARKY PARK: The City of Austin, in collaboration with the North University Neighborhood Association (NUNA), dedicated Grotto Wall at Sparky Parka new public artwall by Berthold Haas, during the opening ceremony for the new pocket park at 3701 Grooms Street, on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Berthold Haas was commissioned to create permanent public art for the site of a former Austin Energy substation that was recently decomissioned and converted to a pocket park for the neighborhood. The Grotto Wall is a masonary "artwall" that transforms an existing cinderblock wall into a sculptural landscape of trees and curiosities. Berthold worked closely with the neighborhood throughout the making of Grotto Wall. Objects contributed by residents and sections of the old substation’s energy towers are playfully embedded in the wall, along with harvested and donated stone from a ranch in the Hill Country. Arches extend from the wall to define passageways for discovery. Berthold’s mélange of materials shape a whimsical totem to the history of the parkland and the community who made it happen. Read More!

~~~~~~

TRAIL OF TEJANO LEGENDS: The dedication of three artworks by artist, Connie Arismendi, honoring the cultural contributions of Austin Tejano music legends, took place on March 14, 2009. Read More and download a Map of the trail!

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CAMPUS: The dedication for Letterscape, 2007, by Jimmy Luu, an earthwork commissioned by AIPP for the Health and Human Services Administrative Campus, took place on Friday May 9th, 2008 from 4-6 pm. This artwork is comprised of steel letters planted with wildflowers which together spell out the word "Onward". The artist also planted native grasses in arcs across the campus. The size of each arc is proportional to the population of Austin by decade since 1903 - the first year official birth records were kept in the Office of Vital records.

The Health and Human Services campus is located at 601 Airport Boulevard by Levander Loop.

GUS GARCIA REC CENTER: Saturday April 26th, at 11 am, the grand opening of the new Gus Garcia Recreation Center, located at 1201 E. Rundberg Lane, took place. The recreation center is 19,200 square feet in size and houses a gymnasium, a weight room, an aerobics classroom, arts and crafts area, a computer room, and a tiny tots' room.

Artist Lars Stanley was commissioned by AIPP to create Tribute to Gus Garcia, a forged steel and stone desk surround for the lobby.

~~~~~~

News Items

View a short video of the opening reception for the 2008 People’s Gallery Exhibition. It includes interviews of artists Hank Waddell, Bob Wade and Cultural Arts Program Manager, Vincent Kitch.
(Flash Player required)

* The People’s Gallery was recognized in The Austin Chronicle’s "Best of Austin" 2007 issue. The Reader’s Poll selected City Hall as the Best Indoor Public Space, saying “within City Hall’s limestone walls and among the shimmer of her 66,000 square feet of copper, you’ll find a great indoor space, including the People’s Gallery, which showcases visual art.”

~~~~~~

*AIPP presented Temporary Public Art: Talk and Tunes, a panel discussion with the artists who created temporary public artwork through Art in Public Places and the Texas Biennial, on Friday, April 24th at 8 pm, at the Mexican-American Cultural Center (600 River Street). Risa Puleo, Art in Public Places Panelist and Assistant Curator of American and Contemporary Art for the Blanton Museum, served as the discussion moderator. An after-party, featuring a live performance by Rodeo HoHo, fronted by San Antonio artist, Ken Little (creator of "Homeland Security" near Butler Park, and pictured below), capped off the night. Read more!

~~~~~~

*AIPP presented Public Art "Round Robin" February 25, 2009, a workshop that invited local artists and businesses, to connect, one-on-one, to explore new materials, tools, technology and collaborations for the creation of public art in the City of Austin. Read More!

* AIPP presented AUSTIN'S PUBLIC ART WORKSHOPS 2008, July-October for artists and arts audiences. Click the banner for more information

* First piece of public art installed at the new Mexican-American Cultural Center, Benito Huerta's "SnakePath (Mexican Milk Snake)." Read More

* The Create Austin Community Cultural Plan was presented to City Council on June 5, 2008. Click the logo to learn more.

For additional news and information on AIPP, visit our News Archive.