Artists are invited to submit their qualifications for the design, fabrication and installation of benches for the 7th Street/Metro Center Metro Rail station. Up to five artists/artist teams will be selected to develop proposals.

GOALS
The goals for this project are to create a work of art which:

• is of high artistic quality
• provides adequate comfortable seating for Metro Rail customers
• responds well to the site
• is well-built, safe, vandal resistant and will require minimum maintenance

SITE
The 7th Street/Metro Center Station is an underground facility located at the intersection of two Metro Rail lines in the core business/financial district of downtown Los Angeles; over 40,000 passengers use the station on an average weekday. The station is directly underneath the historic Fine Arts Building and serves LA's Central Library, several large office buildings, hotels, restaurants and shopping areas as well as the new Staples Arena. The specific sites for the project are: 1) the center platform on the lower level (which serves the Metro Red Line) and 2) the side platform on the upper level (which serves the Metro Blue Line). One is in an open area, the other is adjacent to a wall. One of the goals of this project is to visually and/or conceptually tie the two platforms together.

The Movies: Fantasies and Spectacles , a public art project by the artist Joyce Kozloff, is installed within visible distance of the project site on the upper level platform of the station. Kozloff's work includes imagery from hundreds of films and is designed to resemble an unfolding film strip, it is made up of both black & white and color tiles.

BUDGET
The selected artist/artist team will receive a contract for up to $70,000 for the design, fabrication and installation of the work. A separate budget will be available for reimbursable travel costs for artists outside the LA County area.

SELECTION PROCESS
Metro Art selects all artists through a peer review process. The panel for this project will consist of three arts professionals (including an artist) and two community/user group members. This panel will select up to five finalists to develop proposals for the site. To prepare their proposals each finalist will be given $700, information on the neighborhood, community, users, etc., and travel expenses. The artists will present their proposals to the selection panel who will then select one artist/artist team to be commissioned for the project.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The panel will review all artist qualifications using the following selection criteria:

• record of artistic achievement as evidenced by slides, resume, and professional recognition;
• demonstrated ability to complete quality public art projects on time and within budget.

The selected finalists' proposals will later be evaluated based on:
• artistic quality;
• responsiveness to the site and ability to visually/conceptually tie the two platforms together;
• functionality, durability, compatibility to existing station design and passenger flows;
• proven ability to address projects of comparable scope and context, ability to complete projects within budget, and
• feasibility of proposal and reference recommendations.

ELIGIBILITY
All professional US resident artists are eligible with the exception of artists who were commissioned for a Metro Rail station after January 1995.

WHAT TO SUBMIT
Letter of Interest (seven copies)
One page, typed letter describing artist's/artist team's qualifications and past experience relevant to the project and indicating an understanding and availability to meet the timeline for this project.
Resume (seven copies)
Current resume.
Slides (up to twenty slides of recent work)
Please indicate which six slides should be viewed by the selection committee on the first round. Number each slide and indicate the top of the image. Mark each slide with artist's or team's name and the title of the work or project. Glass mounted slides will not be accepted.
Annotated Slide List for Additional Slides (very important)
A typed sheet listing each slide in sequence and indicating title, medium, dimensions and location. For previous public art projects please list: project location, commissioning body, budget, date of completion, subcontractors and/or fabricators, and project manager (with telephone number) with whom you worked.
SASE
A self addressed stamped envelope for the return of your materials.

MAIL MATERIALS TO:
Metro Center Station Seating RFQ
MTA Metro Art
One Gateway Plaza, 99-19-9
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952

Questions? Call 213.922.4ART