Downtown Santa Cruz Public Art
Arts Council Santa Cruz County, in partnership with the City of Santa Cruz & with support from an anonymous donor, is launching a new site-specific public art opportunity.
One $50,000 award is available through a two-phase process:
Phase 1: A request for qualifications including a written description of the proposed artwork (Submit online in the grants portal by August 26 at 11:59pm)
Phase 2: Finalists will be invited to develop full proposals, including a project budget, artwork mockups and site plans, and will be paid a stipend of $750-$1,000.
Key Dates
The RFQ will open Monday August 3. The info session, presented in person and on zoom, will feature a presentation by Tamara Liu, Grants Program Manager, covering everything you need to know about applying. There will be time for questions after the presentation.
¿Desea solicitar un servicio de interpretación al español? Email our team at grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org
Meet us at the site to see it in person! The sculpture pad will be located in front of the downtown Jamba Juice (1550 Pacific Ave). Please allow time for parking. Tamara Liu of Arts Council Santa Cruz County and Ali Robinson of the City of Santa Cruz will be present to answer any questions you may have.
No registration, but if you prefer Spanish please email tamara@artscouncilsc.org several days ahead of time so we can plan to have a Spanish-speaking staff member present.
Other times can also be arranged on request: tamara@artscouncilsc.org.
August 10, 17, and 24, from 4-5pm
In-person at our Tannery office, 1070 River Street, Santa Cruz 95060
(or join on Zoom)
No registration, but if you prefer Spanish please email tamara@artscouncilsc.org several days ahead of time so we can plan to have a Spanish-speaking staff member present.
Office hours are informal times when you can get application support from Grants Program Manager Tamara Liu. You can drop in during any of the scheduled times, and since there isn’t a presentation, you don’t have to be there at the beginning or stay til the end. If lots of folks show up at once, we’ll use a learning circle approach, with each person sharing questions or ideas. If you’re the only one, you will get direct one-on-one support! No questions or situations are too simple or too complicated. Hope to see you there!
Can’t attend at this time, or want to request an in-person meeting? Click here to book a time or email tamara@artscouncilsc.org.
Please plan to submit well before the deadline in case of technical difficulties or other issues. The grants portal is often slower to load as the deadline approaches. Staff will not be available for support after 5pm.
You will receive a confirmation email after you submit your application. Communication about this fellowship will be sent from: administrator@grantinterface.com. Please add this email to your safe sender list.
If you do not receive this email or have any other questions, please contact our team at grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org.
Look for an email on this date, which will be sent to the email you used to log in to the grants portal. The email will be sent by administrator@grantinterface.com, so please make sure to add this address to your safe sender list.
Finalists will be invited to develop site-specific proposals. Finalists will receive an honorarium of $750-1000 to develop the full proposal, and will have six weeks to submit it.
Please plan to submit well before the deadline in case of technical difficulties or other issues. The grants portal is often slower to load as the deadline approaches. Staff will not be available for support after 5pm.
You will receive a confirmation email after you submit your application. Communication about this fellowship will be sent from: administrator@grantinterface.com. Please add this email to your safe sender list.
If you do not receive this email or have any other questions, please contact our team at grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org.
Finalists should look for an email on this date, which will be sent to the email you used to log in to the grants portal. The email will be sent by administrator@grantinterface.com, so please make sure to add this address to your safe sender list.
Overview
Questions? Email the Arts Council Santa Cruz County program team at grantsprogram@artscouncilsc.org:
Tamara Liu, Grants Program Manager
Juliana Bruno, Program Coordinator
This opportunity is intended to support the creation and installation of visual public art that:
- Is life-enhancing, inspires peace, and brings beauty to Santa Cruz residents and visitors;
- Is relevant to the Santa Cruz community, culture, and history; and
- Expands the diversity of public art in the City of Santa Cruz.
The hope is to help people feel good about living in and visiting the City of Santa Cruz.
This opportunity is not part of the City of Santa Cruz’s rotating collection of sculptures downtown (SculpTour). The supported project will ideally remain installed and be maintained for at least 10 years.
The $50,000 award is inclusive of all project-related expenses, including but not limited to: artist design fee, engineering and fabrication, materials, transportation, installation, equipment, travel, permits, documentation, taxes, insurance for installation, etc. The City of Santa Cruz will cover costs of the pad and liability insurance coverage for the artwork after installation.
- Aligns with stated goals (see Background & Goals above)
- Includes either community input in the final design of the artwork or community engagement activities after installation.
- Does not need to be indestructible, but must be durable and suitable for long-term outdoor installation.
- Can be maintained with reasonable care. A graffiti abatement plan will be required as part of the full proposal, but the artwork is not required to be graffiti-resistant.
- Electricity is available, but water is not.
- Must be welcoming to all walks of life, including families/children and the houseless community. Cannot be offensive, discriminatory, or inflammatory.
- May be interactive if safety and accessibility is prioritized.
Eligibility: Who Can Apply?
To be eligible, you must:
- Be an individual artist or artist team;
- Have completed at least 1 public art installation of a similar scope and scale;
- Be a current resident of one of the following counties: Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, San Mateo.
- Be at least 18 years old when you apply.
- Have a valid Tax ID number (which will be verified if selected for an award). The award is taxable and the awarded artist will be issued a 1099. Applicants should consult a tax advisor for their own specific circumstances.
Application & Review
RFQ Submission Requirements:
- Letter of Interest briefly explaining your interest in the project and your community engagement experience, as well as a written description of the proposed artwork (maximum 3,000 characters/approx. 1 page)
- Artist Statement (maximum 3,000 characters/approx. 1 page)
- Bio, Resume or CV (2 pages max per team member, 5mb max total - PDF, PNG, or JPG)
- Up to 10 images of previously completed artwork (concept sketches are not required at this stage)
- Images must be shared via one link, or combined and uploaded as one document (25mb max, PDF, PNG, or JPG).
- Image descriptions (Title, Year, Medium, Dimensions, Budget, Commissioning Agency or Client)
- Optional Support Material (shared via one link)
RFQ Criteria (used by the panel to score submissions):
- Alignment with program goals (both proposed artwork and previous work) - see Background & Goals under Overview above.
- Qualifications of artist: experience in executing projects of a similar scope and scale - including collaboration experience, if applicable
- Appropriateness to the site
- Community engagement experience
Coming Soon
- After the RFQ deadline of August 26, submissions will be reviewed and scored by a selection panel including: Arts Council staff/board, a Santa Cruz City Arts Commission member, Santa Cruz City arts staff, a member of the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz, artist(s) with public art installation experience, and the donor.
- The selection panel will meet to discuss the scores and comments and select finalists to develop full proposals.
- Finalists will have six weeks to develop their full proposal (October 12 - November 23). Finalists will be paid a stipend of approximately $750-$1,000 to develop the full proposal, including artwork mockups and site plans.
- A selection panel (potentially a smaller group) will review and score the full proposals.
- The panel will meet to discuss the scores and comments and make the final selection. Applicants may be requested to present their proposal to the selection panel.
- The award will be approved by the Arts Council Board of Directors (or Executive Committee) in early 2027.
- The Santa Cruz City Council will approve the installation.
Please Note: Arts Council Santa Cruz County reserves the right to modify this process as needed. See Key Dates section above for timeline information.
The awarded artist will be required to:
- Sign a grant agreement with Arts Council Santa Cruz County and a contract with the City of Santa Cruz. (The awarded artist may use a fiscal sponsor if desired);
- Complete a W9 form;
- Provide engineering specifications for the new concrete pad (pad to be provided by the City of Santa Cruz);
- Lead and coordinate design, fabrication, and installation, including engagement and payment of any subcontractors;
- Include either community input in the final design of the artwork or community engagement activities after installation;
- Recognize Arts Council Santa Cruz County and the City of Santa Cruz in promotional materials;
- Retain and submit financial records (receipts, invoices, etc.) for the funded project;
- Submit a final report no later than 30 days after the completion of the project, including expense records documenting how grant funds were spent;
- Repair any future damage to the artwork for the duration it is installed, up to 10 years.
The City of Santa Cruz will provide:
- Construction of a new pad with engineering specs provided by the artist (could be removable);
- Liability Insurance for the artwork after installation;
- Plaques;
- Landscape mitigation to prevent future damage;
- Maintenance for up to 10 years (the City will reserve the right to remove if necessary).
Download the list of questions as a Microsoft Word doc to work on your responses, then copy and paste them into the online form.
View photos of the site from different angles. The sculpture pad will be located in a large raised garden bed in front of the downtown Jamba Juice (1550 Pacific Ave), across the street from the clocktower. To arrange a time to visit the site, please contact tamara@artscouncilsc.org.
