UTAH ARTS COUNCIL PUBLIC ART PROGRAM
REQUESTS ARTIST QUALIFICATIONS
for the
ST. GEORGE COURTS BUILDING, ST. GEORGE, UTAH

Qualifications are requested from artists and/or artist teams residing within the Intermountain West who are interested in creating site specific artwork(s) for the new St. George 5th District Court Building in St. George, Utah.

DEADLINE FOR MATERIALS:  June 27, 2008
(this is not a postmark deadline)

Building Description

Located on Tabernacle Street in the historic Town Square district, the new State of Utah 5th District Courthouse will take a commanding location in the city of Saint George.  This landmark building’s entrance will be positioned adjacent to the City’s Town Square on a newly created terminus of 200 West Street.  Its sandstone façade and neoclassical detailing will add to the historic fabric of the Square’s pioneer era buildings. The 93,000 square foot building will hold eight courtrooms and the seven acre site will accommodate two future wings holding four courtrooms each.

The courthouse sits atop a landscaped plinth and is entered via an entry plaza and monumental stair.  This plaza will serve as an exterior gathering and meeting space for the public prior to entering the courthouse and forms an important link between the City and the Court.  Framing this entry, the site will incorporate many seating opportunities and will be landscaped using water wise native plantings.

The building’s entry is flanked by four Ionic columns which evoke the image of a courthouse.  The entry doors will fall within a recessed archway.  This archway gives the building weight and reflects the entry of many nearby historic structures.  Once within the building, the public will be greeted by a three story atrium which serves as the central hub of the building.  This atrium will be well lit from the full height windows above the entry.  The floor of the atrium will house the security screening station. From the atrium floor the public can access departments of the court housed on the ground level and can flow up through the building using elevators and the atrium stairway. 

Each of the upper floors holds four courtrooms each, two on either side of the atrium.  Light filled hallways bring the public from the atrium to courtroom entrances.  These halls will serve as meeting and gathering spaces for the public and their attorneys.  Waiting alcoves are positioned off of these halls.  These waiting spaces are sized to bring a human scale to the courthouse experience.  Conference rooms are also accessed from this hall.  These spaces serve as private meeting spaces for the public and their Attorneys.

The atrium and public halls will include durable and decorative finishes.  Floors will be covered in a 12 inch square tile forming a large scale pattern.  Walls will feature a wood paneled wainscot with vinyl wall coverings above.  The atrium ceiling will be comprised of a deep coffered ceiling.  Four custom chandeliers will hang from the atrium ceiling.  Other lobby features include decorative balcony railings and three story high niches which flank the entry doors. 

Building Use

The new 5th District Court Facility will house court functions for Washington County. 

The District Court has original jurisdiction to try all civil cases, all criminal felonies, such as homicides, assaults, sex and drug offenses, forgery, arson, and robbery, and misdemeanors in certain circumstances. An important part of the District Court caseload is domestic relations cases, such as divorces, child custody and support, adoption, and probate. District judges also have the power to issue extraordinary writs. In addition, the Court serves as an appellate court to review informal adjudicative proceedings from administrative agencies.

More information on the courts is available at: http://www.utcourts.gov/ 

The Community of St. George, Utah

St. George is located in the heart of Utah's Dixie, 300 miles south of Salt Lake City and 110 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  St. George is a tourist Mecca because of its proximity to such scenic wonders as Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon National Parks, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

St. George, the county's largest city, lies along interstate 15 with a host of smaller communities that make up Utah's Dixie. The advantages of the county's position along one of the nation's key east-west routes between California and places such as Salt Lake City, Denver and Albuquerque is making Washington County one of the nation's fastest growing communities. The scenic area not only provides easy access to major markets of the western United States, it has become a destination point for countless people and businesses looking for a better way of life and more fruitful atmosphere for growth and prosperity.

From 1990 to 1995, Washington County grew a staggering 50 percent and St. George grew 61 percent, while the rest of the state tallied up a total growth rate of 16 percent.

By the end of the decade, the St. George - Zion National Park areas of Washington County were rated among the best communities in the country to retire by Rand McNalley, Prentice Hall, Money and the American Association of Retired People. As a result there was a large amount of construction of new homes in the Washington County area.

The unprecedented growth experienced in the county has not been limited to retirees, however. Young working families joined the migration to Utah's Dixie to establish one of the most stable and reliable work forces in the nation. They came for the climate, the scenic beauty, the family atmosphere and explosive job opportunities. Much of the growth is due to the area's competitive construction rates and low crime.

Committee Statement

The committee hopes the artist commissioned for this project will help the project in sensitivity to and honoring of the pioneer themed “neo-classical” architecture prevalent to the St. George area yet posses the unique presence of a State Court facility.    The building sits at the terminus of 200 West with an exterior plaza leading up the entry stairs.  This building is being created with the hopes it will become a long term icon for the city of St. George.  The committee desires art that will reflect the respect, decorum and majesty of this place of justice.

Multiple areas in the new court facility have been identified by the art selection committee as potential sites for public art work(s): (1) the exterior plaza at the main entrance facing 200 West. (2) The lobby of the main entrance which includes the three story vertical open space, one 16’ vertical wall, the domed coffered ceiling, the exterior glass of the main lobby, stairs, and the curtain wall of glass inside the lobby. (4) The wall space and/or railings of the elevated floors facing the atrium. The committee will consider proposals for one or multiple sites as well as other sites suggested by the artist.

Budget

$194,000 is available for all related expenses of this public art commission including (but not limited to) artist fees, fabrication, insurance, shipping, travel, installation, documentation, etc.

Eligibility

Resident American or legal resident artists / artist teams residing within the intermountain region of Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.  Art selection committee members and immediate families, and employees or consultants of VCBO Architects are not eligible for this project. 

Specific requirements for submitting applications

All applications must include the following:

• A letter of interest not more than three typewritten pages. This letter should include the artist’s reasons for interest in this project in particular.  In doing so, the artist should also describe how his/her work and/or experience relates to the project.  (do not staple or double side)
  
  
• A PC compatible CD Labeled with applicant's name, contact information and number of images (not to exceed 10)  Images must be JPEG format, 1920 pixels maximum on the longest side, 72 dpi, with compression settings resulting in the best image quality under 2MB file size. The file or files should be named so that the list sorts in the order of the image listing.
  

-- OR –

• Slide documentation of previous work that represents site-specific art in public places. Up to ten (10) slides in 35mm format with 2" x 2" paper or plastic mounts of applicable work labeled with artist' s name and identification number (for ID sheet.)  Indicate on the slide the top of the image. Slides should be submitted in a 9" x 11" clear plastic slide file sheet.
  

-- OR –

• DVD (of no more than 3 minutes) or VHS (of no more that 3 minutes cued to the point you wish the committee to view) are also acceptable media as documentation of artist’s projects that cannot be documented well with still image.   Only one media, film or stills, will be presented to the committee per artist.
  
  
• An identification sheet must accompany documentation. This sheet should include title, year, medium, dimensions

• A professional resume (do not staple or double side resume.)

• An addressed and stamped envelope of ample size for return of documentation.  Material that is not accompanied by a stamped envelope cannot be returned.
  

The Utah Arts Council will not be responsible for applications lost in transit.  While all reasonable care will be taken in the handling of materials, neither the Utah Arts Council nor the Utah 5th District Court Facility Art Selection Committee will be liable for late, lost or damaged materials.  We strongly suggest originals or one-of-a-kind material not be submitted for this preliminary phase.  Faxed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted.

The Utah 5th District Court Facility Art Selection Committee reserves the right to withhold the award of a commission or re-release the call for entries should it be determined that the proposals submitted are unacceptable.

DEADLINE

Complete application packages must be RECEIVED on or before June 27, 2008 by 5 p.m.
(THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE.) All supporting materials must accompany application.

Please send, deliver or courier applications to:

Jim Glenn, Utah Public Art Program
Attention: St. George Court Facility
Utah Arts Council
617 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE

The Selection Committee will review all material properly submitted. A short list of semi-finalists will then be selected and invited to interview and submit a proposal and maquette to the committee on September 12th.  An honorarium will be extended to the finalists with the amount determined by the number of finalists selected. This honorarium will be applied toward the commission amount for the artist(s) awarded the commission. Final selection(s) will be made from the semi-finalists. The schedule follows:

            June 27, 2008                       Deadline for receipt of preliminary material

            July 18. 2008                         Committee reviews material

            September 12, 2008            Finalists proposal presentation

            September 2009                   Building occupation

ARTIST SELECTION COMMITTEE

If you have any questions about this or other projects information is available at: www.utahpublicart.org
Or contact:  Jim Glenn at 801-533-3585 or e-mail at: jglenn@utah.gov

Fletcher Booth at 801-533-3586 or e-mail at: fbooth@utah.gov

All plans, photographs and renderings courtesy VCBO Architecture

Please note the Utah Arts Council maintains an Artist Image Bank of resident Utah artists working in all media that are interested in Public Art Projects. If you are interested in being included in this bank the form can be downloaded from http://arts.utah.gov/publicart/slidebank.html  or call, write, or e-mail us to for more information or to request a registration form be mailed to you.