Destination Rapid City is requesting qualifications from sculptors interested in participating in a commission / residency project to take place at Main Street Square, Rapid City’s newest community development project. A contract will be awarded for a sculpture to be created during the summer of 2012 with further commissions (by other artists) planned for subsequent summers. To complete this park, there is a potential for the commission of one sculpture each year for twenty years.

Selected finalists will be awarded a stipend for a full proposal (including maquette) to sculpt one of the twenty shaped granite stones already in place at that Main Street Square site. Finalists will be expected to make a visit to the site. Arrangements and expenses for that visit will be provided. The majority of the sculpting must take place on site in Rapid City and some interaction between the artist and visitors to the square is expected. The artist, if selected, must approve when they will be on site prior to with a MSS or DRC staff member. The first sculpture project must begin in late May 2012. For a detailed description of available stones and their placement on site, please refer to attached documents.

The sculptural process may be additive or subtractive but must make use of one of the shaped granite stones already in place on site. The sculpture must be inspired by and ultimately contribute to an educational story…in visual form…of the (flora, fauna, geology, cultural or natural history of the) Black Hills, Badlands, and Rapid City.

Budget:

The budget is negotiable with a suggested range of $40,000 – $80,000. The budget is inclusive of all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to: artist’s fee, housing, travel, materials, contracted services and documentation.

The artist is required to provide detailed maintenance instructions and recommendations specific to the work. Of the total award for each sculpture, five percent (5%) will be retained for one year to cover any unanticipated repairs due to flaws in construction. After one year, the work will be evaluated and the remaining funds released to the artist.

Deadline: 10 November 2011.

For more information on the project and to find out how to apply, please clicke here.