Metro Parks and Nature (Metro) and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) invite an artist or artist team to submit qualifications for site-specific artwork(s) that will expand the visitor experience at a new memorial currently being designed at the historic Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. One artist/artist team will be selected to create artwork(s) at the site that is meaningful and responsive to the site’s history, present-day community needs, and the in-process memorial design. Understanding of Chinese and Chinese American history and/or cultures will be important. The budget available for the commission comes from Metro Parks & Nature’s Percent for Art Program and is $180,000. Submissions are due by Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 11:59pm PDT.

Introduction

Lone Fir’s Block 14 has a rich and multifaceted history that was erased over decades of racial prejudice. Through an extensive research effort, archeologists and historic archives revealed that more than 2,800 Chinese and Chinese Americans were buried at the cemetery between the 1860s and 1920s. Additional information about the Chinese section of the cemetery, including its razing, is available in this short video.

Left: The Chinese section of Lone Fir Cemetery once had an altar and funerary burner. Right: In 1953 a county building was built on the site of the Chinese burial ground. Image courtesy of Oregon Historical Society.

The current landscape architect/architect project team has generated a design for a memorial that commemorates those who were buried at this place. We are seeking an artist or artist team to create a permanent art installation(s) to complement the memorial design. The community-vetted design proposal for the memorial may be viewed at this link.

Art Opportunity

The future memorial and artwork(s) location is the historic Lone Fir Cemetery in Southeast Portland, Oregon. Lone Fir Cemetery has been in operation since 1855, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is beloved by residents and visitors alike. The future memorial occupies 1.2-acres within the 30-acre cemetery and served as the Chinese section of the cemetery until it was razed by the County in the mid-1900s.

We are seeking an artist/artist team to create site-specific artwork(s) for the Lone Fir Memorial. Block 14 is a burial ground of many unrelated Chinese and Chinese American laborers, merchants, and business owners, who came to Oregon with shared dreams. In a like spirit, we encourage, but do not require, a team with some representation from the Portland metropolitan region, to collaborate on this work. If an artist team is selected, they will be expected to work together, with each member bringing something unique to form a common vision. The selected artist or artist team will also be expected to collaborate with the memorial project team including project consultants, art advisory committee, and Metro staff.

Additionally, the artist/artist team should consider including members representing seasoned professionals as well as less experienced artists who will contribute new energy, voice, perspective, and potential. We hope to select an artist or artist team capable of elevating their ideas poetically, with simple and culturally respectful and knowledgeable gestures toward those whose stories have been erased.

The artwork(s) should augment the visitor experience to the future memorial. The memorial design centers the documentation of the history of the site and memorialization of those who were buried there. A pavilion structure surrounds a traditional ancestral shrine. The pavilion is enclosed by interpretive information which will describe the contributions of the early-Chinese immigrants to the city of Portland, the history of the Chinese burial ground, traditional burial practices and customs associated with ancestral veneration, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the racist policies which led to the disinterment of the Chinese graves and the development of the site into a county building.

The burial ground itself is planted with a grove of ginkgo and Yulan magnolia trees, both species significant to Chinese culture. A single arching path through the grove allows visitors to engage with the site and reflect on the history of the place.

Metro does not hold a pre-conceived idea of what the artwork(s) at the site should be. After meeting with the design team and participating in community engagements, an art advisor provided the following considerations for the artwork(s):

• Scale – appropriate to the experience of the visitor
• Number of installations – adequate in achieving the artist or artist team’s intention
• Locations – complementary to the landscape architect/architect’s design
• Media – appropriate for a centrally located, urban, public setting, should require minimal maintenance (example: should not be powered by electricity)

Project support

The chosen artist or artist team will be provided with available information about the design of the memorial, as well as project background materials.

Structural engineering support will be provided by the memorial design team, if required. Key members from the selection committee will provide guidance so that the proposed art fits well with the intentions and goals of the project.

It is Metro’s intention to incorporate the installation of the artist or artist team’s fabricated work(s) through the project’s General Contractor during construction phase.

More can be learned about the memorial effort at the project webpage: https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/honoring-untold-stories-lone-fir-cemetery

Budget

Funds from Metro’s percent for art program are available to fund this effort. The selected artist team will receive $180,000 for this opportunity to create the site-specific artwork(s). This fee is inclusive of all project expenses including artist fees, design development, materials, fabrication, installation, conservation report, and communication/coordination with the design team, construction team and third-party contractors who may help to fabricate and install the artwork.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to artists and artist teams based in the United States. If applying as a team, at least one member should be based in the Portland metro area or have a meaningful connection to the site. Metro and RACC are committed to reflecting the cultural richness of our area by promoting opportunities for emerging and underrepresented artists. Artists/artist teams representing communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Metro and RACC are committed to engaging new communities of artists and expanding the range of artistic and cultural expression represented in Metro’s public art collection.

The selected artist/artist team must be able to create, complete and deliver their artwork by December 2026 or completion of memorial construction, whichever comes later.

Timeline

The below scope and schedule are suggested; however, Metro is open to alternative approaches and innovative ideas that will result in a successful outcome for the resulting art and community.

Artist Selection Phase

July 25	Pre-submittal meeting, 3 – 4p, PDT (on Zoom) Zoom meeting link here!
August 8	RFQ responses due at 11:59 PM
August 23	Selection shortlist (if necessary)
August 28	Shortlist interviews (if necessary)

Design, Fabrication and Installation Phase

Note that each task below requires coordination and collaboration with the project team.

5 weeks	Familiarize with project background (onboarding) Includes one site visit and one advisory committee meeting
5 weeks	Concept phase Deliverable: art sketches, graphics, and statement to convey art concept Includes one advisory committee meeting
5 weeks	Design refinement phase Deliverable: refined art sketches, graphics, and statement to convey art concept Includes coordination and collaboration with the project team Includes one community engagement event
6 weeks	Engineering design with design team
12 weeks	Shop drawings and fabrication
Dec 2026	Installation and conservation report

Selection Criteria

An advisory committee has been assembled to evaluate responses to this request for qualifications. Your response to this RFQ should articulate the reasons why you or your team should be chosen for this project. Artist/Artist team selection will be evaluated based on the following desired qualifications. Percentages represent the weight given to each category:

• Artistic qualifications and project approach – Demonstrated qualifications, technical skills, and proposed project approach, including experience in creating and fabricating outdoor permanent installations. (40%)
• Understanding/familiarity with Chinese and Chinese American history and/or cultures. (40%)
• Experience working with a historic or archeological site, and/or cemetery subject matter. (10%)
• Representation from the Portland metropolitan region or meaningful connection to the site. (5%)
• Team offers an opportunity for an emerging artist or apprentice. (5%)

How to Apply

All application materials must be submitted through the RACC Opportunity Portal, an online application system. Applicants will need to create an account, or log into their existing account at https://racc.org/apply. (If you are first-time user, learn how to create an account here). If you are applying as a team, please assign one person to apply and be the point of contact on behalf of the team. Submissions due Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 11:59pm PDT.

Application Materials

• Statement of interest: In 3000 characters or less, outline your qualifications and interest in this project, a general approach to this project, and previous relevant experience. Speak to your team’s understanding of Chinese and Chinese American history and cultures, and/or place-based knowledge of the area. Identify the team leader and names of any additional team members.
• Up to 8 past work samples: These work samples are the primary way the quality of your work will be judged. Provide up to two images, no larger than 5MB each, for each work sample. For each image, please provide title, media, dimensions, year completed, budget and location. Conceptual information is desirable but not required.
• Artist bio or resume: Upload one PDF no more than 1 page for each team member outlining your creative activities and artistic accomplishments. Please include contact information and two references per team member.

Questions

We are here to support and assist you! If you have questions or need assistance with the RACC Opportunity Portal, please email Nicky Cook, ncook@racc.org. If you would like to be considered for this opportunity and do not have a computer or online access, please reach out to Nicky for assistance.

If you have questions about the overall opportunity, please feel free to contact Metro for support at karen.vitkay@oregonmetro.gov. If you prefer these materials in another language, please contact the RACC project team by July 25 for translation services.

We strongly encourage you to submit your application with enough time for any questions to be answered prior to when submissions are due as inquiries received towards the end of that period may not be responded to. We appreciate your understanding and consideration of our capacity.

---

Interpretation services are available, please email info@racc.org.

提供口译服务

Servicio de interpretación disponible

Предоставляются услуги переводчика

Có dịch vụ thông