Public Art Projects

CENTRAL SUBWAY PUBLIC ART PROGRAM INFORMATION SHEET

FEBRUARY, 2008
PLEASE ATTEND A CENTRAL SUBWAY COMMUNITY MEETING FOR THE PUBLIC IN FEBRUARY, OR A COMMUNITY MEETING FOR ARTISTS IN MARCH
www.sfartscommission.org/pubart/projects.

1. What is the Central Subway Public Art Program?
   The San Francisco Arts Commission’s Public Art Program will manage a diverse and exciting Central Subway Public Art Program over the next nine years. This Art Program will enliven San Francisco’s new transit corridor, bringing a range of artworks and related projects to the Central Subway stations and adjacent neighborhood public areas.
2. How is the Central Subway Art Program funded?
   As with all new City and County capital improvement projects, the city allocates 2% of the eligible construction costs for public art programming directly associated with the Central Subway Project, as required by the City’s Administrative Code.
3. What is the role of the Arts Commission Public Art Program in the Central Subway?
   The Arts Commission’s Public Art Program is responsible for management of the public art funding generated by each eligible city capital improvement project. For the Central Subway, this will include working with communities in the vicinity of each station to develop an arts master plan, recruiting and providing application information to artists, establishing artist selection panels, overseeing the development and approval of the artwork designs, managing the artists’ contracts for fabrication and installation of the artwork and conducting effective public outreach about the art program.
4. What was the Third Street Light Rail Public Art Program?
   The Arts Commission recently completed the Third Street Light Rail Public Art Program, which resulted in 85 artworks installed on 28 transit platforms along the Third Street Line Rail Line. The artworks provide a system-wide identity and also reflect the characteristics and history of the different neighborhoods along the transit line. The artists were inspired to design artworks based on specific themes suggested at a series of community meetings that were conducted in each neighborhood.
   
   

   The Central Subway Public Art Program will be very different than the Third Street Light Rail Public Art Program, reflecting the unique histories and cultures of the Central Subway neighborhoods, and will be coordinated with the architectural designs of this new project.
   
   For photographs and additional information about the Third Street Light Rail Public Art Program, please visit our website at:
   www.sfartscommission.org/pubart/projects/third_street_rail/index.htm.

5. How will community residents and organizations be involved in the Central Subway Public Art Program?
   The Arts Commission will interact with neighborhood residents and organizations on an ongoing basis in a variety of ways, which will include: holding public meetings to discuss possible art locations and develop an overall vision for the art program, seeking community nominations of local artists, community representation on artist selection panels and public exhibitions to allow for review and comment on artwork proposals. For additional information about how the public will be involved in the Central Subway Art Enrichment Program, please see the Central Subway Public Outreach and Participation Plan on our website.
   

6. How can local artists apply to be considered for creating artwork for the Central Subway?
   The Arts Commission will issue a Request for Qualifications in February, 2008, seeking applications from Bay Area artists. The Arts Commission will work with arts and community organizations in all the neighborhoods to reach as many local artists as possible. Notice of the RFQ will be provided to neighborhood newspapers, will be available on our website, and sent to the Arts Commission and various community mailing lists.

7. How will artists be selected for the various art projects?
   A separate community-based artist selection panel will be organized for each of the three neighborhoods, to include community representatives as well as local arts professionals, project architects, and SFMTA staff. This panel will review applications organized by the Public Art staff and select a short list of semifinalists. Each artist will be asked to attend a project orientation and will have the opportunity to meet with the project team and community representatives. The semi-finalists will each produce proposals for specific project opportunities which will be publicly displayed for written public comment prior to final selection by the panel. The artists will meet with community members, project architects, Arts Commission staff, and others to develop art proposals that are appropriate and durable. All artists and proposals recommended by the artist selection panels must be approved by the Arts Commission.

   
   All artist selection panel meetings are open to the public.

   The Arts Commission expects that there will be multiple phases of the artist selection process as various opportunities are identified for each station and the adjacent vicinity.

8. Where will the artwork be placed?
   The Arts Commission will hold public meetings to share preliminary staff recommendations for the location of artworks at and adjacent to the stations and will also solicit ideas and suggestions from the community. This will lead to the development of a draft Arts Master Plan for each of the three neighborhoods where the subway stations will be located. A goal of the Public Art Program is to commission a diverse range of artworks that will have maximum public visibility.
9. What is the current status of the Central Subway Public Art Program?
   The Central Subway Public Art Program is still in the initial stages of planning. Preliminary ideas for the location of artworks have been discussed with the project design team, but a draft Arts Master Plan has not yet been developed. No artists have been selected and a new Request for Qualifications will be issued in early 2008. The development of art opportunities and the first round of artist selection are also expected to take place in early 2008.
10. How can I stay informed about the progress of the Central Subway Public Art Program?
    Please visit the Central Subway Public Art Program website for periodic updates at:
    www.sfartscommission.org/pubart/projects.
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Do you have other questions? Please let us know at the following email address: judy.moran@sfgov.org