Norman Arts Council Announces RFQ for Public Art Set for Ruby Grant Park

RFQ: Public Art for Ruby Grant Park in Norman, OK

DUE: 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 11, 2019
APPLY HERE

Norman Arts Council on behalf of The City of Norman and Norman Forward Percent for Art, for Ruby Grant Park, is seeking an artist (or team of artists) to create a permanent outdoor work of art for an audience of all ages and abilities for the new Ruby Grant Park to be located at Franklin Road and 36th Avenue N.W., Norman, Oklahoma.

Norman, located 20 miles south of downtown Oklahoma City, is the third-largest city in Oklahoma. The citizens of Norman initiated NORMAN FORWARD, a proposal to renovate, expand, construct and fund Quality of Life projects, such as multiple recreational facilities, libraries, parks, athletic venues, public art, trails, swim complexes and other quality of life projects throughout Norman.  The initiative went to the City Council from community groups, stakeholders and Norman residents, who prepared an initial package using analysis and information from recreational planning professionals and research firms. In 2015, the City Council placed NORMAN FORWARD on a ballot that was overwhelmingly supported by Norman voters.

This park is named in honor of Ruby Grant, who lived most of her life on the 150 acres of this site.  She was born and raised in a modest home that her parents built there shortly after the land run of 1889.  She was a school teacher who taught reading and music to many young people in the Norman area.  Prior to her passing in 1998, she arranged for her family assets, including her family homestead, to be given to the University of Oklahoma for the purpose of supporting scholarships in the school of music and a reading program. The site is now owned by the City of Norman and is under the city Parks and Recreation Department

The site is approximately 150 acres, has rolling topography and diverse vegetation including wooded areas, native prairie, and wetlands. In general, the site has distinct open areas divided by the wooded areas occurring primarily in conjunction with two seasonal streams that bisect the site. The northeast corner of the site is wooded and is subject to periodic flooding. The high point of the site is located about midway along the east property line and abuts I-35, a major north/south interstate. Because of its size and location within the Norman community, large areas of the site have an isolated and naturalistic feel.

The developed site will have parking in three perimeter locations with park development, including a playground and dog park, located near the parking areas.

Very much in keeping with Ms. Grant’s love of all children and her lifelong commitment to education, the playground is being designed with an overarching philosophy of inclusivity and dedication to creating play environments that go beyond accessibility. The play and recreation spaces in Ruby Grant Park will address the needs of the whole child and of every child. They will also encourage children, adults, and families of all abilities to experience the benefits of play together.

The majority of the park will remain in a natural state with regular mowing being done only at the more developed locations, and for the practice fields that occupy the northwest quadrant of the park. Approximately 2/3’s of the site will remain in a relatively natural condition, with a multi-purpose trail and cross-country turf track winding throughout the park. A disc golf course is also planned and will be implemented in such a way as to minimize the impact on the site.

The Artwork

The Project Team has determined that the artwork located within the approximately 150 acres of the park must be designed and placed to invite visitors to explore and play, to stimulate their curiosity and imagination, and be delighted.

The artwork’s creative use of the natural environment and landforms should allow multigenerational visitors to interact with it either physically (sitting on it or in its shade, or touching it) and/or passively (integrating sensory elements such as sound/music.) 

Adherence to ADA guidelines and appropriate use of the principles of universal design for the artwork and its placement is strongly encouraged ensuring its accessibility.

The chosen work of art will be well-integrated into the entire site with consideration to the built structures and developed areas.  Image of the planned pavilion is attached.

The Project Team is open to any media or material that is appropriate to the site as long as it is durable, safe, low maintenance and vandalism resistant.

Budget  

The total artist's fee for the project is $40,000.00. This amount must cover all associated costs including design, materials, fabrication, travel, insurance coverage, shipping, and installation. 

Artist Eligibility

Open to professional artists with experience working on public art projects and creating site-specific works.

Timeline

RFQ Deadline: Friday, October 11, 2019, at 11:59 pm (Mountain Time Zone)

The following dates are subject to change:

Notify Artists:  By Friday, December 6, 2019

Finalists’ Site Visit: Week of January 6, 2020

Finalists’ Presentation of Proposals:Week of February 17, 2020            

Notify Artists of Selection:By Thursday, March 2, 2020

Completion of Ruby Grant Park: September 2020

Application Guidelines

Submissions for this project mustcontain the following materials:

• A one-page maximum typed letter of interestoutlining your qualifications for and interest in the project, as well as the general idea for your approach. Please consider the following questions when developing your letter of interest:

  • Why do you want to work on this project?

  • How would you approach this project?

  • What materials do you work with that would be appropriate for outdoor use?

  • Have you worked on similar projects? If not, what relevant experiences do you have?

  • How does the project relate to your current work?

• Resume(not to exceed three pages)

• 10 to 15 digital high-resolution images of previous work you feel would support your ability to carry out this project

• Annotated image list in desired priority of viewing that corresponds with the names of the digital files and includes the following information: Artist’s name, title of artwork, medium, size, date of artwork completion, location and project details (i.e. Budget commissioning agency, etc., if public art). The list should be sorted in desired priority of viewing.

• A list of three references with whom you have worked on a public art project, including current telephone number and/or email address.

Questions or for more information, contact:

Debby Williams, Norman Public Art Manager
405.517.7251
debby@normanarts.org

Firehouse Art Center creates Children’s Art Wall – Love, Hope, Peace

Join Firehouse Art Center (FAC) educators and volunteers as they inspire and guide Norman’s children to express their thoughts and feelings about love, hope, and peace through the creation of a community public art installation this Friday. The Children’s Art Wall – Love, Hope, Peace, a free visual arts event hosted by the FAC and sponsored by the Norman Arts Council and Republic Bank & Trust, will be created during pre-screening activities at Norman Parks & Recreation’s Outdoor Movie Series in Lions Park on both September 20 and October 4, 2019. Activities begin at 6 PM.

The FAC will have opportunities for 80 children to paint their individual concepts of love, hope, and peace on the Art Wall, helping to create a final art wall that shows our community's embrace of unity and inclusion. Participants ages 5 – 14 will sign up for a designated space on the night of the event. At the conclusion of the two nights, Lions Park will feature a new collaborative 40’ mural that conveys Norman’s shared positive community values.

Participating children ages 5 - 14 will be entered into a scholarship competition for the FAC's Art After School program. Merit scholarships, valued at $810 total, will be awarded to nine children. Award winners will be those artists whose works best exemplify the project’s goals of fostering tolerance and acceptance through the community values of of love, hope, and peace, and who demonstrate the importance of creativity and personal expression through art. This special visual arts opportunity is made possible by the Norman Arts Council Sudden Opportunity Support, Norman Parks & Recreation, Republic Bank & Trust, and the City of Norman.

The Firehouse Art Center (FAC) is funded in part by select grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council, the Norman Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Norman, as well as corporate sponsorship from Republic Bank & Trust and Fowler Automotive. The FAC’s programming would not be possible without the support of individual donors and memberships.

NAMRON Announces Storytelling Workshop Series

NAMRON Players Theatre announces its Storytelling Workshop Series, YourStory, for the Autumn of 2019. The series will consist of three workshops, September through November, as a part of its documentary theatre project, Lunch Box. The workshops will all be presented at the Norman Public Library East, 3051 Alameda, Norman.

“The YourStory workshop series are designed to get participants talking about and telling their own stories.” Sheryl Martin, Artistic Executive Director of NAMRON Players Theatre said,“We hope the telling of their stories in these workshops will be the beginning of the process of some of their stories finding their way into our final production of Lunch Box in the Spring.”

Participation in the YourStory Series is open to the public and admission free, thanks to grants from the Norman Arts Council and Oklahoma Arts Council.

The workshops to be presented in the YourStory Series will be:

YourStory I—Write Out Loud, Saturday, September 21, 11am-1pm.

This workshop explores the written word to find stories that want to be told out loud. Storyteller and poet Shaun Perkins blends poetry, stories, and creative writing to help you develop your oral storytelling skills. The workshop will include several exercises designed to promote creative thinking and generate ideas, along with discovering ways to structure a story for an audience. Saturday, 9/21 11am-1pm in the Community Room at Norman Public Library East

Shaun Perkins is the founder/director of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry in Locust Grove and the webmaster/liaison for Oklahoma’s state storytelling organization the Territory Tellers. She is a Teaching Artist with the Oklahoma Arts Council, former Teacher of the Year, poet, newspaper columnist and rummage store owner. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Oklahoma.

For more information about her work, visit journeyinwords.org or ROMPoetry.com

YourStory II—Powered by Improv, Thursday, October 10, 6:30-8:30pm

Participants will discover the power of “Yes, and…” Sue Ellen Reiman and J. Shane McClure will help participants discover how improv games and techniques can enhance storytelling skills. Sue Ellen is Managing Director of OKC Improv and half of the improv duo, The Grown Ups. Shane is an OKC actor, director and writer, as well as a regular performer with Everybody and Their Dog and The Artful Codgers improv companies. Thursday, 10/10 6:30-8:30pm in the Community Room at Norman Public Library East

YourStory III—Timeless Tales and Brand New Stories, Saturday, November 16, 10am-12pm

Find a new story in an old favorite. Ms. Dwe Wiliams is the Founder and Director of Rhythmically Speaking, and one of Oklahoma’s most in-demand professional storytellers. In this workshop, she discusses familiar and not-so-familiar fairytales, folktales, and legends. Participants should be ready to share and delve into your own favorite tale. Saturday, 11/16 10am-12pm in the Community Room at Norman Public Library East

All of the performance and teaching artists presenting these workshops are on the Oklahoma Arts Council Performing and Teaching Artists Roster. NAMRON Players Theatre is a Norman nonprofit theatre company dedicated to presenting the original works of Oklahoma literary and performing artists. Most recently, NAMRON presented its 8th Annual 24 Hour Plays to a packed house at The Depot in downtown Norman. The YourStory Series is a part of NAMRON’s year-long Oklahoma StoryWorks Project, Lunch Box. Lunch Box is NAMRON's newest entry in this documentary theatre project which creates a new play with the stories of Norman and Oklahoma residents. It is modeled on the successful, independent theatre production Potluck, which presented the food stories of Norman residents at The Depot in June 2018.

Potluck was the result of a Mid-America Arts Alliance Artistic Innovations Award to Norman theatre artist, Sheryl Martin. Ms. Martin, currently the Artistic and Executive Director of NAMRON Players Theatre, plans to create a new documentary play each season as the Oklahoma StoryWorks Project continues. "Themes may change," Ms. Martin said,"but the process will always be the same. We want to listen to Norman's stories, to Oklahoma's stories, and put those stories onstage."

NAMRON Players Theatre and the Oklahoma StoryWorks Project: Lunch Box are made possible through the generous support of the Norman Arts Council / Arts Projects Grant Program, the Oklahoma Arts Council Project Assistance Small Grant Program, Republic Bank & Trust, 2x4 Productions, David Slemmons and the Friends of NAMRON / Oklahoma StoryWorks.

The Depot Announces 2019-20 Winter Wind Concert Series Lineup

The Winter Wind Committee is pleased to announce the initial lineup for the 14th season of Winter Wind Concerts in the intimate listening room atmosphere of The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave.. The artists listed below will be coming from across the United States to share their outstanding talents with Winter Wind audiences. Additional information and concert tickets are available at www.normandepot.org.

Sept. 29, Jeff Black, 7:00 pm, $20.

Jeff Black's songs have earned Grammy recognition, radio chart-topping stats and numerous BMI awards. Although flying below the radar as a performer himself, he has been recognized by NPR as a musical pioneer in the digital age. Black has forged a reputation as a true folk troubadour entertaining audiences globally for over three decades. A master songwriter and performer in the tradition of the great storytellers, his passionate, soul driven live performances of songs from his vast catalog are not to be missed. Boston's WUMB listeners voted Jeff Black as one of the top 100 most important Folk artists of the last 25 years.

Oct. 20, Smokey & The Mirror, 7:00 pm, $20

Smokey & The Mirror is husband & wife duo Bryan and Bernice Hembree. Based out of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Smokey & The Mirror have toured nationally/internationally over the past decade. They tour most often as a duo, but also play many shows as a four-piece band. Whatever the configuration, the interplay of their two unique voices coupled with engaging, accessible songs, form the foundation of Smokey & The Mirror. It is obvious that they truly treasure what they do, exuding a sense of positive energy right out to the audience.

Nov. 10, Slaid Cleaves, 7:00 pm, $30

Slaid Cleaves' songwriting has never been more potent than on his new album Ghost on the Car Radio, released in June. It is his first release since 2013's Still Fighting the War, which was praised as "one of the year's best albums" by American Songwriter and "carefully crafted...songs about the struggles of the heart in hard times" by the Wall Street Journal. The New York Daily News called his music "a treasure hidden in plain sight," while the Austin Chronicle declared, "there are few contemporaries that compare. He's become a master craftsman.” Described as "terse, clear and heartfelt" (NPR Fresh Air), Cleaves’ songs speak to timeless truths.

Nov.17, Susan Gibson, 7:30 pm, $20

Susan Gibson’s naturally buoyant melodies and warmly reassuring, conversational singing and writing voice light up any song, room, or mood. Her refreshingly clear-eyed perspectives on matters of life, love, work, and loss illuminate a spirit-charging current of resiliency. She's had that in her all along, from her days in the beloved Amarillo, Texas-based Amerciana band the Groobees back in the ’90s and from the get-go of her solo career in 2003. It was all there at the very beginning, when in college she wrote "Wide Open Spaces" which (with a little help from the Dixie Chicks) became one of the biggest country songs of all time. Come hear for yourself!

Nov. 24, Radoslav Lorkovic, 7:30 pm, $20

Drawing from a multitude of influences ranging from elegant classical and jazz styles to the rawest, most basic blues, country and soul, Radoslav Lorković has taken on an unusually broad musical spectrum and refined it into his distinctive piano and accordion style. His tenure on the R&B and folk circuits has culminated in five critically acclaimed solo recordings and numerous appearances on the recordings of, and performances with, many well known artists. His thirty year touring career has led him from the taverns of the upper Mississippi River to the castles of Italy...and to Woody Fest and again to The Depot.

Dec. 15, Nobody’s Girl, 7:00 pm, $20

Nobody’s Girl is a new trio formed by award-winning songwriters Betty Soo, Grace Pettis and Rebecca Loebe. Luscious harmony singers, effortless instrumentalists, seasoned touring artists – they recognized what each can accomplish individually could be made all the stronger by collaboration. The harmonies are thrilling. The songs are powerful and spare. The stage presence confident and assured. Now, the spark has been set, the fire lit and their individual and collective fans are eating it up.

Feb. 23, Chely Wright, 7:00 pm, $25

Richell Rene "Chely" Wright is an American country music singer and activist. On the strength of her 1994 debut album, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. By 2010, Wright's seven albums and 19 singles had sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions in the United States, charted more than fifteen singles on the country charts, and earned a gold album certification. This year, a new EP, titled “Revival” was released in May, and in August Wright made her return to the Grand Ole Opry. Now she is coming to The Depot!

The Depot is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to create and present excellent and innovative fine arts programs for the enrichment and education of the community. For additional information about Winter Wind Concerts, Summer Breeze Concerts in Lions Park, The Depot Gallery, Poetry Readings, Artist Workshops, Drama productions and other programs at The Depot, visit www.normandepot.org or phone 405 307-9320.

Winter Wind Concerts are made possible, in part, by The City of Norman, grants from the Norman Arts Council and Oklahoma Arts Council, and individual and corporate sponsors.

Call for Entries: We Belong to the Land Exhibition of Oklahoma Artists in Clermont-Ferrand, France

Call for Entries:
We Belong to the Land/Nous appartenons á la Terre

Due: Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Curated Exhibition at Norman’s Sister City of Clermont-Ferrand, France
APPLY HERE

Oklahoma Artists are invited to submit works of art that describe Oklahoma in some way – culture, geography, industry, history, or other aspect that define and speak to “place” as it relates to Oklahoma. 

Selected unframed, unmounted, works on paper and photographs will be exhibited in Clermont-Ferrand, France in December 2019

Contact Erinn Gavaghan at erinn@erinnfgavaghan.com for more information.