public art: beautifying park row connection to chinatown

Beautifying the Park Row Connection to Chinatown is a near term project that will be implemented later this year to beautify and improve accessibility at Park Row from the Brooklyn Bridge to Kimlau Square. It builds on the outreach efforts for a larger New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) known as Chinatown Connections.

NYC DOT Art is commissioning temporary site-responsive art for the Park Row SIP to reinforce the connection between Lower Manhattan and Chinatown and reflect the rich cultural identity of the area. Building upon ongoing efforts, the art will enhance the overall pedestrian, cyclist, and public space experience, create stronger gateway treatments, and more welcoming corridors in and around Park Row. To highlight these changes, NYC DOT Art is seeking up to four artists to develop temporary site-responsive art to achieve these goals.

All interested artists are eligible to submit past work examples in response to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the opportunity to be selected to develop and install final temporary site-responsive art at sites designated by NYC DOT in either asphalt art, barrier beautification, vinyl fence wraps, or digital illustration for aluminum signage.

Selection Process

A project-specific committee will review all submitted applications and rank finalists based on the following criteria:

• Past artwork demonstrates proficiency in design and ability to translate the design;
• Previous experience demonstrates ability to collaborate with a large agency on a public project; and
• Previous experience demonstrates ability to collaborate with community groups and the public to incorporate community feedback into final design.

Project Scope

• Complete one conceptual design and, once approved, complete one final design for review and approval by NYC DOT Art
• Work with NYC DOT staff to develop implementation plan and material list
• Fabricate and install artwork on site with NYC DOT staff supervision
• Selected Artists may be asked to participate in on-site community engagement events