The Bark Beetle Blues (BBB) Subcommittee of the Custer Area Arts Council of Custer, SD seeks proposals for permanent art works that celebrates the Custer community response to the mountain pine beetle infestation of the Black Hills exemplified by the events surrounding the annual Burning Beetle festival. BBB encourages proposals for incisive, surprising, and unique art of any form that meets the requirements outlined below. The project will be a lasting symbol of the massive landscape changes that are a part of the cyclical natural processes at work in our forest home, and the human response through collective community action and art that celebrates these natural cycles.

Figure 1: Burning Beetle January 2017

BBB welcomes any artist to submit a proposal that meets the following goals of the art installation:

  1. BBB’s public art gives at least one artist (or one artist team) the opportunity to envision, produce, and exhibit a sculpture or multimedia work in the City of Custer.
  2. The completed work will be exhibited to the public 24/7 until at least the next major Mountain Pine Beetle cycle in expected in approximately 90 – 100 years. Interim cycles are in the 20-30-year range.
  3. The specific site should be part of the proposal, but shall be located within the City Limits of the City of Custer. BBB will work with the selected artist(s) to locate the artwork within the City based on the artistic vision proposed.
  4. The artwork should be durable enough that it would be expected to be a part of events that take place in 100 years in response to the next Mountain Pine Beetle major cycle, in some fashion (the artwork or some derivative of it).
  5. The artwork should outlast our current response that has included: four Burning Beetle events (typically including a Variety Show, Torch March, Burning Beetle, and a Bug (Pub) Crawl with live music), multiple community education events, artist grants for a local kid’s summer camp, and more. The Burning Beetle event is planned for the duration of this artwork proposal but can’t be expected to continue for 100 years at this point.
  6. The artistic context includes songwriting, live performances, graphic arts, the beetle build effigy, beetle puppets, and other artistic endeavors cataloged on the BBB Facebook page.
  7. A time capsule, intended to be opened at the time of the next major mountain pine beetle infestation in 90-120 years, is intended to be included as a part of the artwork.
  8. The artwork will likely be included with some elements that recognize both major donors to the project (thousand-dollar plus donations), and small donors (hundred-dollar donations) in some form. The artistic vision should consider this need and if it is important to the proposed vision, include it in the proposal.
  9. Artist will be expected to work with the Art Committee to promote the project.

BUDGET

The total project art budget is between $50,000 and $75,000. Submitted artwork should include a complete budget. Budgets should include any artist travel and art delivery expenses. A contract of performance is to be negotiated between the selected artist and art committee.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Artist proposals will be reviewed relative to the following selection criteria:

  1. Specificity: does the proposed work represent the collective community response to the mountain pine beetle? (10 points)
  2. Quality: Does the proposed artwork have a high quality and does the artists prior work represent an ability to achieve that standard? (10 points)
  3. Fit: will it match BBB’s stated goals and fit within our community? (10 points)
  4. Feasibility: does the proposal appear to be able to be accomplished and built within our community resources and within our budget? (10 points)
  5. Originality: does the proposal represent an original vision? (10 points)
  6. Durability: will the artwork last long enough to be part of the next major mountain pine beetle cycle? (10 points)
  7. Safety: will the artwork be safe for visitors? (10 points)

ELIGIBILITY

This program is open to any artist or artistic team. Submitters are highly encouraged to attend the “Artists Reception” (see schedule).

SITE & AUDIENCE

Selected works must meet basic safety requirements and be able to withstand the effects of weather and public use for the duration of the installation. BBB is open to various interpretations of “durability.”

Small or large, any artistic vision will be welcome. Contingent upon resources, more than one vision may be accepted.

BBB highly recommends that participating artists come to the 2018 Burning Beetle to attend the reception and events relating to the burn to gain a sense of the community’s vision and response to this natural landscape change. Applicants are encouraged to learn about the history and context of the cyclical “Bark-Beetle” epidemic. Further information can be found at:

TIMELINE

Proposals must be received by 5pm (EST) Friday, June 1, 2018 in order to be considered. The schedule is as follows:

  • RFP available to public: November 1, 2017
  • Burning Beetle Artists Reception Location to be determined: 6:00pm January 19, 2018
    • Including: a short introduction to the history of BBB and the purpose of this art proposal.
  • Burning Beetle: 3:00-9:00PM January 20, 2018
  • RFPs Due: 5pm (MST) Friday, June 1, 2018
  • Selection Unveiling: 3:00 PM January 19, 2019 Burning Beetle
  • Art piece production & installation period: 2019
  • Dedication: 3:00 PM January 18, 2020: Burning Beetle

PROPOSAL

Proposal packages should be submitted in PDF format. Proposals that exceed the maximums stated below will be rejected at the discretion of the selection committee. They shall consist of a single digital file including the following:

  1. Cover Sheet (1 page)
    1. Applicants must include a cover sheet with their name, mailing address, telephone number, email, project title, and a single paragraph of up to 150 words summarizing the proposed project. If applying as a team, please include the names and emails for each team member and identify one team member as the lead contact.
  2. Project Proposal and Budget (2 Pages text, 2-4 pages images or a total of 6 pages integrated images and text)
    1. Applicants must submit a project proposal of up to 1,000 words that clearly describes the project and its relationship to the specific site.
    2. Applicants must submit renderings and sketches of the proposed project.
    3. Proposals must demonstrate feasibility within the budget and include all proposed costs for the art project. Budget should include shipping or delivery cost of the artwork to Custer along with any trips to and from Custer the artist anticipates making.
  3. Current Resume or CV (2 Pages)
    1. Resume or CV should include information about education; work and teaching experience; exhibition history, if applicable; awards, grants, and residencies; and other relevant information. We are primarily concerned with getting to know the artist and their capacity to create the proposed art.
  4. Recent Work with Images and Script (4 total pages)
    1. Applicants must include a minimum of four and up to seven images of recent works. These images are in addition to images submitted as part of the project proposal. Art concepts and/or recent works may be in any medium.
    2. An image script with a numbered list that corresponds to the submitted images or individual captions should be included. For each image, include the title, date, and a brief description of the work (20 words maximum).

For more information or clarifications contact:

Phillip Abernathy

Branch Manager

Dacotah Bank

Phone: 605-673-5800

Or Email: barkbeetleart@gmail.com

Clarifications will be listed on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/barkbeetleblues/

BBB’s public art program is a project of the Custer Area Arts Council.

About:

Bark Beetle Blues (BBB) is a subcommittee of the Custer Area Arts Council not-for-profit 501(c)(3) that was founded in 1993. The Bark Beetle Blues is an ad hoc group of people who want to talk about the massive landscape change currently occurring in the Black Hills due to the Mountain Pine Beetle by encouraging dialogue about this change through the arts.

~End of RFP~