CALL FOR ARTISTS: BROAD STREET CROSSWALK

The City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, in collaboration with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) and Bloomberg Associates has embarked on the revitalization of the Broad Street Boardwalk located between Luckie and Poplar Streets. The Boardwalk is an interim project to test design ideas for the long-term design of Broad Street as well as elevate the discussions and expectations of the design of the public realm throughout the City. This year the Boardwalk’s structural system was evaluated and re-designed to extend the life of this successful public space, originally designed to last three years. The plaza will be fully re-constructed in 2021 to address structural issues and make additional improvements based on community feedback.

On the Luckie Street side of the Broad Street Boardwalk, asphalt art was painted with a design that encourages the community to share their feedback with the Department of Planning. That artwork will remain. We are looking to replace the previously painted crosswalk utilizing a more permanent product as part of the current scope of improvements. Designs submitted for the Broad and Poplar Streets intersection should be impactful and reflect the spirit of downtown Atlanta.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The mission of the Department of City Planning is to enable high quality, sustainable and equitable growth and development of Atlanta by facilitating more options for travel, abundant housing for all people, thriving neighborhoods, exceptional design in architecture and public spaces, preservation of historic resources, innovative regulatory practices, safe and durable buildings, attentive customer service and public engagement in all our work.

ABOUT THE SITE

In 2015, Broad Street between Luckie and Poplar Streets was closed to vehicular traffic. In 2017, the Broad Street Boardwalk was constructed on that section of Broad Street to support outdoor dining, inspire the community to engage outdoors, and create a space for rest in a busy downtown area. The Broad Street Boardwalk meets ADA accessibility requirements and maintains access to existing utilities and storm water infrastructure. On the Luckie Street end of the Boardwalk, a former crosswalk was transformed into asphalt art with a design encouraging the public to submit feeback to the City (it reads "Share your thoughts with us! #DESIGNBROADST").

The location of the proposed crosswalk on the corner of Poplar and Broad Streets measures approximately 42.5' x 25'. The northwest edge is immediately adjacent to the Boardwalk and the southeast edge faces the side of the street open to vehicular traffic. The entire area will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic during the installation of the crosswalk design.

Broad Street in 2015

In 2015, Broad Street was closed to vehicular traffic at the intersection of Luckie Street. The goal was to encourage pedestrian activity and the growth and development of the storefront along the street. For a time, the initial strategy combined with active programming in the first block from Poplar Street to Luckie Street was a success. However, failure to close the Poplar Street intersection and the return of on-street parking on this block eventually restored vehicular priority. By 2017, the City of Atlanta and its partners – particularly Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (CAP/ADID) and Flatiron City – were ready to make a substantial improvement to Broad Street to further support the goal of creating a space for pedestrians.

Broad Street Boardwalk

A boardwalk was constructed in 2018 as a pilot project to test design ideas for the long-term design of Broad Street.

PROJECT DETAILS & SCOPE OF WORK

The Department of City Planning seeks proposals from local and regional professional artists to design the crosswalk located at Broad and Poplar Streets, SW. The location of the crosswalk is at the south end of the recently installed Broad Street Boardwalk. The selected artist will be contracted to paint the design. The artist is expected to:

Create three designs for the crosswalk (they will be voted on by the neighborhood association)
Make any requested revisions to the final design within one week of that request
Provide a cost estimate for the installation of the crosswalk
Implement the artwork as a sub-contractor to the General Contractor completing the re-construction of the plaza

PROJECT TIMELINE

Monday, Aug. 2: Application Opens
Monday, Aug. 30: Application Closes
Week of Sept. 6: Committee Review
Friday, Sept. 10: Artist selection and notification
Friday, Sept 24: Artist deadline to submit three designs for the crosswalk
Tuesday, Oct. 5th: Designs submitted to Atlanta Urban Design Commission for Review and Comment
Tuesday, Oct. 12: Artist designs voted on at the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting
Wednesday, Oct. 13: Atlanta Urban Design Commission hearing date
Friday, Oct 15: Artist notified about final design selection and given notes from UDC Meeting
Friday, Oct. 22: Final Design Due

BUDGET/COMPENSATION

Awarded artist will receive a compensation of $2,000. This will compensate the artist for creating three preliminary crosswalk designs and tweaking the final design as required. Additional compensation will be provided for phase two of the installation under a separate contract.

SELECTION PROCESS

A steering committee for the Broad St Boardwalk crosswalk art will be comprised of representatives of downtown Atlanta, staff from the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, an arts administrator, and an artist. The following will be considered when selecting the artist:

Artist connection to the project’s neighborhood
Artistic innovation and originality in past mural works
Artist’s experience working with community on past art projects

Once chosen, the selected artists, will develop and submit three mural proposals for which they will receive a fee. These proposals will be submitted to the Atlanta Urban Design Commission (UDC) for review and comment. The final design will be voted on by members of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA). The artist will then work with the contractor to install or supervise the installation of the crosswalk mural.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS

Artists must have previous mural experience. Artists must use downtown Atlanta as inspiration and be willing to tweak the design based on feedback from the UDC, ADNA and City of Atlanta staff. This project only includes design. Once the design is finalized, the artist will be contracted to install the artwork.

All artists must reside in or have a studio space in Metro Atlanta. To be considered, applicants must provide a PDF in 8.5” x 11” no greater than 8 pages that includes the following:

Artist statement
Biography
Small portfolio (2–5 images) of past mural works (hi-res, printable images at least 300dpi resolution)
Preliminary budget and materials list

Apply now

QUESTIONS?

All questions should be directed in writing to Dorian McDuffie at dmcduffie@atlantaga.gov.