Delaware River WATERFRONT

Request for Proposals: Entrance Installation at Spruce Street Harbor Park Sustained by Univest

The Delaware River Waterfront Corp (DRWC) is requesting proposals for reinventing the entrance to Spruce Street Harbor Park Sustained by Univest (SSHP). DRWC is looking to work with an organization or individual to create a statement piece that will delineate the entrance to the park, create a photo moment, help with wayfinding, and incorporate a new arts piece into one of Philadelphia’s favorite public spaces. Because this is a key connection from the city to the river, we would like this piece to signal the entry to the waterfront. DRWC is particularly interested in a sculptural piece that can be interactive and look attractive throughout the seasons. This piece must be made of durable materials that can last outside for up to three years at which point the entrance to the park will be redesigned. The creator of the piece will be responsible for proposing, designing, fabricating, documenting, and installing the piece at SSHP. Please note that this proposal does not require that new work be fabricated. Understanding the short timeline, DRWC is open to already fabricated work being rethought for the space.

Budget:

• $10,000

• This includes artist’s fee, fabrication, documentation, and installation

Location: Spruce Street Harbor Park Sustained by Univest, 301 S. Columbus Blvd. The piece will be located at the west entrance where Spruce Street intersects Columbus Blvd (see picture and map below)

Dimensions: Approximately 15’ x 15’

Timeline:

• Friday, May 10th: Proposals due EOD
• Wednesday, May 15th: Proposal selected
• Friday, July 19th: Installation complete

Proposal Details:

• The proposal should include:
  • A brief bio or description (250 words or less) of the organization/individual
  • Description of entrance proposal
  • Potential artistic partners
  • Potential fabrication and installation needs

Considerations:

• This piece must be able to withstand year-round weather conditions with little to no maintenance for up to three years
  • It is possible that DRWC will need to remove/relocate the piece earlier as the Delaware River Trail gets developed
• This piece serves as the entryway to the park and therefore must incorporate the name of the park as well as its sustaining sponsor, Univest
• DRWC has an on-site operations and technical teams who can help with the installation
• It will be the artist’s responsibility to consult with an engineer and/or fabricator to ensure that the materials will last for three years and that the piece is safe for public display
• The artist should take into consideration that SSHP sees a variety of visitors to the park. It should be age appropriate and take into consideration the diversity of attendees.
• The park sees more than 500K visitors per summer so the piece should be created for high-volume traffic in mind
• The artist should keep in mind that the public will interact with the installation whether or not that is the intention
• While the waterfront has security 24-7, this piece will not be under close surveillance during its entire time at the waterfront

DRWC’s Role

• DRWC is a nonprofit with a mission to design, develop, program and maintain public amenities along the central Delaware River Waterfront. We aim to transform the waterfront into a vibrant destination for recreational, cultural, and commercial activities for the residents and visitors of Philadelphia
• The Waterfront Arts staff will work closely with the artist to oversee the development and installation
• In-house operations and technical teams will help consult with the artist and will help with the installation as decided upon by the VP of Operations in conjunction with the artist
• DRWC operations team will oversee repairs in conjunction with the artist
• Marketing and programming teams will help coordinate promotion of the installation and potential launch event
• DRWC will cover the insurance for this piece once installed

Submission: Please send proposals to Emma Fried-Cassorla at efried-cassorla@drwc.org no later than Friday, May 10th at 5pm. For larger files, please use a file sharing program like Dropbox or WeTransfer. Questions about the RFP can be directed to efried-cassorla@drwc.org.

Photo: This photo illustrates the three boats that are currently at the entrance to SSHP