REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
PUBLIC ART AT BRUCE’S BEACH
APRIL BANKS / MEZOSTUDIO
[email protected]
SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
Building Paradise
“This is a counter-archive, a living
diagram, a way through. This is not
nostalgia. This is activation. ”
—Muindi Fanuel Muindi and OD Enobabor
Historical Reference
Design Narrative
Mood Boards
Preliminary Concept
Materials
Care, Conservation & Weight
Workplan and Schedule
Budget
Past work
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23 Table of Contents
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Beachgoers Louise & Byron Kenner in front of Bruce’s Beach, circa 1920.
Courtesy of the Miriam Matthews Photograph Collections, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Two couples standing on a walkway at Bruce’s Beach, Manhattan Beach, circa 1920. (Miriam Matthews Photograph Collections, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA)
James Slaughter (Miriam
Matthews Photograph
Collections, Library Special
Collections, Charles E.
Young Research Library,
UCLA)
Wedding portrait of Charles Aaron and Willa A. Bruce. (California African American Museum)
Historical Reference
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Historical Reference
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Building Paradise offers an intimate space for community connection and will stand as a marker for community healing. Familiar and familial in form, Building Paradise is an abstraction of a beach cottage and celebrates the lives and dreams of Black families who were building their paradise by the beach. This concept commemorates the vision of Willa and Charles Bruce and all the pioneering Black homeowners and entrepreneurs who sought to create a vibrant coastal community during a time of racial segregation.
The proposed artwork considers the current scale of the surrounding residential area, historical vernacular and archival references while respecting the park’s current value to provide open green space with vast views of the ocean. The artwork’s footprint consists of two facades, each standing at ten feet tall and five feet wide on individual concrete footings, representing the built environment that once was, as well as the social lives of those who called this place home.
The “exterior” wall is designed with patterned brickwork with details of indigo and cobalt blue that are visible from the inside and outside. The brickwork pays homage to the building skills of black laborers who migrated west and laid the foundation for new black communities who sought beauty along California’s coastline. The blue bricks are a nod to improvisational designs crafted from leftover and available material (like quilts) as well as Southern blue bottle trees meant to protect family and home.
The “interior” walls depict the domestic and leisure lives of the community and everyday beachgoers. Historical figures stand in front of “wallpaper” or backdrops that might be found in a photo studio. Presented in sepia hues of hand-cut, mosaic glass tile, these figures reflect the heyday of the Bruce’s Beach Resort and the emerging community. The images address viewers with proud and comfortable expressions that convey a sense of being “at home at the beach”. The sepia mosaic figures are seated or stand in front of blue and white ceramic backgrounds that read as vintage toile, depicting the tropical scenes popular in homes of the early twentieth century.
Design Narrative
The two facades are linked by an arched passageway and a split roofline.The passageway invites visitors to move between and around the artwork, creating a simultaneous inside and outside experience. The design references beach cottages of the time and encourages contemplation on the beauty that may have come if the community continued to develop through architectural styles and personal tastes over the decades.
My hope is that visitors will pay homage to the legacy erased by eminent domain, walk through and around the artwork and feel a sense of memorial, celebration and pride that this history has been commemorated publicly and not forgotten.
Migration of Style
Archive of Color
Preliminary Concept
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Interior / Domestic
w/ mosaics on front and back
sides
Exterior / Architectural
Brickwork
10 ft
5 ft
5 ft
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10’6”
4 in
5 1/4 in
10 in
5 in 5’
4’
5’
ARTWORK ROTATED TO
CREATE GREATER VISIBILITY
TO TERRACES BELOW
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Night View
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Brick “Exterior Wall”
I will create a brickwork patterns, rotating bricks to
make distinct patterns with open screen or breeze block techniques and occasional blue brick
Materials
Stamped concrete slab
Photos of people: handcut smalti
Mixed Technique Tile “Interior Wall”
Concrete Slab / Base
Backdrops: cured cyanotype transfer on
ceramic tile
Grout: Glass infused urethane
The mixed material technique will create a contrasting backdrop, like a wallpaper, for the people in sepia glass.
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Mosaic:
Remove dust and bird droppings from mosaics with a mild soap and rinse with water at least two times per year.
Replace mosaic pieces if any fall. Extra pieces stored to repair mural if damaged Mosaic can be spot repaired using extra pieces if the artwork is vandalized.
Brick:
Conduct annual inspections for cracks or mortar deterioration, clean annually with mild detergent and water, and prune vegetation away from the brick to prevent moisture buildup and root damage.
Schedule repointing, or replacing crumbling mortar, as needed, typically every 40 years. Consider applying a breathable masonry sealer for added protection against water and stains.
Both are highly durable materials that can withstand outdoor climates.
Preliminary weight and distribution of mass:
The weight of the artwork is estimated to be 3000 lbs based on the volume of the materials specified. The weight is distributed over 10’6” long by 5’ wide.
Care, Conservation & Weight
Studies for how to construct the walls
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Phase Time Period Description
Contracting Nov 2025
Concept Refinement Nov 2025 - Jan 2026 Kick-off with fabricator, meeting with families and community, initial cost estimates
Prototyping and Design Development Jan - March 2026
Incorporate feedback into drawings and prototyping, and engineering, source imagery and acqure use rights, new photography and creation of cyanotype prints for mosaic
Final Design March - May 2026 finalize brickwork design, finalize mosaic imagery, finalize costs, send artwork to mosaic fabricator, begin site coordination with the City Structure and Brick Fabrication May - Sept 2026 Structural framing and patterned brick laying Mosaic Fabrication May - Sept 2026 Mosaic and ceramic tile fabrication Final Assembly Sept - Oct 2026 Ship Mosaic and install on wall in Los Angeles Site Prep Nov 2026 Site preparation and pouring of concrete slab Deliver Artwork to site Nov 2026 Artwork delivered by fabricator Installation Nov 2026 Artwork installed by City
Opening Celebration Dec 2026
Workplan & Schedule
Fabricators
Dyson & Womack, the main fabricator, is based in
Los Angeles and will develop and engineer the design
with me. They will fabricate all structures and install the mosaic tiles from Miotto Mosaic Art Studios and
deliver to the site.
Emily Womack
3327 Verdugo Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 323 685 2800
Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, mosaic fabricator
Stephen Miotto
132 Crane Road
Carmel, NY 10512
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (845) 628-8496
Workplan
Historical images of people from or at Bruce’s Beach will be sourced from public archives and private collections. They will be collaged to create new compositions. The people will be fabricated from a range of sepia colored glass tiles.
For the ceramic tile I will create the imagery and patterns by making positive and negative cyanotype prints from leaves, branches, and other objects from the Bruce’s Beach site. The mosaic fabricator will transfer and cure the imagery onto ceramic tiles.
walls cast off-site and lifted into place
Artwork will be created as three pre-fabricated walls. They will be delivered to site and set into place with a crane or forklift.
Each wall will be bolted to each other and to the concrete slab poured on site (by the City.)
The concrete slab will be cast and the surface stamped with a wood plank texture.
Pre-fab walls set in place
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Item Percent Total Cost Notes
ARTIST CONTRACT
Artist Fee 20% $35,000
Fabrication 70% $122,500
Project Admin $10,000 Insurance, supplies, travel
Design Development $10,000 Technical drawings, prototyping Artwork Engineering $10,000 Structural engineering and coordination with site engineer Structural Framing $14,000 metal and/or concrete, TBD
Brickwork $16,000 200sf brick + Installation
Mosaic $40,000 100sf glass & ceramic @ $300/sf + 100sf installation @ $120sf Delivery to Site $5,000
Contingency 10% $17,500
TOTAL 100% $175,000
NOT IN ARTIST CONTRACT
Engineering
Soil Testing / Site Prep
Concrete Base
Permitting
Installation
Art Label
Conservation Report
Documentation
TOTAL $175,000
PROJECT TOTAL $350,000
Budget
Past Work
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historical collage
deja vu
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Thank You