1 CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
PROJECT TITLE AND LOCATION
Hillbrook Park Wall Mural Art Project
Location:
Hillbrook Park
1865 Temple Ave.
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Approximate Artwork Size: Height 4’-0” to 5’-0”; Width 40’-0” Location of Art:
Option #1: Entirely on North Wall (one continuous mural) Option #2: Partially on North Wall and Partially on West Wall (one continuous mural)
Figure 1 Hillbrook Park Location of Walls
North Wall West Wall
2 Figure 2 Option #1 Mural Location
Figure 3 Option #1 Wall Photo
3 Figure 4 Option #2 Mural Location
Figure 5 Option #2 Wall Photo
4 The artwork will be installed at Hillbrook Park either entirely on the north wall of the park (Figure 2) or on the north and west walls (Figure 3) as one continuous mural. With an approximate height of between 4’-0” and 5’-0”, as well as a width of 40’-0”. The artwork will be installed next to the newly installed park playground which is designed for children ages 5-12 years old. This neighborhood park is utilized frequently by community members of all ages.
Figure 6 Hillbrook Park (View Looking West)
5 Figure 7 Hillbrook Park (View Looking Northwest)
Figure 8 Hillbrook Park (View Looking Northwest)
6 Figure 9 Hillbrook Park (View Looking North/Northeast) 7 Figure 10 Hillbrook Park Playground (View Looking North) 8 Figure 11 Hillbrook Park Playground (View Looking North) 9 Figure 12 Hillbrook Park Playground (View Looking East) Figure 13 Hillbrook Park Playground (View Looking South/Southwest) 10 Figure 14 Hillbrook Park Playground (View Looking West/Southwest) 11 PURPOSE
The City of Signal Hill is seeking to commission an artist to create an original, twodimensional, site-specific outdoor mural painting to be displayed on a brick wall at Hillbrook Park next to the playground. The artwork should be appropriate for public community spaces. Colors within the artwork must align with the playground, the images/designs must be family-friendly as determined by the reviewing committee and appropriate for all ages.
The artwork must be durable, low-maintenance, resistant to UV damage, graffiti resistant, and suitable for placement on city-owned property.
SUBMITTAL PROCESS
All interested artists will need to submit packages via the City’s electronic bid system, PlanetBids,
Questions regarding the submission should be directed to Alyssa Christenson, Management Assistant, in writing to [email protected] by Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
12 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
HILLBROOK PARK MURAL ART PROJECT
OVERVIEW
The City of Signal Hill is issuing this Call for Artists (Request for Qualifications “RFQ”) to artists or artist teams for the design and painting of an outdoor wall mural which will need to be original, two-dimensional, durable, graffiti resistant, UV resistant, lowmaintenance, and suitable for placement on city-owned property.
Completion of the project is expected to take place before the end of Spring 2026, subject to weather conditions. The City will work with the artist to set-up a specific timeline.
The reviewing committee will evaluate complete RFQ submittals and will select up to five (5) finalists to create proposed renderings for the Hillbrook Park Mural Art Project.
The deadline for the RFQ submissions is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, August 28, 2025.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
This RFQ is intended to engage new or established artists/artist teams through an open qualification process. Colors within the artwork will need to align with the playground, the images/designs must be family-friendly and appropriate for all ages as determined by the reviewing committee.
The purpose of this project is to incorporate artwork that fosters a sense of community, as well as create visual pieces that become iconic and recognizable throughout the City. Another goal of this project is to highlight the City’s rich cultural diversity through art, and integrate the work of artists into public spaces.
The City desires that this art project should be a painted two-dimensional mural on an outdoor brick wall that must be able to tolerate weather conditions such as winds, rain and direct sunlight, as well as be resistant to graffiti. The finished dimension of the project is to be an approximate height of 4’-0” to 5’-0” x and width of 40’-0”. Exact specifications will be reviewed and provided to the selected artist once a final work is selected with an exact location along the wall. Artists are welcome to view the space in-person at their leisure during park hours.
There is no set theme. Generally, potential opportunities and considerations associated with the project may include:
Foster a sense of beauty, multi-layered meaning, or have other compelling attributes;
Be appropriate for a public space;
Be durable, safe, and low maintenance; and
Match the color aesthetic of the playground at Hillbrook Park 13 ELIGIBILITY
This opportunity is open to all professional artists/artist teams 18 years of age or older. The artists/artist team awarded the contract will be required to comply with the City of Signal Hill’s insurance and liability requirements.
I. ARTIST’S RESPONSIBILITY
1. The artist will be responsible for the completion of all artwork as well as any additional work that may be required.
2. The design and artwork installation is subject to review and acceptance by the City, and must be revised by the artist without additional charge to the City until found satisfactory and accepted by City.
II. CITY’S RESPONSIBILITY
1. The City will attend design meetings and provide feedback and final approval.
III. SCHEDULE
RFQ Release Friday, August 15, 2025
Written Comments Due Wednesday, August 20 by
5:00 p.m.
Reply to Comments Monday, August 25, 2025
Qualifications/Submission Packages Due Thursday, August 28, by 5:00 p.m.
Review of Submittals Mid-September 2025
Interviews of Selected Artists End of September 2025
Finalists to submit proposals Early October 2025
Anticipated Final Selection October/November 2025
City Council - Award of Contract November/December 2025 *All dates tentative and subject to change as necessary.
IV. SUBMISSION TIME, PLACE AND FORMAT
Only electronic submissions via the City’s bid system, PlanetBids, will be accepted. Any submission packages need to be submitted through PlanetBids and received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, 2025. 14 Submissions received after the date indicated in the RFQ Schedule will be rejected. The applicant is solely responsible for "on time" submission of their electronic package. The City will only consider submission packages that have been transmitted successfully.
A. Required materials include:
o Letter of Interest – Letter outlining artist desire to create this specific artwork, your goals should you be the artist selected to execute the project, a narrative explaining your ability to collaborate with the City if selected for this project, and a brief description of projects of similar scope and complexity artist successfully completed in the past. o Resume - A professional resume, including name, address, city, state, zip code, home and mobile number, website (if available) and email address of the artist;
o Five (5) to 10 digital images of artist’s previous work in JPG Format, 72 DPI, each no larger than 10” x 14” and no smaller than 8” x 10”, and 1 MB or smaller, with each file numbered 01 through 10. o Annotated Image List, in PDF format, corresponding to each of the images, including thumbnail image of artwork, artwork title, dimensions, media, year of completion, and a brief description of each image, commissioning and/or funding agency, project location, and total project amount.
o References – Provide list of at least three references from past and current clients within the last five years. Public sector clients are preferred, but not required. Please verify accuracy of contact information.
B. Work Schedule
o Completion of the project is expected to take place before the end of Spring 2026, subject to weather conditions. The City will work with the artist to set-up a specific timeline.
V. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A. By submitting a package, applicants certify that such proposal constitutes their full and complete written response to the RFQ and evidences their acknowledgement that additional written material outside of such proposal shall not be considered by the City in connection with this RFQ, unless the City provides a written request that they submit additional written materials.
Absent such written request, proposers are instructed to not submit to the City written or other materials outside of the proposal, either in a subsequent interview or otherwise. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
B. Submission of a package does not constitute an offer to contract and does not guarantee any minimum amount of business.
15 C. The package submitted in response to this RFQ may be incorporated as part of the selected artist’s final contract.
D. Insurance - applicant's submission packages and/or proposals that are selected for exhibition are subject to the City of Signal Hill’s insurance requirements including general liability, auto insurance, and, if applicable, workers compensation.
E. The cost of preparing any responses to the RFQ shall be borne by the applicant and shall not be reimbursed by the City.
F. The City reserves the right to reject any or all submitted packets, waive any errors or omissions in any submissions received.
G. Artists may withdraw their proposals, without prejudice, prior to the date and time specified for proposal submission, by sending a written request to Alyssa Christenson, Management Assistant at [email protected]. No proposal received after the closing date will be considered.
H. The City also reserves the right to cancel and/or modify this RFQ at any time and/or to solicit and re-advertise other proposals.
I. The City reserves the right to photograph, videotape, and distribute images of the artwork installation for noncommercial purposes. The City reserves the right to remove and/or relocate all artwork commissioned as a result of this RFQ.
VI. REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTIES
An applicant submitting a proposal warrants that:
A. The artwork, and any part thereof, is original in concept, design, and execution. By applying, you represent and warrant that your artwork, is your original work, meaning that it was copied from another work, photograph, illustration (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) or website. Any entry that violates the foregoing will not be accepted.
B. Submitting a proposal in response to this RFQ guarantees the artwork does not contain copyright protected material that would require consent of any third party; it does not violate any copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right, or any other right of any third party, and that artist has all the rights necessary to submit the proposal and to assign the rights in the proposal.
C. By submitting a proposal, artist agrees to release, forever discharge, indemnify, and hold the City, its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and divisions, and all of their officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any and all claims, demands, liabilities, losses, and damages of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from artist’s, artist’s heirs, 16 representatives, executors, administrators or another person acting on artist’s behalf or the behalf of artist’s estate, participation in this RFQ.
D. If selected by the City, the applicant shall grant the City a perpetual, royalty free, non-exclusive right to copy and make, and to authorize the making of, photographs and other reproductions of the artwork for any City related purposes, including, but not limited to, educational, advertising, marketing, public relations, promotion, and any documentation of the artwork or other noncommercial purposes.
Reproductions by City are not required to contain a credit to artist, nor any form of copyright notice. Artist is not required to give credit to City in any public showing under artist’s control or in reproductions of the artwork.
E. You further agree that the City shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use your name and/or photograph for the same purposes.
F. Artist shall retain all copyrights and other intellectual property interests in the artwork, drawings, sketches, prototypes and other materials for the artwork except ownership and possession and as otherwise provided in the agreement to be executed with the City.
G. The City and its assigns are not responsible for any third party infringement of artist’s copyright and for protecting the intellectual property rights of artist. Any registration of a copyright under the State’s Register of Copyrights shall be the sole responsibility of the artist, and the costs of such registration shall be borne by the artist.
H. The artist has obtained written consent from all individuals whose image or likeness appears in the artwork, and that they have obtained the necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to use all material, including but not limited to, images, text and other content in the proposal. Artist further affirms that they are prepared to provide reliable documentation of any and all such consents, licenses, etc., upon request. Failure to obtain such rights, license consents, and permissions may result in the disqualification of the proposal at the City’s sole and absolute discretion.
I. Because artwork will be displayed on City property it is vital that there is no risk that the artwork tarnishes the City’s reputation or gives the appearance that the City endorses particular views. In furtherance of this discreet and limited objective, the City retains strict control over the nature of the artwork accepted under the Program. Entry shall not contain obscenity, explicit sexual material, nudity, vulgarity, profanity, graphic violence, calls or incitement to violence, or commercial advertising.
VII. PROJECT CONTACTS
Questions concerning this project or Request for Proposal shall be directed in writing to Alyssa Christenson, Management Assistant, 17 [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
VIII. SELECTION OF ARTIST/ARTIST TEAM FINALISTS
Artists are being solicited through open call and by invitation. The reviewing committee will evaluate submissions and will identify up to five finalists who will design a rendering for the Hillbrook Park Wall Mural Art Project. From those finalists the Committee will seek to make a recommendation to the City Council for award of contract for one artist.
The artist proposals will be scored using the criteria shown in the table below:
CRITERIA POINTS
Artistic Skill and Aesthetics: Previous artwork projects must demonstrate artistic excellence, a high aesthetic quality, as well as demonstrate creativity and original concepts.
15 Artist Experience: Artist/Artist Team must demonstrate experience with past works, if applicable please demonstrate large-scale public art projects.
10 Contextual Relevance: Previous artwork projects must demonstrate the artist/artist team’s ability to design artwork that is relevant to the respective location and demographics of the immediate community.
15 Durability: Artworks must be comprised of durable and safe materials than can withstand long-term exposure in an outdoor environment, be resistant to vandalism, and mindful of
maintenance requirements.
15 Technical Practicality: Examples of previous artwork should demonstrate the artist/artist team’s technical skill as it relates to the physical attributes of the site and structure’s unique characteristics.
15 Prior Work Portfolio: Quality of portfolio as it relates to this public art project. Five (5) to 10 images of your relevant work. 15 Letter of Interest: Explain your artistic practice, background, process, and goals as it would relate to this project.
5 References/recommendations: Provide three (3) professional references that positively attest to the artist’s ability. 10 TOTAL 100
Based on this criterion, up to five (5) finalists may be selected for interviews with the reviewing committee. A stipend of up to $1,000 will be issued to each finalist selected to create a proposed rendering of the outdoor wall mural for Hillbrook Park. The Committee will then decide if they would like to move forward with any one artist and would recommend that artist to City Council for consideration. 18 The selected artist will be required to enter into an agreement with the City of Signal Hill for the agreed-upon service. Upon selection, the artist and City will finalize the scope of work, time schedule, and fee.
Please note, the reviewing committee may decide not to select from the short list of finalists if the final submitted packets are not deemed within the City’s vision for this project. The City retains the right to reject any late or incomplete submissions, and all submitted packages for whatever reason.
IX. FUTURE RFP PROCESS
A. Preliminary Scope of Services:
The preliminary scope of services is the minimum scope of services intended to be performed on the project. Each artist submitting a package should consider the project scope, and demonstrate their understanding and experience in the completion of similar services. It is anticipated that the City and selected artist will work together to craft a more defined and final scope of services.
B. Artists Selected for RFP Process:
The reviewing committee will evaluate all submitted packages and subsequently determine up to five finalists. A stipend up to $1,000 will be issued to each finalist to create a proposed rendering of the outdoor wall mural for Hillbrook Park. The Committee will then decide if they would like to move forward with one artist and recommend that artist to City Council for consideration.
If selected as a Finalist the artist/artist team will be responsible for the following:
A. Create a visual proposal for the Hillbrook Park Wall Mural, including:
o A visual rendering of the proposed artwork which should be detailed and include color concepts as it relates to the design of the mural. The images can be hand drawn or a computergenerated simulation.
B. Narrative relating to the proposed artwork, including:
o Proposed artwork title
o Brief description of concept and inspirations for the artwork o Color palette
o Materials description and product cut sheets
o List of tools and equipment to be used (including storage if required)
o Maintenance plan
C. Proposed project budget including:
19 o Artist(s) Design Fees including concept refinement and construction coordination
o Materials and Tools
o Equipment Rentals (if any)
o Site Preparation and Installation
o Site Clean-up
o Travel (if any)
o Insurance
o Ongoing Maintenance Costs
D. Proposed project schedule including:
o Design coordination and artwork finalization
o Installation schedule – hours per day, number of days, interim days (if any for drying time or other similar breaks in on-site installation time).
E. Meet with members of reviewing committee to examine the artwork design and other items including :
o Provide explanation of artwork, and why the concept is being proposed.
o Discuss what the Committee would like to add to current ideas and what they would like removed.
o Discuss the materials proposed for use.
o Discuss proposed project timeline for implementation.
F. Incorporate any final feedback and present final concept to reviewing committee and City staff for approval.
G. Present final concept drawing before the City Council prior to installation.
H. Install art piece during agreed upon times, with a timeline that has art ready for implementation during the hours of 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.