Call for Artists: Artist-in-Residency Opportunity at the ... - City of Palo Alto

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Mar 26, 2018 - natural environment including its many parks, open space, the Bay Trail .... PDF (no longer than one page
Call for Artists: Artist-in-Residency Opportunity at the Baylands Preserve, Palo Alto, CA Opportunity: Social Practice artists are invited to apply for a four week residency with the City of Palo Alto’s Public Art Program to engage the public and help inform the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan (BCCP) public art overlay. Artists with experience collaborating on master plans are especially encouraged to apply. Application Deadline is April 27, 2018 at 11:59 PM (PST). Background: In 2016, the Public Art Program adopted the City’s first Public Art Master Plan, a set of guiding principles that provide a long-term vision, themes and objectives for the future of public art in Palo Alto. Among the Public Art Master Plan recommendations are integration of public art to promote environmental stewardship, and embedding artists into the planning process for key corridors. The value of Palo Alto’s natural environment including its many parks, open space, the Bay Trail and creeks is reflected in the Public Art Master Plan. The Public Art Master plan calls out the Embarcadero Corridor east of Highway 101 as one of the distinct areas that could benefit from a comprehensive approach to public art planning. The Embarcadero Corridor, a gateway to the Baylands Preserve, traverses a thriving community of commercial properties near Highway 101, a Municipal Palo Alto Golf Course, the Palo Alto Airport, and the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, before terminating at the Baylands Preserve. The 1,940-acre Baylands Preserve is one of the largest tracts of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Its fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of tidal and fresh water habitats. With a variety of nature programs, hikes, camps, walks, and other activities taking place in the Baylands Preserve, it is an important destination for thousands of visitors from Palo Alto and beyond. The Baylands Preserve also includes Byxbee Park with its land-integrated public art elements, and the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center, the Palo Alto Duck Pond, a boat launch, and baseball and softball fields at the Baylands Athletic Center. About the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan (BCCP): The BCCP will examine the native vegetation, natural habitats, and wildlife-appropriate public access for the entire Baylands, including Byxbee Park. This plan will provide needed information on best areas to maintain as wildlife habitat and appropriate areas for trails or other recreation amenities; provide a design overlay for appropriate types and locations of public art in the Baylands; and a design for interpretive messaging throughout the Baylands. The BCCP seeks to optimize opportunities for low impact recreation while ensuring that activities are compatible with the Baylands Master Plan direction

for a passive use park and nature preserve. Another important aspect of the BCCP is to identify potential locations for future public art placement and public engagement opportunities appropriate in the Baylands environment. The BCCP will also provide input to the Byxbee Park Completion project, design of which is scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2018. Parks staff launched a call for consultants in 2016 to create the BCCP, and identified AECOM as the consultant for the project. The BCCP is expected to be complete in December of 2018. Overall, the BCCP will be:    

A comprehensive plan for holistically managing the City of Palo Alto’s 1,976.5 acre Baylands Preserve for the next 15 years and beyond; An ecosystem-based approach that strives to balance resource protection, environmental education, and passive and active recreational use; Mindful of future projects and incorporate current trends such as sea level rise and climate change; Inclusive of site-specific planning aspects for the former ITT property and Byxbee Park.

Public Artist Engagement Goals and Desired Impact: The Public Art Program and Parks staff wish to engage a Social Practice artist or artist team preferably with previous experience collaborating on master plans to work with the community and stakeholders at the Baylands to: 1. Help broaden Baylands stakeholders’ and the public’s understanding of the definitions of public art, especially through a social practice / environmental focus. Artists are anticipated to dedicate approximately 60 hours to on-site public engagement working with stakeholder groups and surrounding communities. 2. Engage the public in a temporary artmaking process that is aligned with the programming and educational initiatives of the Baylands. This public engagement may result in the temporary placement of public art installation(s) at the Baylands Nature Preserve, or along the Embarcadero corridor leading to the Baylands. Should the body of work be of a more ephemeral nature, the project should be documented and archived and might live on as an online documentation project. 3. Collaborate with AECOM and City staff to gather appropriate input and feedback at these engagement events with the community to ensure that the public art element of the BCCP captures feedback from stakeholders and adequately explores the many options available throughout the site. Selection Process: The applications will be reviewed and evaluated by a selection panel comprised of the Public Art Program and Parks & Open Spaces staff, and arts professionals. A selected group of applicants will be invited for an in-person interview with the Selection Panel and staff and the finalist will be selected based on the results of the interview. Project Timeline:

March 26, 2018 – RFQ issued April 9, 2018 – A walk-though of the Baylands Nature Preserve with Public Art and Parks staff and Q&A to gain more insight about the site, BCCP process, and opportunities for the integration of the public art – social engagement project. Meet at 10:00AM the Byxbee Park Parking Lot (see attached map). April 27, 2018 – RFQ deadline May, 2018 – Selection Process June – September, 2018 – Artist in Residence September – October, 2018 – Final deliverables/project summary and recommendations due How to Apply: All applications must be submitted via email to [email protected]. Artists interested in this opportunity should provide the following materials as part of their application: 1. Letter of Interest stating your particular interest in this residency opportunity and a summary of artistic focus and professional career, especially as your background relates to the project and any previous experience in public art master planning, collaborating on master plans, or other related experience. – PDF (no longer than one page). 2. Current Resume (team resume if applying as a team) – PDF. Please include teaching experience and all former residencies in your resume. 3. Three examples of previous work (for each project provide a title, location, budget, year and URL for further details; up to 5 images and brief description outlining community engagement and impact / outcomes of the project) – PDF. Eligibility: The RFQ is open to professional interdisciplinary artists who reside in the Bay Area (including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties. Artists with particular interest in environmental practices and/or experience in community engagement with the purpose of master planning are encouraged to apply. Room, Board, and Transportation: the Public Art Program does not provide room and board as part of this residency program. It is the artist’s responsibility to provide transportation to and from Palo Alto and the Baylands Preserve. Budget: The selected artist or artist team will be awarded a $10,000 honorarium to realize the Residency goals. The honorarium will cover the time spent engaging the stakeholders and doing on- and off-site research, meetings with AECOM and staff to discuss the BCCP, participation in public programming, a final presentation and comprehensive report to the staff and stakeholders, and creation and documentation of new temporary work. The honorarium will be issued in multiple payments related

to particular deliverables of the project. Liability insurance may be provided by the City of Palo Alto if needed. Additional Links: About the Baylands Nature Reserve: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/parks/preserves/baylands.asp Baylands Trails Map: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/6117/ About the Baylands Comprehensive Conservation Plan: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/parks/preserves/baylands_comprehensive_conservation _plan.asp About the Public Art Program: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/publicart Public Art Master Plan: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/61052

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San Francisquito Creek Trail 3.2 miles/1-2.5 hours. Easy, flat terrain, can be extremely muddy during rainy season. Mixed terrain trail bed includes decomposed granite, crushed oyster shell, paved sections.

Boardwalk Trail .2 miles (one way) 15 min. Best area to view California clapper rail, Easy, flat terrain; mixed terrain trail bed includes gravel levee and wood boardwalk.

Duck Pond Loop Trail .7 miles 10-15 min. Dogs prohibited. Easy, flat terrain; crushed oyster shell and decomposed granite trail bed; no obstacles.

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Hilltop Trails 3.5 miles/1 hour Bay views, wildlife, wildflowers, landfill conversion process. Hilly terrain/trails are steep in places.Trail bed is decomposed granite and crushed oyster shell.

Marsh FrontTrail 1.0 miles 25-30 min. Descriptive natural history panels. Easy, flat terrain; crushed oyster shell and decomposed granite trail bed; no obstacles.

Adobe Creek Loop Trail 5.6 miles/ 2-3 hours. Bay views, bird life, converted landfill. Easy, flat terrain; trail mostly on bayside gravel levees and pavement.

Photography (unless noted otherwise): Rosemary Lombard Illustration:Virginia Kolence; Lettering: Carl Rohrs Graphic Design: Sharon Erspamer, April 2014

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ACCESS INFORMATION • Open to the public 8 am to sunset, every day. • Dogs permitted on leash, except where posted. • Feeding wildlife is prohibited. • Park in designated parking areas.

• Remote-controlled vehicles and aircraft are prohibited. • No hunting or collecting • Wildlife feeding is prohibited • Because roadways are narrow, skates and coasting devices are not allowed on Preserve roads or trails. • Bicycle helmets required • Speed limit 15 MPH • Dogs on leash permitted, except where posted. If you would like to exercise your dog off-leash, please visit the Mitchell Park Dog Run, located behind 455 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto • Park in designated parking areas PRESERVE RULES • No smoking Bird watching in the Baylands is excellent year-round. In wintertime extreme high tides bring bird watchers from around the world. In the spring and fall, this is a prime stopover or desti­nation for birds traveling on the Pacific route of their migratory flyway.

Unlike other Bay marshes which have plants that grow in dis­tinct zones, the Palo Alto marshes have a mixed plant distribution. This includes pickleweed and cord­­­grass habitats that are interspersed between mudflats.

Today, the Baylands covers 1940 acres—1600 acres are protected in the Baylands Nature Preserve. The preserve includes some of the last remaining salt marsh/mudflat habitats on the West Coast. It is home to the endangered California Clapper Rail and the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse.

Palo Alto’s stewardship of the Baylands began in 1921 with the pur­ chase of 40 acres. In the 1930s the yacht harbor clubhouse, a salt­water swimming pool (now the Duck Pond), and the lagoon were constructed.

Over a century ago, the Palo Alto Baylands salt marshes ex­tended inland, approximately to the location of the Bayshore Freeway. The marshes were a valuable resource providing Native Ameri­cans and early city residents with fish, shellfish, small mammals, water­­fowl and plants for food, medi­ cine, and construction materials.

HISTORY

BOUNDED BY Mountain View and East Palo Alto, the 1,940-acre Bay lands Preserve is one of the largest tracts of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of tidal and fresh water habitats. Many consider this area to be one of the best bird watching areas on the West Coast.

The entrance gate near the Duck Pond and Byxbee Park Hills parking lots are closed according to the time depicted on the sign near Preserve entrances.

Baylands preserve Hours Open to the public 8 am to sunset, every day. For information, call 650-617-3156 or email [email protected] The Baylands Nature Preserve, PearsonArastradero Preserve, and Foothills Park include almost 4,000 acres maintained and managed by the City of Palo Alto as open space for recreation and wildlife habitat preservation. PARK

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Photo: PNNL

Palo Alto Open Space Curlews are often seen on the edge of the marsh at the Baylands

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. —John Muir

FACILITIES • Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center Call 650-329-2506 for open hours • Byxbee Park • Emily Renzel Wetlands • Baylands Athletic Center (baseball and softball) • Wildlife observation platforms and benches • Picnic facilities and barbecues (First-come, first-served for groups up to 24 persons.) PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES • Walking and biking trails, bird watching, sailboarding and boating with nonmotorized, hand-launched watercraft such as canoes and kayaks. • Nature walks and programs on ecology and natural history are presented for all age groups and are offered on weekends throughout the year. A schedule of programs is available in the City’s Enjoy! catalog or on the Internet at http://enjoyonline.cityofpaloalto.org Call 650-617-3156 for information. • School programs are offered September through June, Monday through Friday. Call 650-329-2506 for information.

Science classes & activities at the Lucy evans baylands nature interpretive center