RFQ | DuSable Park Public Art: Honoring Native Voices

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Chicago Park District (CPK), invites artists and artist teams to submit qualifications for a significant public art commission at the future DuSable Park. The park will be a site of remembrance and celebration of Chicago’s early history. This artwork will uplift Native voices, honoring Indigenous inhabitants’ continued presence and their foundational role in the origins of Chicago. The artwork will tell a story of alliance, cultural exchange, and enduring vibrancy.

The budget for this permanent artwork is $500,000, inclusive of all costs and fees associated with design, engineering, fabrication, site preparation, installation, and related expenses.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

DuSable Park Public Art: Honoring Native Voices

Issued by the Chicago Park District and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

DEADLINE: Friday, January 9, 2026 by 11:59PM CT

Info Session, Mon. 11/24/25 12PM-1PM CST, Register at https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/6bcc7457-f1be-4df1-991e-cdc20bec1678@7036cda9-062d-4151-8144-97ddc56e7027 

SUMMARY OF THE OPPORTUNITY

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the Chicago Park District (CPK), invites artists and artist teams to submit qualifications for a significant public art commission at the future DuSable Park. The park will be a site of remembrance and celebration of Chicago’s early history. This artwork will uplift Native voices, honoring Indigenous inhabitants’ continued presence and their foundational role in the origins of Chicago. The artwork will tell a story of alliance, cultural exchange, and enduring vibrancy.

The budget for this permanent artwork is $500,000, inclusive of all costs and fees associated with design, engineering, fabrication, site preparation, installation, and related expenses.

BACKGROUND

This commission is part of the Chicago Monuments Project (CMP), an initiative launched in 2020 to confront inequities in the city’s collection of monuments and memorials and to ask: Who is missing from our public memory? How can we tell a fuller, more truthful story? CMP prioritizes new works that reflect the city’s diversity—particularly those representing Native peoples, Black and Brown communities, and women—and that promote healing through public art.

Support for this opportunity is provided by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, which in 2023 awarded $6.8 million to DCASE to support eight new monuments and related initiatives across Chicago. These works aim to reshape public space in ways that acknowledge past harms, reflect multiple perspectives, and contribute to a more inclusive civic memory.

The City of Chicago is located on land that has been home to Native peoples for thousands of years. This area is the traditional homeland of the Council of the Three Fires—Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe Nations—who are part of the larger Anishinaabe cultural group. Many other Nations, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten, also identify this region as their homeland. For millennia, this area has been a place of gathering, exchange, and connection among many peoples—a role it continues to play today.

HISTORY

Historical sources about Jean Baptise Point DuSable and Kitihawa vary, and their timeline intersects with a complex period in the region’s history. The Treaty of Greenville, signed in 1795, predated DuSable’s settlement, and resulted in the forced cession of large areas of Indigenous land, including portions of what would become Chicago and other areas in the Great Lakes region. Shawnee, Delaware, Iroquois, Ottawa, Ojibwa and Miami nations were heavily impacted, among others. DuSable’s residence and trading activities in this area therefore took place within a moment of significant political, cultural, and territorial transition for the many Native nations whose homelands encompass this region.

Just as Native histories of this region have often been overlooked or minimized, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was long a footnote in Chicago’s history until 20th-century efforts to recognize the contributions of African Americans brought his legacy forward. DuSable and his wife, Kitihawa, are recognized for their foundational role in the story of early Chicago. DuSable’s life in Chicago was deeply rooted in his partnership with Kitihawa, a Potawatomi woman. Their alliances—linking Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa, and other Indigenous nations known collectively as the Council of the Three Fires—contributed to the success of their settlement and sustained community in the region.

DUSABLE PARK

DuSable Park is a 3.5-acre peninsula located at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, east of Lake Shore Drive and bounded by the Ogden Slip. The site was created through landfill in the late 19th century and was later dedicated as DuSable Park by Mayor Harold Washington in 1987 to honor Jean Baptiste Point du Sable—Chicago’s first known permanent settler of African and Haitian descent, who established a thriving trading post in the late 18th century.

When complete, DuSable Park will feature commemorative and educational elements including a figurative statue of DuSable, interpretive signage, a mural charting early Chicago history, and designed landscapes reflecting the area’s cultural legacy. This public art commission will be a central component of the park’s identity, existing in dialogue with other site features while offering a unique artistic interpretation of Chicago’s beginnings and its continuous Native presence. Construction is anticipated to begin in Spring 2026, with completion projected in Quarter 3 of 2027.

Native people’s deep relationship with this land and its waterways long predates Chicago’s incorporation, and their enduring contributions are inseparable from the city’s origins. The park’s development seeks to acknowledge these Indigenous foundations, their sovereign stewardship, and the ongoing cultural, political, and community presence that continues to shape Chicago today and into the future.

ARTWORK GOALS

The selected artist or team will create a permanent, site-specific work that:

• Elevates Native voices, with particular recognition of Anishinaabe contributions and sovereignty, and ongoing vibrancy in the region
• Highlights kinship, alliance, and shared histories that continue to shape Chicago
• Complements the park’s design and integrates seamlessly into the broader commemorative landscape.
• Engages visitors in reflection, learning, and celebration.

SITE CONSIDERATIONS

DuSable Park is intended to be a place of reflection, where visitors can immerse themselves in the region’s social and natural history. Softscape and hardscape materials used throughout the project were selected to reinforce this objective, with a focus on natural and raw materials including stone, wood, steel, and native plants. Motifs from the Haitian and Potawatomi arts and crafts movements are also utilized. 

Located at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, DuSable Park will experience adverse weather conditions. Material selection should account for extreme weather and potential salt spray from DuSable Lake Shore Drive which borders the western edge of the site. 

Situated along a major migratory bird flyway, DuSable Park will create a natural habitat which supports nesting and migration. Media which includes bright lights or noise should be avoided. Uplighting is acceptable, with fixtures in the 30-53 watt range being utilized to illuminate other features in the park. Artists are encouraged to consider Indigenous ecological knowledge and environmental stewardship practices in their material selection and design.

The site dimensions for the commissioned piece will be 10’ W by 10’L in a location identified in the Site Plan. The artwork will be no taller than 12’ with mountings flush with the surrounding landscape. Site avoids any utilities and is approximately at 10.68’ CCD in elevation. Total weight should not exceed 1.5 tons.

All details of work must be coordinated with the Chicago Park District and the Architect/Engineer of Record

SELECTION PROCESS

Following the RFQ deadline, a selection panel composed of arts professionals, community representatives, historians, and project stakeholders, including multiple representatives from Native communities, will review all submissions. The panel will shortlist 3–5 finalists, each of whom will be commissioned to develop a conceptual design for the site. Finalists will present their proposals to the panel, which will recommend an artist or team for the commission.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Artistic Excellence: Quality, originality, and craftsmanship of past work.
• Relevance: Strength of connection to the project’s themes and community.
• Feasibility: Ability to execute a large-scale public artwork within budget, schedule, and site conditions.

 BUDGET

The budget for this commission is $500,000, inclusive of all costs and fees for the artist to execute the project from design through engineering, fabrication, site preparation, and installation.  Honorarium: Finalists will each receive $1,000 to develop their proposals.

SCHEDULE*

All dates are approximate and subject to change.

Applications must be submitted digitally via the CAFÉ online application system and include:

1. Letter of Interest (1 page) describing the applicant’s connection to the project’s themes, relevant experience, and conceptual approach.
2. Work Samples: 6–10 images of past large-scale public art projects.
3. Annotated Image List detailing title, media, year, dimensions, location, budget, timeline, and commissioning entity for each image.
4. Résumé or CV (1–2 pages per artist; team applications must include one résumé for each member in a single PDF).
5. Optional Video (up to 2 minutes) with accompanying 2—3 sentence description.
6. Team Roles (if applicable) outlining responsibilities of each member.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

This opportunity is open to professional artists and artist teams across the country. We strongly encourage and will prioritize applications from Native artists or teams, particularly those with meaningful connections to the region.