Johnson County’s Sunflower Fire Station Public Art Project

The Johnson County Public Art Commission, on behalf of the Johnson County (KS) Board of County Commission and Johnson County Sunflower Fire Station, is seeking Artists or Artist Teams to closely collaborate with the Architect and Contractor to develop innovative, original art for a new Sunflower Fire Station

Sunflower Fire Station #13, opening November 2025, is a new facility supporting Northwest Consolidated Fire Department’s (NWCFD) Administration, emergency fire responders, and Johnson County government’s MED-ACT emergency responders

SFS Architecture’s design of the facility consists of administrative offices for NWCFD, a community training room, shared responder living areas, office spaces, designated training locations, facility and service support areas, and four bays capable of accommodating multiple emergency responder service vehicles

Located at 35050 West 99th Street, De Soto, Kansas 66018 

Questions related to this project should be emailed to artsculture.advisory@gmail.com

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Sunflower Fire Station #13, opening November 2025, is a new modern facility supporting Northwest Consolidated Fire Department’s (NWCFD) Administration, emergency fire responders, and Johnson County government’s MED-ACT emergency responders.

SFS Architecture’s design of the facility consists of administrative offices for NWCFD, a community training room, shared responder living areas, office spaces, designated training locations, facility and service support areas, and four large bays capable of accommodating multiple emergency responder service vehicles.

The station is located at 35050 West 99th Street, De Soto, Kansas 66018 and has an established public art budget of approximately $130,000 (one hundred thirty thousand dollars).

The deadline for delivery of Submission is November 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM CDT. Submissions received after this deadline will be automatically disqualified.

Tentative Schedule:

Publish Call for Artist on CaFE 10/7/2025

Question Deadline 10/20/2025

Artist Proposals Due 11/3/25

Shortlist of Finalists Announced 12/4/25

Site Visit with Architect 1/8/2026

Concept Presentation Interviews 2/5/26 – 2/6/26

Selected Artist Announced 2/13/26

Artist Engage with Design Team 4/10/26

Art Installation 8/2026 – 11/2026

One or more commissions may be selected for the project, pending the advice of the Artist Selection Panel (ASP) and approval of the Public Art Commission (PAC).

Contract and Insurance Requirements. The selected Artist will have a contract with the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County Kansas for the project. This will include the design, documentation, fabrication, construction, and installation of the Artwork. 

The Artist will be required to carry insurance in the following quantities:

• General Liability: $1,000,000/ Each Occurrence

• General Liability Aggregate: $2,000,000

• Workman's Comp: $1,000,000 (only if subject to statute)

• Commercial Auto: $1,000,000

Once initially awarded, the artist will need to further develop, refine and finalize their proposed concept and provide a 50% Concept Development presentation to the Architect and County Project Management for feedback.

Following refinement of the Concept, the Artist will present the Final Concept, including a detailed budget and maintenance plan, to the Architect and the County Project Management team. The artist will then present the Final Concept to the Johnson County Public Art Commission in order to obtain their affirmative recommendation. Following affirmative recommendation, the Artist will then finalize design documents.

Following approval of the selected Artist and concept, the ASP-recommended and PAC approved Artist will be contracted with the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County Kansas.

With the final approved design documents, budget and maintenance requirements in hand, the Artist will then communicate for approval, the installation details with the Project Manager, coordinating local construction assistance for the installation as required.

Final Artwork cost to include all aspects of design, fabrication, transportation, installation and lighting and any other work scopes required to realize the Artwork. 

Final Artwork cost may include:

• excavation, site remediation and landscaping if required by the Artwork.

• work by a licensed structural engineer or other engineers if required.

• travel expenses.

• Insurances.

The mission of the Sunflower Fire Station, a new facility located on the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant grounds, is to provide enhanced fire and emergency medical services, with a focus on responder health and expanded operational capabilities to serve a new battery manufacturing plant and the growing surrounding area. The station's design prioritizes firefighter health and safety through features like modern decontamination areas and improved air filtration. Its expanded footprint and modern design will support larger teams, increased call volume, and long-term service to the community.

The new 19,355sf facility sits towards the south side of 9.2 acres. The ‘Hercules’ training classroom and NWCFD’s Administration spaces, housing the Fire Chiefs and support staff, are located on the west side of the facility near the public entry. Responder bunks, their shared living areas, and workspaces comprise the center area, and the four double deep apparatus bays for fire engines, ambulances, and associated emergency response vehicles border the eastern perimeter.

Evaluation Criteria an Eligibility. 

The Artist Selection Panel (ASP) will review and consider Submissions on a broad range of criteria including:

• Past experience and success. Using resume/ CV as a guide, the Artist should demonstrate a dedication to achieving successful artwork and/or installations over the course of their career. We seek evidence that the Artist's education, training, studio experience, exhibition experience, life experience, show commitment to engaging viewers with works of high quality and significance.

• Capacity and resources to achieve success. The Artist's past projects and references should show that the Artist has the capacity to: effectively collaborate with the Design Team during the design phase; to produce well-crafted Artworks; and to coordinate with the Contractor to ensure a professional installation.

• Overall approach to this project and site. The creation of Public Artwork that amplifies the experience of Place is central to our consideration. We will seek confirmation that the Artist demonstrates a genuine interest in this specific project and site. We are interested in artwork that can tap into the cultural, historical and physical contexts of the site and our community.

• Excellence in past Public Artwork. If the Artist demonstrates experience in specific public art projects those projects should reflect a consistent focus on excellence, originality, innovation, of craft, quality and enduring value. Provide evidence that these works engage their audiences and promote interaction. Show us how the work coordinates with the surrounding architecture and landscape, if appropriate.

For permanent object installations, maintenance is a central concern. The Artist should demonstrate experience working with materials appropriate to long-term installations and provide detailed information on materials and participate in drafting appropriate care strategies. Please review the Johnson County Public Art Master Plan before submitting. Per the process outlined in the Master Plan.

Additional clarifications:

This facility will be complete and occupied at the end of 2025. Plans and images have been included to illustrate the layout of the building on site and the design aesthetic.

The purpose of the Public Art Program is to recognize that works of art are public improvements and should be a prominent part of Johnson County’s profile. The Sunflower Fire Station facility by nature of its operations is most usually not publicly accessible. The Hercules Training room in the facility could be utilized by the public but it is not regularly accessible to the public. The artist should give consideration to areas of public access, lines of sight and the public and emergency traffic patterns in their programming and design considerations.

It is hoped that the design will help spark the Artist's imagination for engaging Artwork concepts. The Architect is enthusiastic about the potential to collaborate with the Artist, and looks forward to providing insights regarding lighting, safety, durability, maintenance, etc.

Other than what is listed above, there are no other preconceptions on what the eventual Artwork should be, or where it should be located within the publicly accessible areas defined on the site plan or identified by the selected artist.

The Artwork must be specific to this site and responsive to this opportunity, commissioned and produced specifically for this project.

Artwork concepts/ specific project proposals are not necessary for the initial Submittal. Your Artist Statement should communicate overall insights on how you might approach developing Artwork for this site and project type. What sparks your interest in this opportunity?

All documentation, shop drawings and specifications for the Artwork are to be by the Artist. After all approvals, Artwork location will be shown generally by the Architect in the as-built documents.

Additional Information:

Summary of DeSoto’s History and Development

The area that became De Soto, Kansas, was originally inhabited by the Osage and later the Shawnee, who settled there in the 1820s after forced relocations. By the mid-1800s, other Native American tribes also arrived. The Shawnee Methodist Mission and a reservation were established in the area. De Soto was platted in 1857, named after explorer Hernando de Soto, and incorporated in 1897.

In World War II, the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (9,080 acres) spurred a population boom, with nearby Sunflower Village built for workers. The plant’s closure in 1993 left a massive undeveloped site. The Great Flood of 1951 severely damaged the city.

Post-2008, De Soto experienced steady growth, becoming the Kansas City metro’s second fastest-growing city by 2019. Cleanup of the former ammunition plant site accelerated in the late 2010s. In 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared the northern portion of the site for development, prompting De Soto to annex 6,376 acres—nearly doubling its size—and create a TIF district to encourage development of one of the region’s largest undeveloped tracts.

In early 2022, Kansas passed the APEX bill, offering $800 million in incentives for a $4 billion project, later revealed to be Panasonic’s electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility. On July 13, 2022, Panasonic confirmed its choice of De Soto for the plant, to be built on the northern portion of the former ammunition site. The project’s ribbon cutting was in July 2025 and the project is the largest single private investment in Kansas history, projected to provide 4,000 direct jobs, 4,000 related jobs, and 16,000 construction jobs.

By late 2022, De Soto had annexed nearly the entire 17-square-mile Sunflower site, renamed Astra Enterprise Park. Today, the city lies mostly in northwestern Johnson County along the Kansas River, with parts in Leavenworth County, and is considered an exurb of Kansas City. Recent court rulings have loosened historic annexation boundaries, giving De Soto more flexibility for future expansion.

Interested Artists should submit the following information:

• A professional resume/CV (limit 3 pages). Artists working collaboratively must submit a resume/CV for each collaboration member.
• Your Artist Statement should (limit 3000 characters) outline your approach to developing Public Art for this project and the public realm in general. What sources of inspiration would you bring to a community health project on this site? Are you interested in exploring the unique nature of the combined services and how it can serve the community? The potential engagement with the public? The unique physical conditions of the project site? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee? What do you hope to gain from this experience? What might help to differentiate you as an Artist for this project?
• Three references with current contact information.
• Up to three individual pieces of selected articles, catalogues, etc.
• Fifteen (15) clearly labeled digital images of related past Artwork. In addition, up to two movie clips, with a maximum combined length of 3 minutes, can accompany the Images.

Deadline for delivery of Submission is November 3rd, 2025 at 11:59 PM CDT. Submissions received after this deadline will be automatically disqualified.

Questions related to this project should be emailed to artsculture.advisory@gmail.com. Questions received by this deadline will be answered in writing on this CaFE Call for Artists listing via an addendum.

With the below listed exception, the opportunity to compete for this project is open to all professional Artists residing in the United States, including emerging Artists in collaboration with other professional Artists. Emerging artists are highly advised to submit qualifications.

Artists selected for and contracted to implement a public art project for Johnson County will be exempt from competing for additional public art projects within Johnson County for a minimum of three years from the time their contract is completed associated with the Johnson County building project.