City of Wichita Public Art Planning Consultant for the Planeview Community Center

ART CONSULTANT SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected Public Art Planning Consultant (art consultant) shall be responsible for securing and managing appropriate artists who will create original public art for the project.  It is anticipated that this project will retain between two – five separate artists for the final artwork through a public call through CaFÉ. The total number of artists to be determined by City Staff, SFS Architecture and the Public Art Planning Consultant. The art consultant shall be responsible for either retaining or assisting the artists in retaining supporting services for the artwork as needed.  The selection of the artists shall be by committee similar to this solicitation and would include the selected Public Art Planning Consultant.

Request for Qualifications - Public Art Planning Consultant

Planeview Community Center, Wichita, KS

CALL SUMMARY

Commissioning Organization:                   City of Wichita

Application Deadline:                                January 6, 2026

Project Timeline:                                        Anticipated Construction Start Date: Fall 2026

                                                                  Anticipated Art Installation Date: Fall / Winter 2027

Public Art Budget:                                      $270,000

INTRODUCTION

SFS Architecture has been engaged by the City of Wichita to provide full design services for the design and construction of a new community center to house the Neighborhood Resource Center and provide additional recreation activities in Planeview Park. The Community Center will provide community services and programming for the surrounding neighborhood and for the district at large in Wichita, KS.  SFS Architecture, on behalf of the City of Wichita, is requesting responses from qualified firms or individuals to provide consulting services for the planning and selection of public art for installation at the new community center facility.  

SFS Architecture and the City of Wichita invite professional art consultants with a demonstrated history of completing permanent public art projects and with a strong ability to facilitate community engagement to submit their qualifications.  The intent of the RFQ is to procure a public art planning consultant who will be responsible for coordinating with the design team and City staff to determine appropriate locations and scope of integrated public art within the project and conducting a Call for Artists to provide the artwork. The project design team also includes MKEC (Civil Engineering), Confluence (Landscape Architecture), PKMR Engineers (MEPF Engineering), and Dudley Williams & Associates (Structural Engineering).

The selection process for the Public Art Planning Consultant will be spearheaded by SFS Architecture along with City staff.  The selected Public Art Planning Consultant will be expected to enter into an agreement with SFS Architecture to provide the scope of services outlined in this Request for Qualifications. 

BACKGROUND

The Planeview Community Center will be a new construction project to supplement and replace the Colvin Neighborhood Resource Center serving Wichita City Council District 3. The new building will be located adjacent to the Colvin Elementary School (USD 259) and provide flexible indoor recreation, meeting, activity and social spaces in Planeview Park. New amenities will expand the community programming opportunities while providing a safe, inclusive, and modern environment for visitors. Site improvements adjacent to the building will include parking that serves the community center and existing, surrounding field and court amenities at the park, pedestrian walks for connectivity and stormwater management components. Public art and other design elements will be employed to educate and to inspire visitors and neighbors with the rich history and modern identity of the community and the surrounding area. 

PERCENT FOR ART & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

This project is funded through the Percent for Art Ordinance and the City of Wichita’s Capital Improvement Plan. In 2019, the Wichita City Council approved an ordinance that allotted 2% of capital improvement funds to a pool of funding allocated for the commissioning of on-site artworks that then become part of the citywide art collection. The administration of the Percent for Art Program is overseen by the Design Council, an 11-member advisory board. 

PROJECT TYPE

It is anticipated that the selected Public Art Planning Consultant will work collaboratively with the design team and City staff to identify appropriate locations, types, and scopes for more than one public art installation which are integrated into the overall facility design at either the exterior or interior of the building.  

ART GOALS/CRITERIA

The objectives for the final public art area as follows: 

Ø  Public art shall be integrated into the overall design of the new building whereas the art complements and enhances the building design. 

Ø  Public art shall be created which can be interactive with the public in creative ways.

Ø  Public art shall add to the overall sense of place and enhance placemaking within the city park and the surrounding area.

Ø  Public art shall take into consideration this site’s unique history of the Planeview community.

Ø  Public art shall help give a sense of identity and reflect the area community members. 

ART LOCATION

The public art shall be located within the boundaries of the project area.  This excludes the school parcel adjacent to the project site.   Art may be located within the building or outside of the building and must be of a nature that can withstand exposure to the exterior elements without being damaged. 

ART CONSULTANT SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected Public Art Planning Consultant (art consultant) shall be responsible for securing and managing appropriate artists who will create original public art for the project.  It is anticipated that this project will retain between two – five separate artists for the final artwork through a public call through CaFÉ. The total number of artists to be determined by City Staff, SFS Architecture and the Public Art Planning Consultant. The art consultant shall be responsible for either retaining or assisting the artists in retaining supporting services for the artwork as needed.  The selection of the artists shall be by committee similar to this solicitation and would include the selected Public Art Planning Consultant.

BUDGET

The City of Wichita has allocated an overall budget of $270,000 to be spent on public art for this project.  This budget shall include fees for the Public Art Planning Consultant and all artist(s) creative work, art, and installation on site. The Public Art Planning Consultant fee is 10% of the budget. The artwork budget is $243,000, including a 10% contingency to be managed by SFS Architecture and the Public Art Planning Consultant to deliver and install the public art.  Reasonable lighting of artwork may be coordinated with SFS Architecture and provided by the construction budget.  Specialty or integrated lighting shall be part of the cost of the artwork, with electrical coordination between the Artist and SFS Architecture.  Specialty engineering services specific to the artwork shall be included in the budget for Public Art.  Public Art Planning Consultant shall be expected to be present for all presentations of artwork for approval.

SCHEDULE/TIMELINE

Public Art Planning Consultant RFQ Issued:                                  December 3, 2025

Pre-proposal Virtual Meeting (non-mandatory)                               December 12, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. CST

              Virtual Meeting information will be provided to

               interested parties by emailing Allison Vandever at

               avandever@sfsarch.com

Deadline for Question (to SFS Architecture)                                     December 16, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. CST

Responses to all questions issued                                                    December 19, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. CST

Qualifications Submission Due                                                         January 6, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST

Review of Qualifications                                                                    January 7-14, 2026

Interviews (if needed)                                                                        January 16, 2026

Notification of Award                                                                         January 19, 2026

Public Art Procurement schedule will be determined with the selected Public Art Planning Consultant, SFS Architecture, and City staff.  Schedule will be based on type of artwork and integration with overall construction. Additional milestones may be added to the Procurement Schedule as is appropriate to the determined Public Art Scope of Work.

Public Art Procurement (all dates to be confirmed by Public Art Planning Consultant)

Public Art Scope of Work Due                                                          March 9, 2026                               

Issue RFQ Call for Artists                                                                 April 7, 2026

Artist RFQ Submissions Due                                                           Spring 2026

Notification of Artist(s) Selection                                                       Late Spring 2026

Installation of Public Art                                                                    Fall / Winter 2027

Costs of preparing and submitting all responses to this RFQ are entirely the responsibility of the applicant. 

EVALUATION

Applicants/consultants will be evaluated by a selection committee made up of individuals from the design team, City staff and local stakeholders with a vested interest in this project.  The selection panel will review submittals and determine the candidates that may be shortlisted.  Selection panel may conduct interviews to make a final selection or reserves the right to forgo shortlist and interview and select a consultant based on the qualifications and demonstrated experience or reject all submittals entirely should no qualified submittals be received. If interviews are conducted, those interviews will be done virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Ø  Artistic excellence: demonstrated vision, professional process and presentation, and quality in examples of past work; examples provided should be relevant to how the consultant will approach this project.

Ø  Creative process: examples of past work should illustrate how the consultant has used community engagement in their design process; examples should be relevant to how the consultant will approach this project.

Ø  Ability: demonstrated experience in public art management and executing large scale outdoor and or indoor artwork, coordinating engineering and fabrication teams, delivering contractual milestones, and managing large budgets in a timely fashion.

Ø  Collaboration: demonstrate consultants’ approach and ability to collaborate effectively with the client and design team to determine best outcomes for the project.

The successful candidate will be required to enter into a contract with SFS Architecture to provide the services outlined above and/or negotiated after the award.  The DRAFT agreement and exhibits for the Architect and Art Consultant are attached to this RFQ. 

SFS Architecture and the City of Wichita reserve the right to reject any and all responses and/or modify the scope of services during the negotiation of the contract.

SUBMITTAL CONTENT AND FORMAT

Each consultant or consultant team must submit an entirely digital application.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

1.       Six (6) to ten (10) total images of past large-scale public art projects by the consultant.

2.       Annotated Image List: An annotated image list that includes the title, media, year completed, dimensions, location, project budget, timeline, and client or commissioning entity for each corresponding image.

a.       The annotated image list may include thumbnails of submitted images but does not replace the need to upload individual image files but does not replace the need to upload individual image files in fulfillment of number 1 above.

b.       Image annotations may include very brief descriptions of how the image illustrates one or more of the selection criteria.

3.       A one (1) page Letter of Interest (LOI) stating why this project opportunity is meaningful and appropriate for the applicant’s work, as well as potential approach to this project.

4.       A two (2) page max. resume or curriculum vitae (CV).

a.       If applying as a team, provide a resume or CV for each team member and a list of key team members and their roles/affiliations in one PDF.

5.       Three (3) professional references.

6.       Provide an example of a previous final deliverable package that demonstrates an ability to keep detailed records and financial accountability for artists, including budgets, warranties, and insurance requirements for the project. The page limit noted excludes this item.

SUBMITTAL PROCESS

Qualified candidates shall submit all questions to this Request for Qualifications via email to Allison Vandever, SFS Architecture at avandever@sfsarch.com

Application is available via CaFE at callforentry.org. Deadline for submission is January 6, 2026, 11:59 p.m. CST.

ELIGIBILITY

The role of Public Art Planning Consultant is open to art consultants with proven experience and expertise in large-scale public art projects, who live and work in the United States of America.  The RFQ is open to both individual consultants and consultant teams. Preference may be given to individuals who qualify as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE). Local participation and community engagement will be required.

The consultant must demonstrate experience in public art planning, community outreach, collaboration, and a commitment to working with and for the benefit of the public. The consultant must have completed projects with a similar scope and budget as what has been identified in this RFQ.

It is the declared policy and practice of the City of Wichita to extend equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.