Skate Park Mosaic Steps

The City of Davis invites qualified artists to apply to create a new piece of public art for a redesigned skate park in the center of Davis. The new art will consist of ceramic, glass or tile mosaic, or other media, and visually enhance an existing 23-step staircase leading down to the skate park.

The completed artwork will serve as a visual focal point, drawing visitors toward the skate park, and enhancing the skate park with a colorful backdrop.

The City of Davis Civic Arts Advisory Board invites qualified artists or collaborative teams to create a new piece of public art as part of a community-driven effort to renovate and activate the City’s skate park in Community Park. The City will commission a professional artist or team of artists to design, fabricate, and install a permanent new work of public art. The public art will visually enhance an existing concrete staircase leading down to the skate park, and will consist of a ceramic, glass or tile mosaic design that is installed on 23 6" step risers. A budget of up to $28,000 is available.

ABOUT DAVIS

Davis is noted for its desirable quality of life, its small-town atmosphere, and an emphasis on parks and open spaces. Known as an environmentally aware and socially innovative city, Davis boasts more than 50 miles of bicycle paths (proposed art site is near one such bike path) and more bicycles per capita than any other city in the nation. Residents of Davis are active in local, national, and international political causes, sports, arts, and community organizations.

As a university town, Davis has the advantages of a small town coupled with the numerous intellectual, recreational and cultural activities serving a wide variety of interests. A Northern California hub for artists of many media, Davis features a community-built Arts Center, and an exciting collection of unusual public art pieces.

The Central Valley is the agricultural heart of the state and provides one of the most highly developed and integrated agricultural systems in the world. The area surrounding Davis has some of the most productive agricultural land in California, sustaining hundreds of different crops – from rice to tomatoes to almonds. Davis is known for its innovative conservation efforts and efficient use of energy, open spaces and water resources. These priorities have garnered Davis international acclaim for innovative accomplishments in recycling, water conservation, and energy-saving designs.

The Sacramento and American Rivers lie to the east along with historic gold country and Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. To the west are the San Francisco Bay area, the great coastal redwood forest, and the beaches and rugged shores of the Pacific Ocean. Davis also sits in the Pacific Flyway, a major migration route for waterfowl and other North American birds.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs Program supports community-based arts projects, cultural opportunities, and education initiatives that foster excellence, diversity, and vitality in the arts. The program is the clearinghouse for all creative activity in the City of Davis government and serves the entire Davis community. 

The Skate Park

The public skate park was originally constructed in 1993 for skateboarding and inline skating. In 2024 the City of Davis initiated a process to redesign the skate park, and eventually contracted with Grindline Skateparks. Plans were finalized and demolition of the skate park began in April, 2026. The new skate park is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2026, and the public art element will be integrated into the project following its completion.

View the complete Community Park Skate Park project timeline and details here.

Community Park

Community Park is located in Central Davis, and bordered by Covell Blvd. on the North, F Street on the East, 14th Street on the South, and Davis Senior High School on the West. It is central among many community locations, including Davis Senior High School, Veterans Memorial Theatre and Center, the Mary L. Stephens Library, North Davis Elementary School, Davis Arts Center, Rainbow City Playground, and the Bicycle Pump Track. Many well-attended community events take place in this park, such as Celebrate Davis, July 4th, Summer Camps (through the City of Davis Parks and Community Services Department), and multiple sporting events throughout the year.

SCOPE

The Scope of Work for this RFQ includes design, fabrication, transportation and installation of the artwork. The selected artist/team will be expected to work collaboratively with, and synthesize feedback from, project managers from the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs Program, Parks staff, and skate park users, to create functional, durable, safe, and visually impactful artwork on the step risers.

The Mosaic Step Risers

There are 23 steps in total, ranging from 12’ 1” wide to 20’ 10” wide. The risers are each 5-5.5” tall. The total area equals approximately 156 square feet. 

The vision for the skate park steps is to adorn the risers with a ceramic, glass or tile mosaic design. Artists are encouraged, but not required, to integrate mirror, or other reflective or phosphorescent materials that will provide for a dynamic and interactive backdrop for the creation of photos and other media. Mosaic artwork is a common medium found in public art throughout the City of Davis, and is well suited for our community due to its aesthetic value, its durable nature as an outdoor art medium, and its perpetuation of the ceramic arts tradition for which Davis is well known. The city of Davis, CA, is highly regarded for its ceramic legacy, largely due to UC Davis’s role as birthplace of the West Coast "Funk Art" movement in the 1960s.

The mosaic installation must be able to withstand weathering, heavy foot traffic, and frequent contact, given that the stairs are located in a popular outdoor park, and are part of a skate park.

Land Acknowledgement

The Civic Arts Advisory Board recognizes the importance of acknowledging the land Davis occupies and paying respect to the Indigenous people who once thrived here, as well as amplifying the voices of those currently living, through artistic practice. Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. We honor their descendants, many of whom live in present-day Yolo County, and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future.

The Civic Arts Advisory Board is dedicated to supporting programming that not only amplifies Native voices, but also honors and celebrates the natural environment, with which they are in close relationship. 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Please be prepared to submit all of the following with your completed application: 

1. Professional Resume: of no more than four pages per individual, emphasizing relevant experience.

2. Portfolio Images: Images of past work, up to ten (10). 

3. Letter of Interest: (not to exceed two pages) describing individual artist’s or team’s interest in this project and relevant experience

4. Professional References: A list of three professional references, preferably from previous similar projects, with email and phone contact information.

Submissions for this opportunity will stay on file as part of a new initiative to create a pool of pre-qualified artists for future projects.

ELIGIBILITY

This RFQ is open to artists or artist teams residing in Yolo County and the Northern California region at the time of application and for the duration of the implementation of the artwork. Artists will be considered regardless of race, color, religion, natural origin, gender, age, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical or mental ability. 

This project is open to artists who have demonstrated experience in the successful design and delivery of architecturally integrated artwork.

Selected artists must be available to work collaboratively with project teams that may include City of Davis staff, architects, engineers, and community representatives. At least one on-site visit is required before final design approval.

Applicants must demonstrate a history of professional activity as an artist and must demonstrate appropriate skills or experience in designing and managing an art project relative to the scale and complexity of the art project described above.

Artist Teams: Two or more people may apply together as a team, however a person with demonstrated history of professional activity as an artist must lead the team and meet the residency requirements. All team members will be required to be onsite for the installation.

Artists who currently have an active art commission with the City of Davis are not eligible for this project. Additionally, City of Davis seeks to diversify the artists represented in the art collection, so if you have two or more artworks in the collection, we request you refrain from applying. 

The Civic Arts Advisory Board and the City of Davis reserve the right to reject any or all applications, proposals, applicants, or projects, and to modify or terminate the application process or the selection process for any reason and without prior notice. Artists must be 18 years of age. Artists must be able to provide insurance. Must be able to provide a U.S. mailing address on W9.

REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

Phase One: Review of Artists’ Qualifications

Submittals from artists will be pre-screened by City staff for compliance with project requirements. A selection panel composed of City staff, park users and local residents, and members of the Civic Arts Advisory Board will review and rank artist qualifications. The Panel will recommend up to five (3) finalists to be interviewed in Phase Two.

Finalists (individuals and teams) will be selected based on the following criteria:

●       Professional and artistic qualifications and standards of excellence in innovation, creativity and originality as demonstrated in materials submitted as well as appropriateness of applicant’s medium and style to the project.

●       Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with landscape designers and project managers in a design-team context;

●       Demonstrated experience collaborating with local communities on design development (community-centered public art);

●       Previous experience related to successful project implementation based on goals, setting, scale and scope;

●       Familiarity with public agencies, the public review process and/or previous collaboration with local government; and

●       Demonstrated ability to undertake and successfully execute the work in accordance to the construction schedule, in a professional manner and within the project budget.

Phase Two: Finalist Interviews

In preparation for the scheduled interviews, finalists will be provided with more detailed plans for the Skate Park. Finalists will be invited to attend a scheduled interview with the selection panel, which may take place virtually. The panel will then recommend one artist or artist team to receive the project commission. The Civic Arts Advisory Board and City Council must approve the recommended artist(s)/team(s) before contracts can be executed.

The City Council has charged the Civic Arts Advisory Board, and City staff with responsibility for recommending all acquisitions of public art. One artist or artist team will be selected based on experience working with design teams, past work that exhibits style and materials appropriate to the project, and a strong letter of intent. The selection panel will review the proposals and forward a recommendation to the Civic Arts Advisory Board, and ultimately City Council, which has final authority for commissioning all works of art. 

Additional plans and supporting materials can be found at www.cityofdavis.org/arts, under Artist Opportunities, or by contacting our Arts & Culture Manager at rhartsough@cityofdavis.org.

TIMELINE

The tentative timeline is as follows, and is subject to change:

Jul 15, 2026          RFQ announcement

Jul 15-Aug 15       Question/Response period

Oct 1, 2026           Application submission deadline 

Fall 2026               Finalist interviews with Selection Committee and notification of selected artist

Winter 2027          Civic Arts Advisory Board recommendation and City Council approval

                              Artist contract executed with City staff

Winter 2027          Artist develops design 

Winter 2027          Final design review/approval by Civic Arts Advisory Board, Staff and City Council

Spring 2027          Project fabrication + Installation