RFQ - Artist Engagement Team, City and County Arts and Culture Plan

Agency:	City of Rochester
State:	New York
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	80 - Brushes, Paints, Sealers, and Adhesives
Posted:	Dec 19, 2023
Due:	Feb 2, 2024
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

In 2024, the City of Rochester, Monroe County, and a consultant will create an arts and culture plan for the City and County through research and comprehensive community engagement. The City, County, and Consultant are seeking local artists to help develop and implement community engagement strategies for the Plan. For the purposes of this RFQ, “Artists” include individuals that work anywhere on the broad spectrum of creative endeavors, including but not limited to literary arts, performing arts and visual arts.

To download the RFQ, click here>> .

Virtual Information Session

On Monday, January 8, 2024, City staff will hold a virtual information session on this RFQ. Register in advance to attend at https://cityofrochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-2grzouH9wRSFwnnKoapKqsId3HRj_y

Questions

The deadline for questions regarding this RFQ is 11:59 PM on Sunday, January 21, 2024. Send questions or requests for clarification to the Project Manager, Heather Anderson, at heather.anderson@cityofrochester.gov . Responses to all questions will be posted on this webpage.

Application Deadline

The application for this RFQ can be found online here>>. Applications must be submitted through Google Forms by 11:59 pm on Sunday, February 2, 2024. If you need to fill out and submit a hardcopy application, please contact the Project Manager at heather.anderson@cityofrochester.gov .

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City of Rochester

Request for Qualifications

Artist Engagement Team

for the City of Rochester and Monroe County Arts and Culture Plan

Online application must be completed and submitted by

11:59 pm on Sunday, February 4, 2024

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

In 2024, the City of Rochester (“City”), Monroe County (“County”), and a consultant (“Consultant”) will

create an arts and culture plan for the City and County (“Plan”) through research and comprehensive

community engagement (the “Project”). The City, County, and Consultant are seeking local artists to help

develop and implement community engagement strategies for the Plan. For the purposes of this RFQ,

“Artists” include individuals that work anywhere on the broad spectrum of creative endeavors, including

but not limited to literary arts, performing arts and visual arts.

BACKGROUND

The City of Rochester and Monroe County Arts and Culture Plan

The City’s Comprehensive Plan, Rochester 2034, adopted in 2019, identified the importance of arts and

cultural assets in meeting the City’s broader goals and envisioned Rochester as a “city of the arts and for

the arts” - one in which the arts are accessible to all Rochesterians regardless of where they live or their

ability, and where there is support for small organizations and individual artists representing the

diversity of Rochester. The Arts + Culture section of Rochester 2034 recommends an arts and culture

plan as an action toward that vision.

The City collaborated with an external stakeholder group, the Arts and Creative Community Committee

(AC3), and an internal multidepartment staff group, the City Arts Team (CAT), to create an overview of

the Plan. This overview identifies that the Plan will include, at a minimum, a landscape analysis, a vision,

goals and an implementation plan to achieve the vision and goals, a cultural equity policy and a Public

Art Master Plan for the City.

The City and County conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a consultant to assist in the

development of the Plan. The Consultant selection will be considered for approval at City Council on

December 19, 2023.

The Artist Engagement Team

The Plan budget includes $30,000 for local artists (an “Artist Engagement Team”) to participate in the

development and implementation of community engagement. An Artist Engagement Team is a model

established by cities such as Minneapolis in which artists use their creativity to think outside the box of

routine outreach. Artists are uniquely well suited to discuss art with residents and other artists, and

often have access to networks of people through their own community leadership.

Broadly, the work of the Artist Engagement Team will include collaborating with the City, the County

and the Consultant (the “Project Team”) on developing community engagement strategies, and

subsequently carrying out those strategies. The purpose of the work will be to hear from stakeholders

and general members of the community, about how the City, County and institutions throughout the

County can help make arts and culture in our area even more robust. The Project Team is looking for

artists with experience in community engagement and/or artists who are excited to use their skills for

community engagement. Engagement tasks could include but are not limited to activities such as

facilitating small and large group discussions, actively listening, designing and distributing print

materials, or leading community art events. In-person engagement often happens during non-traditional

work hours, including weekday evenings and weekends.

It is important to note:

 This is NOT a Call for Art; creating art is not part of this Project. However, opportunities for

community art events and other creative strategies are encouraged as part of the outreach

purpose of the Project.

 Giving feedback on the substance of the Plan is not the core of the Artist Engagement Team’s

work. If you are an artist interested in having your voice heard as part of Plan development,

there will be many opportunities for the Project Team to hear your perspective.

The Project Team is looking for three to four Artists for the Artist Engagement Team. The number of

hours worked by each Artist will depend on whether the Project Team selects three or four Artists for

the team. See below.

Eligibility:

Artists who live in the City of Rochester, or who have an art studio or office in

the City of Rochester. To find out if a specific address is in the City of Rochester,

enter the address into the search box at this webpage:

https://maps.cityofrochester.gov/propinfo/.

Rate of pay: $100 per hour

Approximate number of work hours and total payment for work:*

 If three artists are selected, each artist would work approximately 100 hours, for a total of

approximately $10,000

 If four artists are selected, each artist would work approximately 75 hours, for a total of

approximately $7,500

*This is an estimate of the work hours required and the actual hours may vary based on the

Artist’s availability and other factors.

Timeline: approximately 2/3 of the work in spring/early summer 2024. The remainder of work in

fall 2024.

Timeline

Activity

Date

RFQ Release

Virtual Information Session

Deadline for questions

Response for questions submitted

Qualifications due

Interviews

Artist Selection and Award

Notification

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

11:00 AM

Monday, January 8, 2024

11:59 PM

Sunday, January 21

Wednesday, January 24

11:59 PM

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Week of February 19th

Week of February 26th

The dates shown above may be subject to change within the Project Team’s sole discretion and upon

written notification as set forth herein.

Communications

All communications by parties who have indicated an intent to submit or have submitted qualifications in

response to this RFQ (“Respondents”), including any questions or requests for clarifications, submission of

the qualifications, requests for status updates about the artist selection process and any other inquiries

whatsoever concerning this RFQ shall be sent by e-mail only to the following City staff person (“City

Contact”):

Heather Anderson, AICP

Project Manager

Office of City Planning

Heather.Anderson@CityofRochester.Gov

No contact is permitted with any other staff member of the Project Team with regard to this RFQ during

the RFQ process unless specifically authorized in writing. Prohibited contact may be grounds for

disqualification.

To ensure that all Respondents have a clear understanding of the scope and requirements of this RFQ, the

City will respond to all timely questions submitted via e-mail to the City Contact by the question deadline

stated above. Questions and the responding answers will be sent via e-mail to all Respondents who have

provided an e-mail address to the City Contact and will be posted on the webpage for this RFQ:

https://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=21474853687. The City’s failure to timely respond or

provide responses to any questions shall not delay or invalidate the City’s right to make a decision to

award an agreement pursuant to this RFQ.

The City will make every reasonable effort to keep Respondents informed about the RFQ process.

Notifications about Timeline date changes, amendments to the RFQ and other information about the

RFQ will be sent by e-mail to Respondents who have provided an e-mail address to the City Contact and

will be posted on the City’s webpage for this RFQ (see link above). The City’s failure to provide such

information shall not delay or invalidate the City’s right to make a decision to award an agreement

pursuant to this RFQ.

VIRTUAL INFORMATION SESSION

In order to provide the Project Team with an opportunity to discuss the RFQ with Respondents and

Respondents with an opportunity to ask questions and clarify the RFQ, a pre-proposal conference will be

held on:

Monday, January 8, 2024 at 11:00 AM

https://cityofrochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-2grzouH9wRSFwnnKoapKqsId3HRj_y

There is no requirement to attend the pre-proposal conference and no obligation by the City, County or

Consultant to provide information from the conference to parties who fail to attend.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The Project Team is seeking Artists to perform the following services to implement the Project:

A. Collaborate with the City, County and the Consultant to develop a plan for community

engagement. Details will include:

1. Methods of engagement (for example, meetings, pop-up events, community art activities,

surveys, mailers, fliers, website features, social media outreach, etc.)

2. Scope of engagement. Identification of various types of stakeholders to be engaged and

how best to reach them. Identification of goals for outreach outcomes, for example, key

questions and issues that will frame engagement activities.

3. Number of engagements, with specific dates, range of dates and locations as needed.

This is the opportunity summary page. You are currently viewing an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation. For more information, please visit the Publication URL Web page.

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RFQ - Artist Engagement Team, City and County Arts and Culture Plan

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