November 19, 2008

Oakland, CA: Watershed Public Art Markers
SF Bay Area

Bay Area artists are invited to apply for the opportunity to design an interpretive public art marker that celebrates and identifies the role of the watershed systems of Oakland, California, including creeks, lakes, and the estuary. The selected artist will create a prototype of the art marker and will fabricate and install the first series of markers based on this prototype at various key locations in the Oakland watershed systems. Project Budget: $92,000. All applications must be submitted through CaFÉ ( www.callforentry.org ). Look under “CaFÉ Listings” to find this opportunity.

Oakland is home to 15 main creeks and over 40 smaller tributaries, all of which play a vital role in the city’s health and well-being. These waterways provide plant and wildlife habitat, stormwater transport, flood management and water cleansing functions as well as valuable recreational and aesthetic benefit for Oakland residents. Although historically contiguous from the Oakland Hills to the San Francisco Bay, all of Oakland’s creeks are now partially or extensively buried or diverted into culverts and storm drains. Their lack of visibility in certain areas of the city reduces overall understanding of their role and value. To enhance the historic, cultural, aesthetic and interpretive potential of the often-overlooked creeks system and the city’s “crown jewel,” Lake Merritt, a total of $92,000 ($72,000 from Creeks Restoration and $20,000 from Lake Merritt capital projects) has been allocated to commission an artist to create a prototype of an interpretive artwork marker that will identify the location of creek nodes and draw attention to the value of the creek habitats that exist throughout the city. A Request for Qualifications can be downloaded at: http://www.oaklandculturalarts.org/main/callforartists.htm
Applications are to be submitted only through www.callforentry.com no paper submissions will be reviewed. The Oakland, CA: Watershed Public Art Markers project is funded through the Oakland Trust for Clean Water & Safe Parks (Measure DD). This $198.25 million dollar bond is funding a comprehensive ten-year plan to clean up and restore Lake Merritt, the Oakland Estuary Waterfront, and Oakland's creeks system by improving land/water quality and expanding recreational facilities and opportunities for Oakland citizens.

Deadline: 02-06-2009
City of Oakland, California
Oakland

Contact: Christin Hablewitz
email: chablewitz@oaklandnet.com
Phone: 510-238-2105