Ingleside Police Station Replacement Public Art Project

About

PROJECT SUMMARY AND BUDGET

The San Francisco Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams residing in the United States or have representation from a U.S. based gallery willing to contract with the Arts Commission on the artist’s behalf to submit qualifications for Ingleside Police Station Replacement Public Art Project.

The art opportunity consists of a two-dimensional artwork or artworks located on an interior wall within the station's multiuse Community Room. Artwork will measure approximately 300 square feet, and will be comprised of durable, maintainable materials suitable for a publicly accessible, active, multi-use space, such as ceramic tile, mosaic, or similar media.

The goals for the project are to create artwork that:

• Is informed by the people, history, and character of the neighborhoods and communities served by Ingleside Station, including Bernal Heights, Diamond Heights, Excelsior, Glen Park-Sunnyside, Holly Park, Ingleside, Merced Heights, Mt. Davidson, Oceanview, Outer Mission, Precita Park, St. Francis Woods, St. Mary’s Park, and Visitacion Valley.
  
• Supports the Ingleside Police Station’s Community Room as a welcoming space for civic gatherings, dialogue, and public programming.

The budget for artwork shall not exceed $554,950 and may be adjusted based on changes to the design of the project site or other project parameters. The budget is inclusive of all artist’s fees, as well as associated expenses for design, fabrication, insurance, transportation and consultation during installation. A separate set-aside of $50,000 will be allocated for installation under a separate agreement with the City.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility is open to professional, practicing artists who reside in the United States or have representation from a U.S. based gallery willing to contract with the Arts Commission on the artist’s behalf. Artists who have two active permanent public art projects with the San Francisco Arts Commission at the time of this call are ineligible. The timeframe for an active project is defined as the period of time following Full Commission approval of the selected artist for the project and at installation completion. Entries not meeting eligibility guidelines will be withdrawn from consideration.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Ingleside District Police Station is located at 1 Sgt. John V. Young Lane, within Balboa Park. The station serves an area from Cesar Chavez Street, between Highway 101 and Faxon Avenue, to the San Mateo County line. The facility sits adjacent to Highway 280 and above a section of the BART tunnel. The existing station was built in 1910 and is a local historic resource within the Balboa Park Historic District. Funded through an Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) bond and approved by voters in March 2020, the Ingleside Police Station Replacement project will include preservation of the existing station’s historic façade, as well as construction of a new facility to meet seismic safety requirements and provide upgrades to programmatic needs, site security, and expansion options to meet expected population growth within the district. The Ingleside Police Station Replacement project will also provide a new Community Room, intended as a multi-use public amenity providing space to host community meetings, neighborhood gatherings, and public-facing programming.

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS

Artist Qualification Panel: The applications will be reviewed by an Artist Qualification Panel consisting of representatives from Arts Commission staff and arts professionals to identify a list of the most qualified artists to be considered for the project opportunity.

Artist Review Panel: This list of the most qualified artists will be evaluated by an Artist Review Panel consisting of one (1) representative of the client agency, one (1) representative of the project design team, four (4) arts professionals, and one (1) community representative. After considering the artists’ qualifications, the Artist Review Panel will identify finalists. The finalists will be invited to develop conceptual proposals after attending an orientation session with the project team and key stakeholders. Each finalist will be paid an honorarium of $3,000 for development of a conceptual design proposal, plus the reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses, approved by the Arts Commission prior to travel arrangements being made for the orientation and panel interview.

The proposals shall be displayed at or near the project site, and posted on the Arts Commission website for written public comment prior to the final review panel meeting.

The Artist Review Panel will reconvene to consider the finalists’ concepts in an interview format along with any community input and will recommend one artist for the project to the Arts Commission.

Arts Commission Approval: The Artist Review Panel’s recommendation will be submitted first to the Visual Arts Committee (VAC), a subcommittee of the Arts Commission and then to the full Arts Commission for approval. All Artist Review Panel recommendations are subject to the recommendation of the Visual Arts Committee and approval by the Full Arts Commission.

All Arts Commission meetings and Public Art Review Panel meetings are open to the public and are posted on the Arts Commission website at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. To check the meeting schedule for public art projects, please go to our calendar.

ARTIST SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS

Criteria to be used when scoring an artist’s application for a commission or for acquisition of an artwork by purchase or commission shall include, but not be limited to, the considerations below. Per City contracting requirements, artist applicants who are registered as a Local Business Enterprise will be given a rating bonus of 10% relative to other applicants.

· Artistic Merit: Artistic Merit may be judged by such measures as originality of concept and artistic vision; the degree to which the work engages the viewer emotionally, intellectually, spiritually; the quality of craftsmanship or mastery of skills and techniques. Artistic merit may also be credited to artwork that reflects a significant or direct relationship between the artist and distinct racial or cultural communities.

· Relevant Skills & Experience: Review Panels and the Commission shall consider the assessed ability of an artist to successfully implement a proposed project, such as the ability to work constructively with other project stakeholders, meet deadlines, willingness to resolve issues as they arise, and generally manage the demands of the project. Cultural competency and/or significant connection between the artist and the project constituency, or experience that may particularly qualify an artist to meet project goals may also be considered.

· Meet Project Goals: The proposed artwork (or the assessed ability of an artist to design a proposal) meets the specific goals of the project as defined in this RFQ and in the Project Plan approved by the Commission.Meaningful Connection to the neighborhoods and communities served by Ingleside Station, including: Bernal Heights, Diamond Heights, Excelsior, Glen Park-Sunnyside, Holly Park, Ingleside, Merced Heights, Mt. Davidson, Oceanview, Outer Mission, Precita Park, St. Francis Woods, St. Mary’s Park, and Visitacion Valley. Artists are asked to address their connection to these neighborhoods and districts, which the Review Panel will be instructed to consider as part of their scoring criteria

· The Artwork is Appropriate to the Site: The artwork or proposed artwork is appropriate for its intended display location in terms of scale, media, design or imagery and is judged to be relevant within the context of the surrounding community, and is compatible with the mission and operations of the client department.

· Feasibility, maintainability: The proposed artwork shall be evaluated relative to their feasibility and evidence of the artist’s ability to successfully complete the work as proposed. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to: project budget, timeline, and the artist’s experience. Due consideration shall be given to the structural and surface soundness, and to inherent resistance to theft, vandalism and weathering, and to the cost and amount of ongoing maintenance and/or repair anticipated.

· Contributes to the Quality of the Civic Art Collection: The artwork or proposed artwork is judged to support and improve the City’s collection in terms of artistic quality and diversity of artists represented. The Arts Commission is committed to acquiring artworks that reflect diversity in style, scale, media, and artistic sources as well as diverse cultural communities and perspectives. The Arts Commission also encourages exploratory types of work as well as established art forms.

· Public Safety and Accessibility: The artwork or proposed artwork shall be evaluated to ensure that it does not present a hazard to public safety and complies Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and with all other applicable building codes.

· Duplication: Artists will be asked to represent and warrant, as a condition of their agreement with the City, that the artwork commissioned or purchased is unique and an edition of one, and shall not be duplicated unless it is part of a limited edition or otherwise stated to the contrary in the artist’s contract with the Commission.

HOW TO APPLY
Applications are available through SlideRoom (https://sfgov.slideroom.com), an online application system for calls for entry. There is no charge to artists for using SlideRoom. Please be sure to allow adequate time to submit your application as technical difficulties can occur. Applications that are mailed, emailed, faxed, or hand-delivered will not be considered.

Applications will not be accepted after the September 11, 2026, 11:59 p.m. (PDT or PST) deadline.

Application materials include:

1. Resume

• 25,000 characters maximum.

• If you are applying as a team, please include your team/studio resume. If that is not available, please combine the individual resumes (one right after the other) of each team member into one document.

2. Letter of Interest

• 5,000 characters maximum.

• This should be a summary of your artistic focus and professional career, especially as your background relates to your qualifications for this project. Do not make a specific proposal for a new commission.

3. Meaningful Connection to Ingleside Police Station Neighborhoods and Communities

• 600 characters maximum.

• Describe your connection to the people, history, and character of the neighborhoods and communities served by Ingleside Police Station. An example of this connection may include if you currently reside or have resided in Bernal Heights, Diamond Heights, Excelsior, Glen Park-Sunnyside, Holly Park, Ingleside, Merced Heights, Mt. Davidson, Oceanview, Outer Mission, Precita Park, St. Francis Woods, St. Mary’s Park, or Visitacion Valley, or have another significant connection to districts served by Ingleside Police Station.

4. 10 images of previous work

• SlideRoom accepts all image file types up to 5MB. Images should at least 72 dpi and no larger than 1280 x 1280 pixels.

• For team applications, please indicate the lead artist for each project.

5. Image descriptions

• When you upload your images, SlideRoom will prompt you to fill out image descriptions. Please include the title, medium, dimensions, and year for each work. You may also include a brief statement (2 sentences maximum) about each work.

Check out our "How to Apply to Calls" for helpful tips on how to submit the most competitive application.

Please note that Arts Commission staff will be available to answer questions about this call until 5 p.m. (PST) on the deadline date, August 21, 2026. Please contact Paris Cotz at paris.cotz@sfgov.org, or 415-539-6213.

SlideRoom technical support is available Monday – Saturday by email, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. (CDT or CST) support@slideroom.com.

PROJECT TIMELINE (Subject to Change)

RFQ Issue Date

July 17, 2026

Informational Workshop

August 13, 2026

RFQ Deadline

September 11, 2026

Qualification Panel Meeting

Week of September 14, 2026

Review Panel Meeting 1

Week of October 5, 2026

VAC Approval of Recommended Finalists

October 21, 2026

Applicant Notification via Email

October 23, 2026

Finalist Orientation

Week of November 9, 2026

Public Display of Proposals

January 20 – February 3, 2027

Review Panel Meeting 2

Week of February 8, 2027

VAC approval of recommended artist

February 17, 2027

Full Commission approval of recommended artist

March 1, 2027

Artist under contract

May 2027

Anticipated completion

Summer 2029

Contact information