Southwest Public Safety Complex Call for Artists
Request for qualifications for a public art project at the Albuquerque Southwest Public Safety Complex.
Call for Artists: Request for Qualifications
Albuquerque Southwest Public Safety Complex
Deadline for Submissions: November 24, 2025 at 11:59 pm
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The Albuquerque Arts Board, in partnership with Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR), Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS), and the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), invites artists and/or artist teams in the Southwest Region (to include New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah) to submit qualifications for the design and creation of an outdoor sculpture. This 1.5% for Art project will result in a commissioned artwork for the new Southwest Public Safety Complex, the first facility in Albuquerque to house APD, AFR, and ACS together in one location.
LOCATION/CONTEXT: The Southwest Public Safety Complex in Albuquerque is a new facility designed to enhance public safety and community support in the southwest region. The First of its kind in Albuquerque, will house the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR), and Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) in one location. The center is located in City Council District 3, near 98th Street and Amole Mesa Avenue. The Art Selection Committee seeks an artist or artist team to create an outdoor sculpture that reflects the values of public safety, service, and community.
MEDIA/STYLE/SIZE: The Art Selection Committee will consider artists who work in a variety of media and styles for the SWPSC. Resulting artwork must be suitable for long-term outdoor display, including durability and minimal routine maintenance. The artist or artist team will be selected on aesthetic vision, excellence of past projects and suitability for the site.
The selected artists work should respectively represent the diverse spectrum of beliefs, cultural heritage, traditions, and artistic expressions found throughout New Mexico while also exercising cultural sensitivity to symbols and images.
BUDGET: A maximum of $100,000 is available from the Albuquerque Public Art program for the selected artist or artists’ team. (All travel and lodging, equipment rental, supplies and fabrication for the final design and commission will be the responsibility of the artist/artists’ team). (1.5% for Art Funds: Public Safety Fire)
PROCESS: This is a Regional, open competition, Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for all artists and/or artist teams residing in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. The Artist Selection Committee reserves the right based on past work and experience in executing public art work to select an artist from the initial submissions for the RFQ, or offer a stipend for preliminary design concepts from a set of finalists not to exceed 5; stipend funds of up to $2,500 per selected finalist are available
Deadline for Submission: November 24, 2025
Eligibility: Open to individual artists/ artist teams living in the Southwest Region (to include New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah). New Mexico artists will be given a standardized local preference of 5% in all scoring methods.
You must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for this opportunity.
APPLICATION PROCESS: Artists will need to apply to this call using CaFE (Call for Entry)
(Late and/or incomplete submissions will not be considered.)
Submission Materials – Artists must submit the following items for the project:
- A letter of intent, not to exceed 500 words: a summary of your professional experience that outlines your suitability for this project, and your approach to public art and similar projects. Include a description of your past work and the themes that generated them.
- Up to 8 (eight) digital images of past work, examples of successful large scale projects. Include visual representations and examples of your artwork, showcasing your artistic style and mediums you’ve worked in. Please include the title of the work, the media, the dimensions and year of completion.
- A current resume not to exceed 3 (three) pages should include statements regarding your artwork/art education or CV. If you are submitting as part of a team, please include separate resumes and statements for each individual.
DO NOT SUBMIT A PROPOSED DESIGN, as they will not be shown to the committee. This is a Request for Qualifications based on artistic style and approach. Finalists will be selected based upon the discretion of the Art Selection Committee.
All submitted materials should be submitted electronically. All text documents should be in PDF format and all submitted images as jpegs no larger than 300 dpi. Please follow the submission guidelines on café.org
QUESTIONS/FOLLOW UP: Questions about the project may be directed to Matthew Carter, Public Art Project Planner with the Albuquerque Public Art Program, (505) 768-3804, or email: [email protected]