Goal: Create something beautiful and uniting out of the scars of tragedy
The 8/4 Memorial Committee is seeking artists, artist teams, designers, or architects to design a public artwork to serve as a memorial for the victims of the tragic events that took place in The Oregon District neighborhood of Dayton on August 4, 2019. Eligible artists are invited to provide the necessary information via The Contemporary Dayton’s website. The submission deadline is December 5. Up to five artists will be selected and paid a stipend of $1,500 each to present a final design. The winning artist or artist team will receive an award of $200,000 to create the public art memorial.
The request for qualifications (RFQ)and project expectations were carefully established following several public input surveys and meetings. The goal of the public artwork will be to memorialize the lives lost in the 8/4 event as well as everyone affected; include community engagement to inspire hope, unity, and healing; and provide a meditative space for reflection and remembrance.
“This memorial will play a major role in the healing of our community,” said Sandy Hunt, co-chair of the 8/4 Memorial Committee. “Survivors, family members of victims, and the general public all provided us with their perspectives on what this artwork will mean to those who were affected by the tragedy. It’s important to us to provide something accessible and meaningful to support everyone’s recovery.”
Artists, or at least one member of the artist team, must meet one or more of the following criteria: be a current or recent resident of the Dayton area, have a connection to a current or recent resident of the Dayton area, or have a connection to or have been affected by the 8/4 event or a similar event. The Contemporary Dayton, known as “The Co,” will organize artist team meet-up sessions via ZOOM to allow interested artists to connect and form teams that meet the eligibility criteria. The artist team meet–up ZOOMs will take place at 6 p.m. November 2, 2 p.m. November 6, and 6 p.m. November 16.
Eligible applicants can respond to the RFQ by submitting a letter of interest, a resume/cv, and samples of past commissioned projects. Submission information can be found here. The Co will host an artist information session November 5 at the Wesley Community Center. The RFP process allows the 8/4 Memorial Committee to attract as many qualified artists as possible and streamline the final selection process to ensure a successful project.
“This memorial is about connection and coming together,” said Sandra K. Gudorf, co-chair of the 8/4 Memorial Committee. “We are looking for an artist or group of artists who can understand how this event affected our community and how they can help us pay tribute to the nine people we lost and the countless others who were impacted.”
Up to five semi-finalists will be selected through the RFQ. Each artist or artist team selected to proceed to the second phase of the project will be paid to develop and present full proposals. The Request for Proposals (RFP) phase of the search will include site visits, interviews and artwork proposal development.
Questions about the 8/4 Memorial Committee and the 8/4 Memorial may be directed to co-chairs Sandy Gudorf (email gudorf@downtowndayton.org or call 937-224-1518) and Sandy Hunt (email hunts@mcohio.org or call 937-225-6262). Questions about the RFQ and the RFP process should be directed to Cydnie King, curatorial assistant with The Co, (cking@codayton.org or call 937-224-3882).
