This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) covers a public art project in Sonoma County, CA.   

On the night of October 8, 2017, one of the worst firestorms in Sonoma County history tore through the region, followed by almost three weeks of fire. The Nuns, Tubbs, and Pocket Fires (together comprising the Sonoma Complex Fire) burned over 110,700 acres in Sonoma and Napa counties. In Sonoma County, the Complex Fire tragically took 24 lives, caused an estimated 100,000 people to evacuate, and destroyed more than 5,300 homes. Many of those killed in the fires are believed to have died late on October 8 or early on October 9, 2017, when most of the fires broke out overnight. Overall, 6,997 structures were destroyed in the County, resulting in direct losses exceeding $7.8 billion.

This RFQ is issued to identify a qualified artist or artist team to design, fabricate, and install a permanent commemorative public artwork honoring the 2017 Sonoma County wildfires. This artwork will serve as a lasting symbol of remembrance, reflection, and community resilience.

This public art opportunity is open to all individuals and/or teams of practicing professional artists or creative entities. Preference will be given to local individuals and entities in accordance with the County’s Local Preference policy, which is stated further in the full RFQ (link below).

Site and Artwork Considerations: The fire memorial will be permanently installed outdoors in a designated park location within Sonoma County. Submitters should consider the specific challenges and opportunities of an outdoor environment, including weather conditions, public accessibility, and durability of materials. While all artists and creative entities are encouraged to submit qualifications, this project is best suited for those working with three-dimensional (3D) public art, land art/landscape art. The artist or team should demonstrate experience in designing, creating and installing large-scale, durable 3D public projects.

Community Collaboration: Artists or artistic teams must have demonstrable experience conducting successful community engagement processes for public art projects of similar scope and scale.

The total available funding for the artist contract is $320,000.

The RFQ is open from June 5, 2024 – July 19, 2024. Submissions will be accepted on Creative Sonoma’s Submittable platform.

For the complete Sonoma County Fire Memorial Artist RFQ click HERE.