Attention sculptors: Portsmouth 400th celebration wants your proposal for maritime display
PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth NH 400th Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to manage the 2023 commemoration of the city’s founding, is soliciting proposals from sculptors interested in having their works considered for a maritime-themed sculpture garden in Bohenko Gateway Park adjacent to the Piscataqua River.
The sculpture garden concept for the existing city park was selected based on community input to the Legacy Task Force, which is spearheading projects intended to last beyond the 2023 celebration, enriching the city for future generations.
The sculpture garden is expected to enhance the park completed in 2019 as a gateway beautification project on the Market Street Extension, the main access route from Interstate 95 to downtown Portsmouth. Bohenko Gateway Park complements both the dramatic new Ruth Griffin Bridge connecting Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine, and the gateway project’s new landscaping, road alignment, lighting, bicycle corridor and sidewalks. The maritime-themed sculpture park links the newly-created vista of the river and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on one side of the gateway and the USS Albacore Submarine Memorial on the other, where the historic research submarine and garden memorializing Navy sailors lost aboard U.S. submarines host Navy ceremonies and nearly 100,000 visitors each year.
According to city staff, the location could accommodate six to eight sculptures. The plan is to begin with fewer sculptures that would be installed in 2023, with plans to expand after 2023.
Portsmouth NH 400 invites sculptors to submit designs in response to the RFP. (Go to: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/621ce098ba07af37f6c37f19/t/62f3e42967dfcc5b64105782/1660150825157/Sculpture+RFP-220810.pdf)
Winning selections will be chosen by a committee that includes representatives from the community, city staff and others with expertise in public art, based on the city’s Public Art Procedural Guidelines.
Portsmouth NH 400 is seeking $200,000 to cover the design, fabrication, transportation, documentation and installation expenses including installation insurance. Those interested in becoming sponsors of the maritime sculpture garden should contact Susan Labrie, PNH400 community engagement officer: susan@portsmouthnh400.org
Project work must be completed in accordance with all applicable statues, laws, and regulations. Permitting may be required (with city assistance) depending on location of the installation. Projects in a range of prices will be considered. It is possible that one signature project will be selected, along with three or four smaller pieces. While PNH400 is interested in original concepts, already-existing artwork that meets the requirements of this project will be considered, as long as similar art is not being exhibited within sixty miles of Portsmouth. For more information about Bohenko Gateway Park, go to cityofportsmouth.com/planportsmouth/market-street-gateway-corridor-improvement-project.
Questions should go to Ernie Greenslade, PNH400 Legacy project Team chair: sculpture@portsmouthNH400.org
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH 400th seeks sculptor for maritime garden display
