Thank you Sarah. That is very helpful. Our city’s procurement office has never gone through this process before and they have set
practices for hiring and payment for services that we are trying to adapt to working in the public art field. They are specifically getting perplexed by the process of putting out an RFQ and then offering a stipend to those artists or artist teams from the
RFQ with whom we would initiate the RFP, working with 3 artists to better understand the site, the needs of the community, etc. and then present their proposals. For their integrity they need to understand whether we will end up owning the work from those
proposals. I was about to email the listserv, when I saw Olivia Lemen’s post, and added my question.
I was surprised by the language in the Concept Consultancy agreement, as I had just stated to our procurement department that it would be unethical to take one
artist’s idea and farm it out to another, but your explanation of the real use of that document clears that up.
SO, to my fellow art admins out there who deal with city departments, how do you handle the payment of stipends for a big public art project that is funded by
taxpayer money and must be worked out with your procurement departments? Help?
Best,
Pax
Pax Bobrow
Project Manager
Greater Augusta Arts Council
706.826.4702
From: Sarah Odenkirk [mailto:sarah@artlawlawyer.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 2:41 PM
To: Pax <Pax@augustaarts.com>; public_art_network@americansforthearts.simplelists.com
Subject: RE: Honorarium Artist Agreement
It seems that there is some confusion about the Concept Consultancy document and it’s place in the commissioning process. The document referred to was not anticipated to be used as a competitive
tool in selecting an artist or artist team. Rather, as stated on the introductory page, this document was produced with the idea that it be used in a situation "in which an agency, program or private developer is interested in exploring the potential of an
art project for a specific location.” Meaning, that an artist or group of artists could be invited to help the commissioning entity
in brainstorming the parameters of a project prior to developing an RFP or RFQ and the concept consultancy would be part of the process to further develop specific commission opportunities
Once you get to the point of issuing RFPs/RFQs and selecting artists for a project and asking for formal proposals and submissions, then the policy articulately explained by Susan Pontius
is exactly what best practices dictate. Certainly under no circumstances should an (unselected) artist’s proposal or submissions in response to a call be used to influence, inspire or guide other artists selected for a commission.
I hope that provides some additional clarity. Happy to discuss further if this is an area about which people would like to learn more.
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On March 13, 2018 at 11:20:22 AM, Pax (pax@augustaarts.com) wrote:
Thank you. I was reviewing the legal document at
https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/reports-and-data/legislation-policy/naappd/letter-of-agreement-for-concept-consultancy-template
that was mentioned below, which is posted on the AFTA site, and states that the work done during the competitive conceptualization stage of the RFP (out of those selected from the RFQ) would remain the property of the commissioning entity. I see that you do
not follow that model, in San Francisco. The concept of hiring “someone else” is stated in the above document. It seems an unethical practice, thus my question about teaming up. Please watch your tone in these emails.
I am still trying to clarify the legal precedent for this, as our city is finalizing its own legal
procedures. I admire the decades of experience that San Francisco has in this, and would love some helpful guidance as we begin our own program.
Pax Bobrow
Project Manager
Greater Augusta Arts Council
706.826.4702
Dear all,
In answer to your questions below:
In San Francisco, we request the proposal both as an electronic file and printed on display board.
We retain the right to display, publicize, etc. the proposal. We do not, as part of the proposal fee, own original artwork. Sometimes artists do produce original artwork as part of their proposal, in which case we may request the first right of refusal to
purchase the proposal at market value (separate from the proposal fee.) However, if, in your RFQ/RFP you make it clear that the proposal fee includes purchase of the some physical manifestation of the proposal, then I think that would be acceptable, but there
are reasons why you might not want to do that. For one thing, you should expect to pay more, and the product (which you wouldn’t know in advance), may not be anything for which you have any use, and you really might end up over paying for what you get.
We are a program that prides itself in selecting artists with great work but no public art experience.
Our staff assists artists in finding the technical support they need to be successful, i.e. other design professionals, fabricators, etc. I am not sure what you mean exactly about hiring “someone else” to develop the art idea further. We certainly would
not entertain hiring another artist to further develop the selected artists concept, but routinely pair artists with architects, landscape architects, etc. who can assist the artist in turning their ideas into buildable projects.
Some programs have experimented with teaming inexperience artists with experienced artists as part
of a mentor arrangement. I don’t really know how successful this has been but the parameters of the program are part of the RFQ so that both the mentors and the less experienced artists know what the arrangement is prior to applying.
Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program
San Francisco Arts Commission
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We are also working through the legal fine points of the RFQ into RFP process. Our City Procurement
Department would like to understand the ownership of the proposals. I have read the sample agreement posted on the AFTA website. That is for a charrette. It isn’t significantly different, but if a physical maquette is created for the RFP by an artist, do
we also own that. Also, is it unethical to take the concept from an artist and then hire someone else to develop it further and execute the creation? Can we force a less experienced artist with great ideas to team up with a more experienced entity for the
actual creation of the piece instead?
Thank you for your help with this.
Greater Augusta Arts Council
Sarah Odenkirk's great book A Surprisingly Interesting Book About Contracts includes a sample agreement for
a conceptual proposal.
There is a link to a similar document on the PAN site, also written by Sarah along with artist Larry Kirkland.
On Mon, Mar 12, 2018, at 1:34 PM, Olivia Lemen wrote:
I am looking for sample templates for an agreement between agency and artist finalist for a competitive
RFQ process .We are paying a honorarium to 5 finalist to develop a concept for our specific project. I am wondering if any agencies would be willing to share what they use to pay an honorarium to finalists. Thank you in advance,
9291 Old Redwood Hwy Bldg 300 D
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