New Opportunity – Public Art Manager Pool

The City of Minneapolis is excited to announce a new Request for Proposals (RFP) to create a pool of Public Arts Managers.

The Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs is seeking Public Art Project Managers with strong experience in public art management in diverse communities to enter a three-year contract to manage the commissioning of permanent outdoor public art commissions and manage major public art conservation projects. Managers oversee planning in the community, artist selection, community engagement, design development, fabrication, installation and a celebratory event. Typically this process takes three years.

For 2026-2029, the City is creating a pool of Public Art Project Managers for these types of projects. This pool will give the City the ability to assign managers to projects over multiple years and to tailor assignments to each manager’s level of experience and connections to specific neighborhoods and communities.

Questions (Q) and Replies (R), and Video from the informational meeting for the Public Art Project Manager Pool RFP, Event #0000004003

The Link to the video of the Information Meeting on February 4, where most of these questions were asked is available by clicking here

• Q1: Will copies of RFP responses be available after the awards?

• R1: They would only be available through a data practices request. The City Clerk’s Department would redact private data before sharing the responses. The names of the applicants will be public information.

• Q2: As a part of the Scope of Work, will the consultant be responsible for identifying and assembling the selection committee of voting members?

• R2: Yes, as approved by the Public Art Supervisor.

• Q3: Will you provide access to the tools that are available to the project managers?

• R3: Yes.

• Q4: Are there any management tools project managers are required to have licenses for outside of what the city will provide?

• R4: Adobe Acrobat.

• Q5: How many project managers are you looking to hire?

• R5: Unknown at this point.

• Q6: Does the work order include the list of deliverables and deadlines?

• R6: No.

• Q7: If I am currently a project manager, do I need to attend the informational meeting?

• R7: No. The meeting is optional.

• Q8: Is this the first year for this RFP, or has an RFP let in prior years.

• R8: This is the third time the RFP has been issued.

• Q9: Is this RFP a part of a larger initiative for expanding public art in MN or meeting a need for more support in completing current public art projects?

• R9: Meeting a need in completing current projects.

• Q10: The scope includes both community engagement and project management for art. Is there a way to determine the allocation of time for each?

• R10: This varies from project to project.

• Q11: Are independent contractors with full-time jobs ineligible?

• R11: Yes.

• Q12: What projects do you feel are the most successful in Minneapolis St. Paul that would be an example of home runs with exceptional community engagement?

• R12: The Hi-Lake Mural project which included residencies in nine schools and several pop-up engagements in the community.

• Q13: Are there certain skills you are looking for that you don't have from your current project managers?

• R13: We are looking to broaden the pool of managers who have experience with various diverse communities in Minneapolis.

• Q14: Can you be specific about how available managers should be on a weekly/hourly basis?

• R14: This varies from project to project and based on the project manager’s style and approach.

• Q15: Is there a public list of current project managers available for us to reference?

• R15: No. These are the current project managers: (Lydia Four-Horns, Ann Godfrey, Sarah Linnes-Robinson, Witt Siasoco, Dudley Voigt and Kirstin Wiegmann. Note that contacting them while this RFP is open about this RFP is not allowed. All questions about this RFP should be directed to mary.altman@minneapolismn.gov.

• Q16: Do the project managers convene periodically to exchange ideas at a meeting?

• R16: Yes.

• Q17: Would you consider an artist who does public art as a conflict of interest?

• R17: No, although artists are not eligible to apply for projects they manage.