Boston Mayor Requests Proposals For Boston Marathon Memorial
BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has started the formal process for a planned memorial to honor the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing victims and survivors.
Walsh has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for qualified consultants to carry out a public engagement process and communications campaign that will result in selecting an artist to design the memorial, which will honor the victims and survivors of domestic terrorism and violence and celebrate Boston's peacekeepers and healers.
The process "will ensure that the call for artists, as well as the final artwork, reflects the resilience and resolve of the people of Boston in the face of unspeakable loss and tragedy," Walsh said in a statement.
The consultant "will be responsible for managing the public and stakeholder engagement of the project to inform a successful artist selection and memorial design process."
The RFP will not determine the artist selected for the project.
The City of Boston is encouraging public town-hall style meetings, digital campaigns, exhibits or hands-on activities, marketing and outreach through multimedia, with consideration for translation to maximize participation.
A mayoral-appointed Memorial Advisory Committee will oversee the entire project and a City of Boston staff memorial team will assist with administration and implementation.
Two markers have been separately commissioned to honor and remember the three lives that were lost on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013. While that is a distinct project, the markers "should be taken into consideration in the greater community process and final memorial design," Walsh said.
The RFP is open to all arts consultants, artists, architects, landscape architects, historians, scholars or teams with experience in project management, meeting facilitation, design competitions, community engagement, media and marketing campaigns, and museum exhibit design. Experience with public art and those with a background in trauma are encouraged to apply.
The RFP is available here. All questions regarding the RFP are due to the city by April 27. Deadline to submit proposals is June 4. The consultant will be selected in June.
The City of Boston, the Boston Art Commission, and the consultant will manage the design and installation of the work with the artist, maintain a schedule, as well as facilitate meetings on design and feasibility. Final budget for the artwork will be included in the call for artists and finalized by the city.
The city plans to unveil the final memorial spring of 2021.
