The City of Bozeman, Gender Equality Montana, and the Downtown Bozeman Partnership are seeking artist proposals for the Downtown Bozeman Intersection Project. The project will feature welcoming and inclusive artistic designs painted on the asphalt at two intersections in Downtown Bozeman: Mendenhall/Black and Babcock/Black.

The Intersections Project is a continuation of a 2020 crosswalk project to create a more vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming experience for all folks in the Bozeman community. Specifically, the 2020 project featured the traditional rainbow colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple as well as black, brown, white, light blue and pink. The rainbow has long been associated with the affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) folks and communities. The inclusion of white, light blue and pink colors is meant to specifically acknowledge transgender and gender diverse folks, and the black and brown colors remind us of the intersections between race, sexuality, and gender and how these multiple systems of oppression work together.

This project will elevate the 2020 pilot project by applying the art outside of the travel lanes and wheel paths of vehicles, increasing the longevity of t he design. The art will be placed in the parking lane, creating “bulb-outs” to bring visibility to the pedestrian crossings. These bulb-outs can help increase yielding rates of drivers for pedestrians crossing, and is modeled off several successful traffic calming projects already completed in Bozeman. This project is an opportunity to bring this important message of safety, inclusivity, and belonging to downtown in a more permanent way. From a technical perspective, the project will add bright, traffic calming “bulb-outs" on what are otherwise busy, one-way streets adjacent to Main Street.

Goals

• Create welcoming and attractive public art displays that symbolize our communities’ continued commitment to inclusivity and the value of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Serve as colorful reminders of the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community, in addition to the many challenges and attacks the LGBTQ+ community continues to endure.
• Provide an opportunity for local LGBTQ+ artists to visually express their connection to this community and/or what they hope for in Bozeman’s future.
• Support and celebrate equality.
• lUse public art and innovative best practices in multimodal transportation design to improve the visibility and safety of pedestrian crossings in a high traffic, multimodal area.

Location, Installation & Materials

The intersections were selected based on high pedestrian volume. The Federal Building which houses our post office is adjacent to one intersection and our downtown transit station is adjacent to the second intersection. Additionally, our recent Downtown Bozeman Plan identifies Black Ave as an important north south bicycle and pedestrian corridor. Additionally, the intersecting streets Babcock Street and Mendenhall Street are two-lane, one-way streets. This type of street presents unique safety concerns for pedestrians and both locations have on street parking that obstructs visibility of pedestrians waiting to cross.

Installation of the proposed asphalt art and bollards, creating curb extensions at these locations will draw additional attention to the crossings and provide a place for pedestrians to stand that will be more visible. These two intersections have recent private investment that enhances the public space. One location has a new landscaped area with a sit wall and the second has outdoor dining for an adjacent restaurant. The installation of art at these locations will build on those private investments in enhancing the public spaces.

City of Bozeman will provide:

• An artist stipend of up to $7,500
• Right of way permitting
• Traffic control support during installation day
• Sherwin Williams Duration Latex Paint, Primer, and Sealer mixed with slip resistant additive

Applications must be a single searchable PDF file less than 25mb, and be emailed to [email protected] For full project information and application instructions, please see commission portal link.