Howard County Public Garden RFQ - 2026
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Opportunity Overview Howard County Arts Council invites qualified artists/artist teams to submit qualifications for the design, fabrication, and installation of a permanent public artwork at the new Howard County Public Garden, on the historic Longwood property at 3188 Route 97, Glenwood, MD. This is the second commission under Arts for All, Howard County's public art program established with County Executive Calvin Ball and the Arts Council. A $500,000 County investment will fund an original, site-specific artwork responding to the garden's landscape, ecology, and layered history.
Project Description and Site Howard County is converting the ~100-acre historic Longwood/Warfield property into a public garden featuring flowering plants from around the world, sustainable land practices, and a mix of formal and natural spaces. The site was formerly a tobacco plantation (Longwood, renamed by Dr. Gustavus Warfield in 1813) where enslaved African Americans lived and labored; earlier still, the land was used by the Piscataway and Susquehannock. The garden is envisioned as a regional destination for gathering, learning, and connecting with nature, and the artwork should acknowledge this layered history while supporting the site's restorative, welcoming character. Community engagement (600+ residents/stakeholders over three months) shaped the artwork's goals and themes.
Artist Eligibility
- Open to professional artists or artist teams nationwide
- Must be 18+
- Not currently enrolled in a university/college degree program
- Not a Howard County Arts Council employee, Board member, or immediate family of either
- Must demonstrate: experience creating permanent public artwork (environmental, functional, or landscape-integrated); ability to meet deadlines/budget; knowledge of durable, wildlife-resistant outdoor materials; experience with public art community engagement
- Must provide three references from completed public artworks or comparable large-scale projects
Scope of Work
- A permanent, original, newly created, site-specific artwork integrated into the garden landscape
- Open to nature-based, functional (benches, signage, wayfinding), kinetic, or interactive forms; standalone monumental sculpture and digital/light installations are lowest community priority and need strong site-specific rationale
- Must respond to the site's ecology, history, and character rather than stand apart as an unrelated statement piece
- Materials: durable, weather- and vandal-resistant, low-maintenance, resistant to significant deer pressure (20+ herd on site)
- Must address public safety (stability, no sharp edges, safe for incidental touching/climbing where applicable)
- Must accommodate the garden's ADA-accessible pathway (no public transit access)
- If visible from Rt. 97 or Burnt Woods Rd., should consider scale/visibility from a moving vehicle
- Should avoid light pollution; consider pollinator-friendly plantings if living material is used
- Should function well as a photo backdrop for weddings/events without being designed primarily as an event prop
- Artists must build community engagement into their design process (workshops, input sessions, or collaborative elements)
Budget $500,000 total, all-inclusive: artist fee and project management; licenses/taxes; sub-consultant and assistant labor including travel/lodging; insurance; design development drawings and revisions; MD-licensed-engineer-stamped fabrication drawings; artist site-visit and meeting travel; Steering Committee and community engagement presentations; materials, fabrication, and base (if applicable); transport and installation — resulting in a complete, fully functional installation.
Selection Process and Criteria Two-stage review: (1) consultant eligibility screening, (2) Artistic Selection Panel scoring of eligible submissions. Panel shortlists up to 7 for Steering Committee review (which may request interviews); Steering Committee selects up to 4 finalists. Each finalist gets a $2,500 stipend to develop 1–2 concept proposals, visit the site, and present to the public. The panel reviews public feedback and concepts, then recommends one finalist to the Steering Committee for final approval. Selected artist enters a two-phase contract (Phase One: concept refinement, budget/schedule, drawings; Phase Two: final design, fabrication, installation).
Scoring (100 pts total): CriterionPointsArtistic Excellence & Originality35Relevant Experience20Technical Capability15Community Engagement Approach10Community Support10Professionalism & Collaboration10
RFQ Schedule
- RFQ Release: Sept 14, 2026
- Questions Due: Oct 2, 2026
- Submission Deadline: Oct 30, 2026, 5:00 PM ET
- Shortlist Selection: Nov 30, 2026
- Finalist Concept Dev Begins: Dec 2026
- Concept Due Date: Feb 19, 2027
- Concept Reveal / Community Input: April 2027
- Final Artist Selection: May 2027
- Fabrication: Aug 2027 – Feb 2028
- Installation: March 2028
Application Requirements Single PDF package including:
- Letter of Interest (1 page) — interest, alignment with project goals, community engagement experience
- Resume/CV for all team members
- Portfolio — 3–10 high-res images with dimensions, materials, location, budget, project context
- Three professional references
- Optional: community engagement plans, concept statements, preliminary sketches No hard-copy submissions accepted.
Questions/Contact Information Ann Berchtold, aberchtold@migcom.com — questions due by the RFQ's stated questions-due date (Oct 2, 2026); Q&A distributed to all respondents via Addendum.
Equal Opportunity Statement Not included in the RFQ document as provided — there's no EEO/non-discrimination clause in this text. Worth confirming with the Arts Council whether one exists in a boilerplate appendix or should be added before publishing to Submittable.
Complete RFQ and Appendices
Applicants are responsible for reviewing the complete Request for Qualifications and all supporting documents before submitting an application.
Howard County_Public Garden RFQ Docs
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