Hollywood Burbank Airport Replacement Terminal Light Box Artwork Project
HOLLYWOOD BURBANK AIRPORT LIGHT BOX ARTWORK RFQ NO. ADM25-04
FOR ALL RFQ INFORMATION INCLUDING SCHEDULE, TERMS, CONDITIONS, ATTACHMENTS & ILLUSTRATIONS, PLEASE SEE THE FULL RFQ POSTED AT THE BURBANK-GLENDALE-PASADENA AIRPORT AUTHORITY’S SITE
SUMMARY
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (“Authority”) is pleased to solicit artist qualifications to create artwork to be licensed for temporary display in interior light boxes within the new Replacement Passenger Terminal (“RPT”) of the Hollywood Burbank Airport) (“Airport”). A pool of artists will be selected for the project. Each selected artist will be required to enter into an Artwork License Agreement (“Agreement”) with the Authority in substantially the form set forth in Attachment A, and will receive a lump sum fee of $5,000 for a 12-month licensing period as set forth in the Agreement. BUR RPT Renderings can be found on the project website: https://elevatebur.com/design-renderings/.
This is an open competition, where artists do not need public art experience in order to apply. The submittal requirements, evaluation criteria, selection process, and contract award for the successful candidates are described below. Responses must remain valid for 120 days from the due date. The Authority is committed to a major investment in high-quality, innovative, and contemporary art to celebrate the cultural, historic, and environmental elements of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena while creating new experiences for travelers, customers, and the community. Programmatically, the artwork commissioned must be aligned with airport operations and customer service goals and will tap into experiential connections that help define a sense of place through welcoming and surprising elements, which remain fresh and relevant, even for frequent flyers or those who work at the Airport.
AIRPORT BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Hollywood Burbank Airport, located about 12 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, has been serving the region as a commercial service airport since 1930. At the time of its construction in the Spanish Revival style, which was popular at the time, the terminal building was considered the archetype for airports in the United States. The Airport played a critical role in World War II with the Lockheed Aircraft plant adjacent to the site, and Lockheed used the Airport to test and deliver thousands of aircraft used in combat. Many aviation pioneers kept planes at or flew through Burbank, including Howard Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart. The Airport’s ownership has changed through the years, and accordingly, it has been named United Airport (1930–1934), Union Air Terminal (1934–1940), Lockheed Air Terminal (1940–1967), Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967–1978), Burbank–Glendale–Pasadena Airport (1978–2003), and Bob Hope Airport (in honor of local celebrity and comedian). It was re-branded as Hollywood Burbank Airport in 2017.
The Airport is now a medium hub airport, serving the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Airport is the closest metro L.A. area airport to many of L.A.’s most popular tourist destinations, as well as attractions in Burbank and nearby Glendale and Pasadena. Pre-pandemic, the Airport experienced 5.98 million in passenger traffic in 2019, up from 4.7 million passengers in 2018. In 2021, the Airport experienced 3.7 million in passenger traffic. The Airport offers daily flights from eight commercial airlines: Southwest, United, Delta, Alaska, American, JetBlue, Spirit, and Avelo. The Airport also has two fixed-base operators, Million Air – Burbank and Atlantic Aviation. The Airport is serviced by a 232,000 square foot passenger terminal with 14 gates. The Authority, owner/operator of the Airport, is a joint powers agency formed by the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena. The Authority is governed by a nine-member Commission composed of three appointees from each of these cities.
ELEVATE BUR
Elevate BUR involves the replacement and upgrade of the Airport’s existing 14-gate passenger terminal. The new terminal building will be 355,000 square feet and the Airport will continue to provide 6,637 public parking spaces. Upon the opening of the new terminal building in 2026, the current terminal building shall be closed and demolished. The Authority set out a vision for the RPT to preserve the cherished qualities of the Airport while incorporating new, innovative, sustainable, accessible, and community-driven engagement and ideas throughout the design process.
First and foremost, the new complex will create an experience that is deeply rooted in community connections and a strong “sense of place”. It will be reflective of the people, culture, history, and architectural legacy of the people and greater region that it serves and be deeply influenced by and responsive to the input gained through the public design charrette process and various outreach activities of the Authority. The RPT will deliver a memorable “gateway experience” for travelers who begin and end their visit at the Airport.
The Airport will maintain the convenient and quick passenger experience that is a key characteristic of the existing terminal. It will have an efficient and intuitive configuration, fast processing, intuitive wayfinding, clarity of spaces, personalized services, natural daylighting, and comfortable user-focused spaces. It will seamlessly accommodate evolving and diverse traveler groups to inclusively serve its users.
The design of the RPT will be driven by operational excellence. Efficient passenger and aviation operations, safety, and security will be optimized to serve the needs of the passengers, the Authority, airlines, other tenants and stakeholders, and the broader community. At the same time, the development will be capital and operating cost-effective and cognizant of Authority and airline operating programs and procedures, and issues of operational resilience, maintainability, and long-term ownership.
Finally, the design will recognize the inevitable change that defines the aviation industry. The design will be adaptable and flexible to meet changing trends, demographics, airline and airport needs, goals, and operational requirements. The terminal’s Design Concept is known as the Icon, inspired by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, in recognition of the film industry’s roots. The structure will feature a dramatic overarching canopy that morphs into a silver screen, flanking the parking structure that faces a public plaza in which an illuminated exterior sculpture by artist Cliff Garten will be located. The terminal’s interior is equally impressive, and this is where a suspended sculpture by artist Glenn Kaino will be showcased.
The Airport gates are accessed through three terminal connector modules, with light boxes in each location. These light boxes will be dedicated to rotating displays of artworks and are the subject of this RFQ.
CURATORIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The light boxes will be arranged in tryptics (i.e. one artwork consisting of three consecutive panels). One tryptic will be featured at each of the three terminal connector modules. A different artist will be selected for each location, with their artwork on display for approximately 12 months (4 months in each connector module), at which point the artwork will be rotated out to feature a new group of artists.
To furnish content for these displays, a pool of artists will be selected to create artworks that celebrate the rich aviation history of the Airport, and/or explore the unique characteristics of the Airport’s governing cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.
The artworks will be reproduced by the Authority as high quality transparencies suitable for light box display.
AI generated content, and content that is not the artist’s original work, is not allowed for this project.
ELIGIBILITY
Artists that live within, or are connected to the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena, are highly encouraged to apply, as are artists that understand the unique characteristics of these communities and are able to integrate these characteristics into the artwork. This project is open to both professional and emerging artists 18 years of age and older who reside in the United States. This commission is intended for an individual artist and not a large-scale studio. Artist teams are not encouraged to apply.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Artists do not need to have completed a public art commission in order to be considered. The Authority is seeking artist candidates that will be able to help it creatively celebrate the Airport and the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The selected artists will grant the Authority an exclusive license for public display of their artwork during a twelve-month period. The selected candidates shall create one new and original 2-D artwork consisting of a tryptic of images ready for reproduction across three consecutive 5’H x 7’W light boxes. The artwork shall be completed at scale, and must be created as a digital format, or be a physical artwork ready for scanning and/or photography to enable printing as a transparency. The contracted scope also requires delivery to and pick up from a scanning and/or photography facility in the Los Angeles region. The scanning service costs are not part of the artists’ scope. Detailed technical requirements for artwork preparation will be provided to the top-ranking candidates qualified to develop proposals.
QUESTIONS
The Authority has designated its Art Consultant, Susan F. Gray & Co. LLC (Susan Gray at susanfgray@gmail.com) as the primary contact for any inquiries or requests for clarification concerning this procurement. Such inquiries shall be submitted initially in writing via e-mail. Applicants shall limit all communications during the procurement process until the notification of proposed artist selection(s) through this designated contact, and failure to adhere to this limitation may be grounds for disqualification from consideration for the contract award. Any substantive replies will be issued as a written addendum and posted on PlanetBidsSlideRoom. No questions or requests for clarification related to this RFQ will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. on May 21, 2025. Questions received after the deadline will not be addressed. When submitting a request for clarification, applicants are encouraged to reference the RFQ or Attachment page and section pertinent to the question. Applicants shall not rely upon any oral instructions given by the Authority or Art Consultant.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Qualifications and proposals will be evaluated/scored according to the following Selection Criteria:
SC-1 Artistic Merit (technical mastery of the medium(s) in which the artist regularly works) (70 pts.)
SC-2 Appropriateness (ability to engage airport patrons) (30 pts)
Please note the Authority may obtain other background information from social media and other sources.
SELECTION PROCESS AND CONTRACT AWARD
After the evaluation of qualifications is complete, top-ranking candidates will be short-listed to submit proposals for artwork to be considered for the project site. Proposals will be evaluated using the same criteria above. Shortlisted artists will be paid an honorarium of $300 for their submitted proposal. It is anticipated that the Authority shall award artists contracts and related purchase orders for the services described in this RFQ. The contract awards, if made by the Authority Commission, will be to the proposer deemed most capable of providing artwork in alignment with the Authority Commission’s aesthetic vision for the RPT and the $5,000 licensing fee.
ADDENDA AND NOTICES
It shall be the respondent’s responsibility to check the PlanetBids website to obtain any addenda that may be issued and to receive any information/notices for this project.
QUALIFICATION SUBMISSION
Qualification materials detailed above shall be submitted electronically to the Authority by uploading to the BUR RPT SlideRoom website https://hollywoodburbankairport.slideroom.com by 5:00 p.m. on June 11, 2025. Late, e-mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted.
Salary: $5,000 contract
Benefits: This is a freelance opportunity for artwork licensing
Education requirements: None.
Deadline to apply: June 11, 2025
Documents required to apply: Cover Letter, Work Sample/Portfolio
How to apply: Apply here
You are allowed to submit four (4) files only to https://hollywoodburbankairport.slideroom.com
1. Biography
1 page maximum in PDF format
Contact information: phone, mailing address, and email
A brief description of your artistic focus
2. Letter of Interest
1/2 – page maximum in PDF format
Briefly describe any meaningful connection to the Airport and/or the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena
3. Portfolio of Previous Artwork
10-pages maximum in PDF format
10 image files, one image per page in one PDF document
4. Artwork Descriptions
1 page maximum PDF format
Provide the title, medium, dimensions, year and brief statement (1 sentence maximum) about each artwork.
Qualification materials detailed above shall be submitted electronically to the Authority by uploading to the BUR RPT SlideRoom website https://hollywoodburbankairport.slideroom.com by 5:00 p.m. on June 11, 2025. Late, e-mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered submissions will not be accepted.
