City of Rochester
ArtsBloom 2024
Request for Proposals:
Arts Education, Literary Arts, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts
Issued: Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Online application must be completed and submitted by
11:59 PM EST on Sunday, April 14, 2024
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Contents
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 3
ELIGIBILITY..................................................................................................................................................... 3
ANTICIPATED TIMELINE ................................................................................................................................ 5
COMMUNICATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 5
PRE-PROPOSAL INFORMATION SESSION ...................................................................................................... 6
SCOPE OF SERVICES ...................................................................................................................................... 7
PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION PROCESS................................................................................ 7
EVALUATION CRITERIA.................................................................................................................................. 8
MISCELLANEOUS ......................................................................................................................................... 10
APPENDIX A: STANDARD PSA FORM........................................................................................................... 11
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The City of Rochester (“City”) is seeking proposals for arts programming and projects (“Proposal(s)”)
from qualified respondents (“Respondent(s)”). Selected Respondents will enter into an agreement with
the City as Consultants (“Consultant(s)”) to implement the proposed arts programming and/or projects.
BACKGROUND
ArtsBloom is the City’s non-capital art competition funded through the Percent for the Arts program,
one of several programs through which the City invests in arts and culture in Rochester. More
information on the City’s various arts and culture initiatives, including those dedicated to capital art
(permanent physical installations) can be found at www.cityofrochester.gov/arts.
ArtsBloom’s goals are to enrich and expand the experience of public art for all Rochesterians by reaching
historically underserved residents of the city, and increasing economic opportunities for local artists and
small arts organizations in Rochester. These goals are aligned with the City’s vision for a more dynamic
and equitable city of the arts and for the arts. They are also aligned with several goals and strategies of
the Arts & Culture section of the Rochester 2034 Comprehensive Plan.
In the 2024 round of ArtsBloom, a total of $170,000 will fund diverse arts programming and projects
that benefit the Rochester community. The concept for ArtsBloom was developed in partnership with an
advisory panel of local artists and members of the arts community called the Arts and Creative
Community Committee (AC3).
Note that this year, an emphasis of ArtsBloom will be placed on Rochester youth and bonus points will
be awarded to proposals for programming that serves youth or projects with youth opportunities
incorporated.
ELIGIBILITY
Qualifying Respondents may:
1. Be individuals or groups/organizations. Groups/organizations do not have to be MWBE-certified
or nonprofits to qualify.
2. Submit only one proposal.
3. Submit a funding request for one of three options: $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000. Requests may
only be for one of these three amounts.
Qualifying Respondents may only receive one ArtsBloom award every three years. Therefore,
individuals or groups awarded an ArtsBloom award in 2023 (the inaugural round) are not eligible for an
ArtsBloom 2024 award.
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Qualifying arts programming and projects must:
1. Belong to one or more of these four categories:
o Arts education
A class or workshop, or series of classes or workshops, where
attendees are guided by an instructor or multiple instructors in
the creation of art. “Art” can include literary arts, performing
arts and visual arts.
o Literary arts
Poetry or prose, distributed through printed material and/or
digital format.
o Performing arts
Activity performed for an audience, including but not limited to
dance, music, drama or oratory.
o Visual art
Physical art of a temporary* nature, including but not limited to
art exhibitions, digital art, street painting, or chalk art.
*Temporary here means art intended for viewing for a limited time. Murals and physical sculpture that
requires a concrete footing or other permanent attachment structure are not considered temporary.
2. Meet the following “public benefit” criteria:
a. Programming and projects must be located within the city of Rochester in order to be
eligible. Please note that location within the city is defined by the boundary of the city,
not a Rochester ZIP code. Respondents can determine whether an address is within the
City boundary by entering the address in the search box of this webpage:
https://maps.cityofrochester.gov/propinfo/.
b. Programming and projects must be free to participants/audiences, or feature a free or
low cost component to participants/audiences. For awarded proposals, the City will
require marketing proof (such as a flyer, webpage, or social media post) that the project
or programming was free or at the cost quoted in the proposal. Please be aware, the
City will not consider a project or programming “sliding scale” or “optional donation”
unless the project or programming is clearly marketed as such. If your project or
programming will have a cost for participants/audiences, you must include what
expenses will be covered by the cost in your budget and the City reserves the right to
determine whether the project meets this criteria.
3. Be completed between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. Visual art must be installed within that
year, but the City will work with artists and organizations to determine if and when visual art
needs to be removed.
4. Align with one or both of the ArtsBloom goals:
a. Reach historically underserved residents of the city.
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b. Provide paid opportunities for local artists and/or small arts organizations in Rochester
The following are examples of programming or projects that are ineligible for ArtsBloom funding, as
they are not non-capital art, are not the intended type of activities for this program, and/or they have
funding opportunities through other City programs (this is not a complete list):
Events receiving Special Events funding through the City
Murals
Physical art or sculpture that requires a concrete footing or other permanent attachment
structure
Parades
Block parties
Trade shows, conventions
Annual luncheons, holiday parties, class or family reunions
Sports tournaments, school or athletic leagues
The City anticipates that a wide variety of activities may be submitted. Therefore, the City reserves the
right to determine which activities are eligible for this funding program.
ANTICIPATED TIMELINE
Activity
Date
RFP Release
Virtual Pre-Proposal Information Session
Deadline for questions
Responses for questions submitted
Proposals due
Consultant Selection and Award
Notification
February 13, 2024
Monday, March 4, 2024
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
11:59 PM EST
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Thursday, March 28, 2024
11:59 PM EST
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Week of May 13, 2024
The dates shown above may be subject to change within the City of Rochester’s sole discretion and
upon written notification as set forth herein.
COMMUNICATIONS
All communications by Respondents who have indicated an intent to submit or have submitted a Proposal
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