Courtesy of Provincetown Chamber of Commerce.
PROVINCETOWN – The Provincetown Cultural Council has announced that the project to construct an AIDS Memorial in town is moving forward about a decade after the project was first proposed.
The Cultural Council released a Request for Expressions of Interest for the Provincetown AIDS Memorial Monday, December 1, World AIDS Day.
Cultural Council Chairperson Grace Ryder-O’Malley said, “This is a huge step forward for us, as this project has been in the works for over a decade.”
The council is looking for interest from artists to develop a site-specific Memorial commemorating the lives lost to AIDS in the Town of Provincetown, and the Town’s response to the AIDS crisis.
Responses to the request are invited from established professional artists and artists’ collaboratives.
The deadline for the submission of expression of interest is May 1, 2015.
Review of the responses will be followed by issuance of a formal Request for Proposals by the Town of Provincetown.
The council will develop a set of evaluation criteria that will form the basis upon which the successful artist will be chosen.
Responses will also gauge interest from the broader artist community in this project.
Responses to the Request for Expressions of Interest is not a pre-requisite to submitting a response to the RFP and will not be used as a basis upon which to select the successful RFP respondent, according to the council.
In a statement about the project, Ryder-O’Malley stated, “The worldwide epidemic of AIDS has had a grievous effect on the Provincetown community for more than three decades. By public vote, the Town has decided to create a Memorial to serve as a permanent, public reminder of the lives lost over the years, the community’s achievements in response to the crisis, and the continuing impact of AIDS on the community.”
She continued that the cultural council “is committed to honoring those lost and those still fighting.”
The Memorial will be located at Town Hall on the lawn next to the path leading to the Ryder Street entrance. The final, successful Memorial, selected pursuant to the RFP, will become part of the Town of Provincetown’s permanent art collection.
Donations are currently being accepted through the AIDS Memorial Gift Fund, C/O The Town of Provincetown, 260 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657.
