ArtBridge x Battery Park City Authority
RFP Coastal Resiliency 2025/2026 

OVERVIEW:
Application deadline: October 5, 2025, 11:59PM EST 
Application notifications: Oct 22, 2025
Anticipated installation: February 2025 (estimated) 

INTRODUCTION:
ArtBridge is collaborating with Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) to install Site-Specific two-dimensional artwork on the construction fences that will be installed throughout the northern section of Battery Park City during the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project (NWBPCR). Fences ranging in length from 70-1,000 feet will be placed between the North Esplanade and Second Place as the Authority implements resiliency plans to protect Battery Park City and the Lower Manhattan coast from the threats of storm surge and sea level rise. The submitted artwork will consist of a digital file, deriving from any artistic medium, that will be printed onto a vinyl material and will be installed in compliance with the NYC DOB City Canvas program. ArtBridge and BPCA will handle all aspects of production and installation.  

THEME:  
Building upon Battery Park City Authority’s commitment to environmental resiliency and creating spaces for the public – including expansive lawns and gardens – the Authority is seeking proposals that call in ideas of environmental care for the betterment of communities.  

BPCA has a storied history of presenting art from a diverse range of artists that transform public space, encourage social cohesion, and promote awareness about cultural, environmental, and civic challenges. Since hosting Agnes Denes’ Wheatfield - A Confrontation, in 1982 (commissioned by Public Art Fund), BPCA has invested in environmental literacy and stewardship. Among the artworks commissioned by the Authority to address environmental consciousness are Sunrise, Sunset (Revolution), 2017 by artists Autumn Ewalt and Dharmesh Patel, and South Cove, 1988 by artist Mary Miss in collaboration with landscape architect Susan Child and architect Stan Eckstut. These artworks, in addition to numerous others, are a central foundation of the 92-acre neighborhood.  

Davina Hsu’s Blessing Transmission and Michelle Weinberg’s River Semaphore, installed in response to our previous call for art supporting BPCA’s South Battery Park City Resiliency project, also capture the spirit of artwork centering the environment that the Authority is seeking to foreground. 

With knowledge of these past works, we are looking to the future to consider proposals that highlight environmental sustainability, capture an ethos of care for our earth, reflect the changing seasons and BPC’s proximity to the Hudson River while offering a visually stunning experience for passersby. 
 

ARTIST CRITERIA: 

• Must be a New York City based artist who lives or works in one of the five boroughs 
• Must be able to commit to a working period from October 15, 2025 - January 30, 2026 for design edits.  

DESCRIPTION OF SITE:
The construction sheds and fences run along numerous streets within Battery Park City. They range in height from 8-14 feet and vary in length from 70-1,000 linear feet. The full length of the sheds and fences will be punctuated by construction access gates and signage, resulting in a series of sections.    
 

ARTIST PAYMENT AND BUDGET:    

• Up to 12 artists will be selected, and will each be paid between $5,000 - $10,000 depending on the length of their allotted fence to design an artwork for the site. 
• Printing, installation, and production costs will be covered -- you will incur no expenses. 
• Artists will retain full IP rights to the design itself.  

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:       

• Any type of work that can be replicated in 2D on vinyl: photography, painting, digitally-produced, etc. 
• AI-generated art submissions will not be considered. 
• Artwork can be new or existing work. If new work, it is acceptable to submit rough sketches, along with a description. The proposal should be a general idea of what you would create, though can be altered for the final work. 
• Submitted work does not have to match the exact aspect ratio of the shared dimensions; but this layout should be a consideration in the submission. 
• It is acceptable if your artwork concept involves some planned repetition over the entire site. 
• To comply with the Department of Cultural Affairs' City Canvas program, submitted artwork cannot contain words or letters, though numbers are allowed. Depictions of violence and nudity are forbidden, along with other common-sense constraints of public art. If your work includes any representations of real people, you must be able to obtain explicit consent from those people or their estates (if deceased). 
• You may submit more than one proposal (up to 3 per person), but each proposal must be its own, wholly separate submission. 
• You can submit as an individual, or as a collaboration, or on behalf of an organization or collective.  

ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS: 

• Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of jurors from Battery Park City Authority, ArtBridge, and curators Gervais Marsh and Lisa Panzera. 

 
Applicants will be screened for the following criteria:

• Artist’s own original creative work  
• Theme relevant to the RFP 
•  Visual vibrancy of the proposed artwork  

QUESTIONS:
Email: info@art-bridge.org with the subject heading BPCA25 RFP. Or call: 646-450-1463 

About ArtBridge
New York City currently has 320 miles of street-level construction. Since 2008, ArtBridge has transformed these underutilized spaces into canvases for local, early-career artists. ArtBridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Chelsea.    
art-bridge.org  
@artbridge

About Battery Park City Authority
The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority is a New York State public benefit corporation whose mission is to plan, create, coordinate, and sustain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side of Manhattan. Established in 1968, the Battery Park City Authority was charged with developing and maintaining a well-balanced community in place of where deteriorating piers once stood in the Hudson River.
bpca.ny.gov
@bpcparks
 

About the Jurors
Gervais Marsh  

Dr. Gervais Marsh is a curator, writer and scholar from Kingston, Jamaica and based in New York City. Their practice meditates on questions of relation, intimacy, and the limits of reconciliation. Guided by a desire to foster emotional resonances through texts, exhibition making, public art and programming, they seek to ignite ongoing reflection rather than definitive answers. Thinking alongside artists across all mediums, they write texts that interweave expansive areas of thought. With a commitment to citation influenced by Black Feminisms, they believe that knowledge is created collectively, and lean into the vulnerability of uncertainty, recognizing that not everything can be known. Affirming modes of meaning making that circumvent the grips of racial capitalism, they prioritize listening, introspection and thoughtful dialogue as critical to intentional study.

They have a PhD in Performance Studies and work on the curatorial team at Creative Team as the Artist Research Manager. Their writing has been published widely in artist monographs, exhibition catalogs and arts journals. They teach courses at the intersections of Black Studies and Black Feminist Theory, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Caribbean Studies, Visual Culture and Performance. For more information about their practice, please visit https://www.gervaismarsh.com/about.

Lisa Panzera
Lisa Panzera is currently Director of the Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC, CUNY, where she organizes 3 – 4 exhibitions of contemporary art a year, plus faculty and student shows. She received a Bachelors degree from Smith College and a doctorate from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her doctoral dissertation is a focused study on the work of Italian Futurist Benedetta Cappa Marinetti. Her role prior was Senior Director of Fergus McCaffrey gallery in Chelsea. She has worked in a curatorial capacity for several prominent organizations, including Guild Hall Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Fondazione Prada. She has written numerous essays, exhibition catalogues and reviews. 

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