Portsmouth seeks artists for Peirce Island art project

PORTSMOUTH — The City’s Public Art Review Committee is seeking artists to design a piece of art for Peirce Island.

The committee recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the project.

The RFP states they are requesting "proposals from artists in all media, including but not limited to sculpture, reliefs, mosaics, landforms, lighting and sound" for a "permanent work-of-art on Peirce Island.

The group previously held three community input sessions to discuss the history of Pierce Island and the process for determining a location for the art project.

The Peirce Island Art Project will be funded through Portsmouth’s Percent-for-Art program, established in 2006 to increase the number of significant works of art in the city. The Portsmouth public art ordinance is modeled on the state of New Hampshire's Percent-for-Art program. For each publicly funded construction project, Portsmouth allocates 1% of the project budget up to $150,000.

Peirce Island is a natural, recreational 27-acre area on the Piscataqua River that includes salt marshes, tidal pools, rocky cliffs, and meadows, and features many views of Portsmouth.

RFPs are due by May 24, 2024. For more information and to see the RFP, visit the project page: portsnh.co/publicart.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth seeks artists for Peirce Island art project