City of Seattle: 2018 Fremont Bridge Artist-in-Residence

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), seeks a practicing composer and/or musician to be an Artist-in-Residence in the northwest tower of the Fremont Bridge. The selected artist will undertake an in-depth exploration of the historic bridge's role and meaning for the city of Seattle and create music in response to this residency.

The northwest tower studio measures approximately 13 feet by 8 feet with 10-foot ceilings, furnished with a desk, chair, overhead lights, windows, and an air conditioning unit. The tower's windows feature 360-degree views of the surrounding area. Artists cannot live in the tower but may use the space as a studio, a platform for observing the bridge and its surroundings, or as a base from which to interact with the community. The residency will run from June through August 2018. The artist will be required to comply with a strict safety protocol while on the bridge, including communication with the bridge operator and restricted access to specific locations.

The residency includes an ongoing public component such as a blog or social media posts, in addition to community engagement events. The residency will culminate in a musical work and public presentation. The sound piece shall represent or illuminate some aspect of the bridge and the bridge's history. The artist will propose and implement public presentation(s) through performance(s), public engagements, or other types of exhibition at locations and times to be determined in consultation with ARTS and SDOT staff. The artist retains copyright, and the sound piece shall be made available to the public digitally on the ARTS website and potentially other sites. Following a public presentation, the artist will provide high-quality documentation of the project for inclusion in the Municipal Art Collection.

The call is open to established professional musicians/composers living in Seattle or within 100 miles of Seattle. Students are not eligible. The project budget is $10,000 USD ($5,000 for residency, $5,000 for sound project, presentation, and documentation), inclusive of all residency costs and applicable taxes. Payment will be made in installments based on benchmarks established by ARTS in consultation with the artist. Applications must include a letter of interest (not to exceed 2,000 characters), up to three representative songs or compositions via SoundCloud, Vimeo, or YouTube (or mailed CD/DVD), a résumé (no longer than two pages), and three professional references with names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers. The selection panel will listen to songs/compositions at up to 1 minute per submission. Contact Kristen Ramirez at [email protected] or 206.615.1095 with questions.