City of Seattle: Fremont Bridge Writer/Poet Residency

The Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), seeks a writer or poet to be 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 written materials in response to this residency. The Fremont Bridge opened in 1917 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the busiest bascule bridges in the world, rising for marine traffic an average of 35 times a day. 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 2016 and 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 literary work and public presentation. The writing shall represent or illuminate some aspect of the bridge and the bridge's history, be it real or metaphorical. Following 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 writers living in Seattle or within 100 miles of Seattle. Students are not eligible to apply. The project budget is $10,000 USD ($5,000 for residency, $5,000 for project, presentation, documentation), inclusive of all residency costs, project, presentation, documentation of the work, and applicable taxes. Payment will be made in installments based on benchmarks established by the Office of Arts & Culture in consultation with the artist. The artist-in-residence will be required to carry commercial general liability insurance for the duration of the residency. Applications must include a letter of interest (not to exceed 2,000 characters), three writing samples combined into one document (each sample not to exceed 20 pages, max 60 pages total), a résumé (no longer than two pages), and three professional references with names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers.