City of Seattle: Mercer West Art Project

The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), seeks a professional artist to develop site-specific artwork for an expanded underpass at Mercer Street and Aurora Avenue. The selected artist will work with SDOT and SDOT consultants from design through construction of the new underpass.

The commissioned artist will develop permanent public art for a two-block area that includes the underpass at Aurora Avenue/Highway 99 and the adjacent approaches east and west of the underpass. The desired artistic approach will treat the underpass as a singular architectural environment and transform the experience of passing through the space for all modes of transit. Painted murals or other paint treatments are not feasible and will not be accepted. The project seeks art strategies that transform the concrete walls of the space with light or material applications. The underpass is 100 feet long, loud and dark; the selected artist will need to address maintenance and the effects of vehicular exhaust and water runoff in the artwork proposal. The project includes approximately 16,000 square feet of vertical concrete.

Eligibility: Professional artists residing in the United States with prior public art experience. Students are not eligible. Application deadline: Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 11 p.m. PDT. Applications must include 16 artwork images, letter of interest, resume, image identification list, and references. Total project budget is $335,000, with design and engineering at $48,000 and fabrication and installation at $287,000. Applicants will be notified of the panel's decision by email in November 2010. Contact Patricia Hopper, public art project manager, at [email protected] or (206) 684-7311.