Downtown Digital Media Project

The City of Kent Parks Department is seeking digital and video media artists to provide artistic content for a newly renovated, space-themed park at 307 West Gowe Street (Kent-Kherson Park). A large projection screen (approximately 30' x 20') located on the side of a building facing south toward Gowe Street will display selected artworks to the public from the park, sidewalks, and streets at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Gowe Street.

Up to six artists will be selected to present one to three artworks for a period of one year. Artworks should be five minutes or less in length and should not be dependent on sound due to the projector's limited sound capacity. Selected artists will work with Arts Commission staff to adapt their work for optimal presentation at 1920x1080 resolution. Final videos should be compressed with an H264 Codec wrapped in either MP4 or MOV format, with a file size cap of 1GB. Each selected artist will receive a $500 honorarium to help defray related expenses, and artists' names and artwork titles will be posted on the screen before and after the work plays. Artists retain all rights to their submitted works.

Selection is based foremost on artistic merit and appropriateness of content for a public location, with consideration given to a mix of genres and geographic and cultural diversity. A selection panel including representatives from the Kent Arts Commission, professional artists, a City councilmember, and community representatives will review submissions. Applicants must submit an artist statement, current resume or CV, and video samples (1-6 videos) by August 31, 2023, 10:59 p.m. PDT through the CaFE platform. Video file requirements: MOV, MP4, WMV, 3GP, AVI, ASF, MPG, M2T, MKV, or M2TS format; under 100 MB; minimum 640 x 480 resolution; 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. This opportunity is open to artists residing in the United States.