Fire Station 6 Public Art Commission – Seattle

The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Seattle Fleets and Facilities Department and the Seattle Fire Department, seeks an artist to develop a permanent site-specific art project for Fire Station 6 in the Central District neighborhood. The new Fire Station 6 will be located at 2615 S. Jackson St. (corner of South Jackson Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way). Design is expected to begin in late summer 2009, with construction anticipated to begin in 2011 and Fire Department operations moving to the new location in 2012.

The selected artist will work with the community, firefighters and staff to create a site-specific, durable artwork that attaches to the public facing portion of the building and serves to connect firefighters and the community. The artwork must remain an independent element that could be moved to accommodate future renovations or relocations. Artists should address the work and spirit of firefighters, respond to the cultural diversity of the Central District community, and develop artwork that identifies the fire station as a civic facility. Applicants should have specific skills designing, fabricating and installing artwork in media such as metal, glass, stone, concrete, ceramic, wood, light, surface treatment, sustainable design, or environmental design. The selected artist should be able to work with architectural plans and have experience working cooperatively with design professionals, city staff and community members.

The competition is open to established professional artists living in the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana) or California. No students of any level are eligible to apply. The selected artist will receive a commission of $90,000, inclusive of all costs to design, fabricate and install artwork. The artist will first receive a contract for $10,000 to design the artwork. Following design approval, the artist will receive a contract for $80,000 to fabricate and install the artwork. Application requirements include sixteen (16) artwork images, a letter of interest (not to exceed 2,000 characters), resume, and references. The application deadline is 11:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), Tuesday, June 30, 2009.