King Street Station Plaza Temporary Art Project

The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), seeks an artist or artist team to create a temporary, site-specific public art project for the Jackson Street Plaza at King Street Station, located at South Jackson Street and Third Avenue South in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood.

The selected artist will develop a new temporary public art project to enliven the plaza and draw attention to the renovated station as a hub of the city. The artwork should engage viewers and cause passersby to see the historic station and area in a new light. Possible approaches include projections or light, participatory or interactive artworks, and/or temporary installations. The plaza is approximately 150' x 90' feet. Due to the plaza being built on the roof of part of the structure, there are limitations in anchoring sculptural works and creating footings. The artwork should respond to the conditions of the space, including winter weather and the dynamic unpredictability of the urban environment. A 20' x 90' section near the station building will be fenced off for construction during the artwork's display.

The temporary project will be on view for a limited duration, with a maximum of one year. The selected artist will develop a design proposal over the summer and could begin production as early as fall 2011, with the project to be completed by summer 2012. The artist will participate in public presentations and community outreach and present their proposal to the Pioneer Square Preservation Board for approval. The total project budget is $35,000, all-inclusive of travel expenses, taxes, and all project costs for design, fabrication/production, installation and removal. This call is open to artists living in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia and California. Students are not eligible to apply. Application deadline: 11 p.m. PDT, Wednesday, April 27, 2011.