Northgate Urban Center Park Development - Artist Selection

Seattle Parks and Recreation seeks a design team artist or artist team to work collaboratively with Mithun, the lead design consultant, to identify art opportunities and develop art enhancements for the new Northgate Urban Center Park. The design and location of the park will create opportunities for the artist's designs to be fully integrated into the park experience. Art opportunities include integrated objects, land sculpture, lighting, and permanent pieces that change with time or interact with the landscape and urban habitat. Designs will be fabricated and installed by others under the park construction contract. The fabrication budget for art enhancements will be developed in conjunction with the design team in relation to the overall project budget. Artist experience with collaborative projects and community involvement will be considered.

The selected artist or artist team will participate on the design team and work collaboratively with Mithun, Seattle Parks, and the Project Advisory Team. Responsibilities include providing conceptual designs, attending meetings and presenting ideas to the design team, Parks, the community, and possibly the Design Commission, providing drawings and specifications for construction documents, and participating in construction observation and submittal approvals. The artist will be asked to design with stringent durability, safety, building code, and maintenance standards in mind. Artwork should be constructed of non-corrosive materials and designs should be consistent with efforts to control tagging and vandalism. Selected artists must submit proof of general/auto insurance and, if providing project construction documentation, proof of Errors and Omissions insurance.

The competition is open to established professional artists residing in Washington or Oregon. Teams are welcome and may include artists, designers, community engagement specialists, and others with relevant experience. Teams must identify a lead artist as primary contact. Students are not eligible. The contract will total $15,000 to $22,000, inclusive of all costs and applicable taxes, for participation on the design team. Application deadline: 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday, May 5, 2008. Required materials: sixteen artwork images, letter of interest (not to exceed 2,000 characters), resume, and references. Selection will occur in two phases: a panel will review applications and select up to four finalists, then interview finalists to select one artist or artist team.