Pocket Park Community Sculpture Project

The Dalles Art Center (TDAC) is seeking an artist to create a design for a sculpture in a pocket park under development on the corner of Second Street and Washington Street in downtown The Dalles, Oregon. This is the second public art project organized by TDAC in collaboration with The Peoples' Forge Project and The City of The Dalles. The sculpture will serve as a focal piece for the pocket park, located centrally between The Granada Theater, The Dalles Art Center, and The Civic Auditorium. The site is a 43' x 34' section at the Southwest corner of Second Street and Washington Street. The project culminates in a two-day event during the 2022 Cherry Festival (April 22-24, 2022) where the community forges elements of the sculpture with The Peoples' Forge Project.

Applicants must live or have lived in The Columbia River Gorge between Cascade Locks and Rufus within 50 miles of the Columbia River on either the Oregon or Washington side of the river. Preference will be given to applicants currently living in the Gorge. The collaboration process requires a willingness to adapt and astute communication between the artist/designer and Peoples' Forge as they translate the original image into a graphic form, with the structural/skeletal form fabricated by Peoples' Forge and component parts allowing public participation.

Applications will be evaluated on ability to successfully collaborate with other artists, quality of past work, ability and/or interest in creating site-specific public artwork, and interest in and/or experience with community participation projects. Five finalists will be selected and notified by November 20, 2021, each receiving a $250 stipend for design. Three finalists will be interviewed with Peoples' Forge Project representatives on December 4, 2021. The selected artist will be notified by December 7, 2021, and will receive a total award of $1,000 to complete the design and collaborate with Peoples' Forge Project. The selected artist will work with PFP on final design from January 1 to February 1, 2022, with final design completion and fund distribution by February 1, 2022.