Seattle City Light Portable Works Purchase

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle City Light, invites nominated emerging artists to submit images of available work for direct purchase. This is an invitational competition; artists have been nominated by established regional artists and curators. Purchases are chosen by a panel of arts professionals and Seattle City Light staff, who select artwork of high quality reflecting diversity of expression for City Light's portable art collection. The collection is exhibited throughout the utilities offices to create an interesting and diverse work environment.

Eligibility is limited to nominated emerging artists who are residents of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia. Students are not eligible. All types of media will be considered. Maximum artwork measurements for 2-D work are 48" x 48" x 5". Sculpture and 3-D objects should be medium in size and under 50 pounds, as they will enter a rotating portable works collection and may need to be moved by one person. A total of $116,000 is available to purchase artworks.

Applications require 10 images of available work, image descriptions (not to exceed 1,000 characters including title, year made, medium, dimensions, and price), an artist statement (not to exceed 2,000 characters), and a résumé. Selection is based on artistic merit, appropriateness for the public setting and existing collection, artistic diversity, and application completeness. Artworks containing graphic depictions of violence, sexually explicit imagery, and nudity are extremely difficult to display. Artists will be notified of selection decisions by mid-April 2008.