Community identity and history can be celebrated and elaborated through public art practice. Through this lens, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), will commission one artist/artist team to design, fabricate and install an integrated, outdoor two-part artwork at the Ship Canal Water Quality Project Fremont site location. The artwork will have two points of installation on either side of the bridge over the Ship Canal/Fremont Cut, one on the Fremont side (located near NW Canal Street and 2nd Ave NW), and the other on the Queen Anne side (located near 244 W Ewing Street).
Budget: $180,000.00 (all-inclusive)
Eligibility: Professional artists residing in the United States.
Deadline: 11 p.m., Wednesday, June 12, 2018. (Pacific Daylight Time)
Project Description
The Ship Canal Water Quality Project (SCWQP) spans multiple neighborhoods and is 2.7 mile underground storage tunnel that will hold polluted water from Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford and north Queen Anne during storms to prevent overflowing into Lake Union, the Ship Canal and Salmon Bay. This capital project includes extensive new infrastructure, including a new microtunnel under the Ship Canal, near-surface pipes, and a drop shaft location. This busy thoroughfare has multiple modes of transportation and boats traversing the narrow Ship Canal in the midst of the Fremont neighborhood’s business and commercial center.
Project Background
The Ship Canal Water Quality Project (SCWQP) builds a storage tunnel to reduce polluted water overflows into the Ship Canal from Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, and north Queen Anne. The 2.7-mile, 18' 10" diameter tunnel will temporarily hold more than 15 million gallons of stormwater and sewage during heavy rains. When the storm passes, flows will be sent to King County's West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Starting as early as 2019, Seattle Public Utilities and King County Wastewater Treatment Division will begin work in Fremont for the Ship Canal Water Quality Project. Work will include: Building the new storage tunnel, building a drop shaft to collect flows entering the tunnel near the intersection of 3rd Avenue NW, Leary Way NW and NW 36th Street, installing new pipes to convey polluted stormwater and sewage to the tunnel, building a new microtunnel under the Ship Canal to convey polluted stormwater and sewage from Queen Anne to the new storage tunnel, and providing odor control to minimize odor.
Artist Scope of Work
ARTS seeks an artist/artist team to develop a permanent artwork that is rich, rigorous, deeply considered, relevant, and site specific. The city is committed to excellence in environmental stewardship and in sustainable building practices. The selected artist will work with ARTS, SPU, SCWQP coordinating artist, and project design consultants to develop permanent, outdoor, site specific artwork for the site locations.
The artwork should be a two-part sculptural artwork on both sides of the Ship Canal that reference and relate to each other. It should also relate to foot and cyclist traffic on the neighboring Burke Gilman Trail. The artwork on each side of the canal should contribute to placemaking and take into consideration the different audiences and community that will engage with each work up-close.
The art should increase awareness that water is a great unifier flowing throughout the city and conceptually connect to the idea of water quality, flow and other potential themes identified in the Drainage and Wastewater Art Master Plan.
Project Timeline
The project construction documents are near completion, and SPU will issue change order request as part of the plan set to accommodate foundation construction and/or other elements that can be included in the overall construction contract and paid for through the project budget.
Selection Criteria
The artist will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:
The Office of Arts & Culture is committed to reflecting the diversity and cultural richness of our city in the selection of artists and artworks. You can learn more about the Office’s Commitment to Racial Equity here.
Selection Process
The selection process will take place in two parts. During the first round, a panel of arts professionals, city staff, and community members will review the applicants’ images, qualifications, and other materials. The panelists will identify up to four finalists to interview at a second panel meeting two weeks later. The panel will select one artist or artist team to be recommended for award of the commission. The Public Art Advisory Committee reviews and approves the selection recommendation. Applicants will be notified of the panel’s decision by August 2018. The Office of Arts & Culture reserves the right not to select any of the applicants.
Application Requirements
How to Apply
Apply online through the CaFÉ system. No hard-copy or emailed applications will be accepted. For assistance with the CaFÉ online application process, contact CaFÉ tech support at (888) 562-7232 or email cafe@westaf.org, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Maija McKnight, public art project manager, at maija.mcknight@seattle.gov or (206) 684-7311.
