The Sound Transit Art Program (STart) has identified many art opportunities to enrich the experience for riders using transit systems and for the communities surrounding its facilities in the greater Seattle and Central Puget Sound area. Sound Transit (ST) is expanding its pre-qualified artist roster for eligibility to be further considered in developing artwork for ST facilities and is seeking artists to produce permanent and temporary art in a wide range of styles, scales and perspectives for Sound Transit public spaces.

Download the complete RFQ document here.

BUDGET:  Future commissions range from $3,000 to $750,000

ELIGIBILITY:  Professional artists or artist teams living and working in the U.S.

DEADLINE:  February 9, 2018

Background
Sound Transit is committed to integrating art and artists’ thinking into the design and construction of transit facilities and public spaces by involving artists in the design process. STart has completed over 100 art projects, with dozens more currently in process. For more information and to view past projects visit: www.soundtransit.org/Rider-Guide/public-art.

Sound Transit is a regional transit agency serving the greater Seattle area of Washington State, which is expanding its light rail, commuter rail and express bus systems with a number of new stations and parking garages that are in the early design stage.

STart values the contributions of artists from a wide variety of backgrounds and with many practices. While valuing artists who have highly developed careers, STart is also actively seeking ways to lower the entry barriers for emerging artists, and to provide opportunities for artists from under-represented populations in our service area.

• Artists selected for the pool expansion will remain eligible for STart projects for three years.
• Inclusion in the artist pool does not guarantee an art project.
• Artists from the pool short listed for specific stations will be notified to gauge their interest in the project.
• STart reserves the right to supplement the pool as project needs arise.
• Artists who were previously qualified for the STart 2016 Roster are still included in the pool and need not apply.
• The pre-qualified artist pool is a key method for involving artists in upcoming Sound Transit projects, but will not be the only method for selecting artists.

Artists who are awarded art commissions may design, fabricate and install artwork through a single artist-held contract, or may design artwork through an artist contract with continued artist oversight for artwork fabricated through a STart-held contract.

Seeking Artists
To produce permanent and temporary art in a wide range of styles, scales and persepctives for Sound Transit public spaces.

• Artists experienced in creating art for the public realm.
• Emerging artists ready for a larger project.
• Artists working in both two- and three-dimensional media.
• Experienced artists who have not previously participated in public art.

Selection Criteria
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) application materials based on past work will be evaluated by a panel of public art professionals from across the Sound Transit service region. Artists will be evaluated based on their perceived ability to meet the following criteria:

• Artistic merit.
• Artistic content and relationship to the existing STart collection.
• Appropriateness to specific sites, and responsiveness to working with a variety of community cultures.
• Relates to and/or enhances the surrounding station area.
• Creates visual landmarks.
• Draws pedestrians in from the adjacent community.
• Provides visual interest both day and night.
• Is safe for public interaction.
• Constructability and long-term low maintenance of materials.

How To Apply
Applicants must submit the following materials via online application.

Resume
Two-page (maximum) current professional résumé. Keep the formatting as simple as possible. Only PDF documents will be accepted. Teams should include two-page resumes for all members as one document.

Statement of Interest
Write a statement (300 words or less, about 2-3 paragraphs) explaining why you are interested in being included in the STart pre-qualified artist pool, how your work is appropriate for the opportunity, and relevant past experience. If submitting as a team, include a description of how the team works together and clearly explain any collaborative work experience.

Work Samples
Please submit between 6 and 15 total digital images of past artwork (no composites) that best illustrate your qualifications. If applying as a team, a maximum of 15 images may be submitted, inclusive of all team members. Images will be projected one at a time during the application material review session. Upload JPG files only (GIFs, TIFFs and other formats will not be accepted). Images must be under 2 MB, 1920 pixels on the longest side and at least 72 dpi.

Once uploaded, the system will automatically label the files with your last name, first initial, and a number indicating viewing order.

You will be required to list the title of your artwork/project, medium/media format, date and dimensions/duration. Optional fields include project location, commissioning agency, budget, project partners, photo credit, and copyright owner. Applicants also are encouraged to include a brief description (75 words or less) of each project. After your first entry, the text fields will automatically populate with information from the previous work sample upload. This is meant to help expedite the inclusion of multiple work samples per artwork/project and can be easily changed by highlighting and typing over the text. All work samples and descriptive text can be reviewed, edited or deleted by clicking on the file name in the left hand progress navigation. Work samples can be reordered if needed when the application preview step is reached.

QUESTIONS? 

Regarding the artist roster or STart, contact:  Mylinda Sneed, mylinda.sneed@soundtransit.org

Online application questions, contact:  Brennan Jernigan, brennan.jernigan@4culture.org, 206-263-1587