City of Seattle: Landsburg Park Call For Public Art

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities, seeks to commission an artist or artist team to create a unique artwork for Landsburg Park as part of the Landsburg Facilities and Chlorination Project located at 28700 Southeast 252nd Place in Ravensdale, Washington. The artwork will recognize and honor the original residents of the area, and should be reflective of the Coast Salish cultures, especially tribal nations, that have a historic connection to this territory. The call is open to established professional artists residing in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington state and who are eligible to work in the United States. Applications close 11 p.m., Wednesday, January 16, 2013 (Pacific Standard Time).

BACKGROUND
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a municipal utility owned by the city of Seattle and funded entirely by the rates paid for its services. SPU provides drinking water to 1.45 million people in the Puget Sound region, including Seattle residents and the customers of other water districts and cities in King County and parts of Snohomish County. SPU owns a majority of the land at both the Cedar River and Tolt watersheds and manages them for the protection of the water supply, the conservation and restoration of high-quality habitat for fish and wildlife, and the conservation of cultural resources. SPU also provides drainage services within the Seattle city limits to prevent flooding, reduce contamination of surface water, and protect and restore habitat in the urban creeks that serve as part of the city’s natural drainage system.

Seattle Public Utilities is planning improvements for the Landsburg Facilities and Chlorination Project, including subtle changes to Landsburg Park. The Landsburg Facilities site is a pristine forested area in the western foothills of the Cascade mountain range. The overall site can be broken down into three principle parts: the Water Operations and Treatment Facility, the Cedar River Sockeye Hatchery, and Landsburg Park (which is the selected location for art). A large part of Landsburg Park consists of mown turf for passive and active recreation. Clusters of trees are interspersed within the lawn. A buffer consisting of native and non-native vegetation is present along the shoreline of the Cedar River.

The artwork project site is Landsburg Park, the public portion of the Landsburg Facilities and Chlorination Project, located at 28700 Southeast 252nd Place in Ravensdale, Wash. This site lies 28 miles southeast of Seattle in the Cedar River Municipal Watershed.

Various SPU facilities, including Landsburg Park, the Cedar River Sockeye Hatchery, and the Water Operations and Treatment Facility, are all accessed from Landsburg Road S.E. at the west end of the site. A gravel parking lot adjacent to Landsburg Road S.E. is available for visitors to Landsburg Park. Park Road traverses the north boundary of Landsburg Park.


ABOUT THE PARK
The artwork will be located in Landsburg Park, which is adjacent to Cedar River at the westernmost part of the site. This area offers visitors a small pedestrian-only picnic area and open space for play, composed primarily of turf grass. The park is most heavily used during the summer and receives relatively few visitors in the off season. Landsburg Park has only a few structures. These include a covered picnic structure; picnic tables; portable toilets protected by a wood and plastic structure; and an older, unused restroom building. There is currently a brick ADA pathway near the entrance to the park which leads to the interpretive area near the river’s edge where visitors can learn about life in the wetland ecosystem. The upcoming renovation will upgrade the picnic tables and vault toilets and provide an ADA compliant trail on site.

Although the park has light visitor attendance, there are a number of organized activities that take place in the park over the course of the year. The areas of mown turf in the park are useful for accommodating and staging large numbers of people. In March the park hosts a kayaking event where kayakers compete on the Cedar River white-water kayak course. Kayakers competing in the event load into the river at the bank near the picnic shelter. In the fall, visitors join with volunteer naturalists at five sites along the Cedar River, including Landsburg Park for the annual Cedar River Salmon Journey event. During the salmon run, visitors can learn about the salmon’s journey from the ocean through Chittenden Locks and Lake Washington to their spawning grounds in the Cedar River watershed. The Cedar River hosts Chinook, Sockeye and Coho salmon, as well as other species.

At Landsburg, visitors are offered a 30-minute tour of the diversion dam where they learn about the Seattle water supply and see how salmon pass into the closed boundaries of the watershed. Throughout September, October and November, viewing platforms in the park allow visitors to view salmon spawning.

Schedule
The improvements planned for Landsburg Park will be constructed as part of the Landsburg Facilities project. Changes to the park include improving ADA accessibility. The selected artist will work within the current schedule, which is:

• 60% design completion – May 2013


• 100% construction documents – November 2013


• Construction – starts December 2013, completed November 2015

ELIGIBILITY
The call is open to established professional artists residing in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington state and who are eligible to work in the United States. As the artwork will recognize and honor the original residents of the area and should be reflective of the Coast Salish cultures, artists who have a historic and artistic connection to the tribal nations that have a historic connection to this territory are encouraged to apply. Artists may apply individually or as a team of no more than two. The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs encourages diversity in its collection. Artists whose work is well-represented in the city’s collection are eligible to apply, but the artist selection panel will consider artistic diversity as one factor in the selection process. Students are not eligible to apply.

SCOPE OF WORK
One artist or artist team will be selected to create an original artwork within the project site. SPU’s improvements to the Landsburg Park portion of the Landsburg Facilities project include ADA accessibility. Keeping this in mind, the artwork could 1) reinforce the entry to the public access of Landsburg Park, 2) enhance the interpretive elements conveying the history and importance of the site for people and fish, and 3) enliven the pathway and visitor experience within the park. Because the park is not secured nor monitored, the artwork will need to be durable and securely attached to any foundations.

BUDGET
One artist or artist team will be selected to receive a commission of $50,000. This amount is inclusive of all fees, taxes, fabrication, delivery, installation, travel and additional site work if necessary to accommodate artwork. The selected artist will receive an initial design contract for $7,500 to develop the artwork design. If the design proposal is accepted, the artist will receive a subsequent contract for $42,500 to fabricate and install the artwork.

The artwork is funded by Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds and administered by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
11 p.m., Wednesday, January 16, 2013 (Pacific Daylight Time)

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Letter of interest (not to exceed 2,000 characters). Please read the prompt in CaFÉ before uploading your letter of interest. If you are applying as a team, the letter should clearly describe the contribution of each collaborator.


• Résumé


• Three references


• Up to 16 images


• Image Identification List (not to exceed 500 characters for each image). If you are applying as a team, the image identification should list the name of the artist for each image submitted. Do not omit the Image Identification List or your application will be incomplete.

All applications must be submitted digitally through the CaFÉTM online system. Link to the online application via http://www.callforentry.org/ to view the full application requirements.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The artist will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• Quality of concept, design and craftsmanship of past works.


• Visual and technical sophistication.


• Creativity of approach.
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• Connection to tribal nations that have an artistic connection to this territory and Coast Salish cultures.


• The ability to produce durable outdoor art.


• A proven ability to coordinate and collaborate with project managers and design professionals.


• Demonstrated ability to complete projects on time and within budget.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is committed to reflecting the diversity and cultural richness of our city in the selection of artists and artworks. References provided as part of this application will be contacted prior to artist interviews.

SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process will take place in two parts. During the first round, a panel of arts professionals, client representatives 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 to three weeks later. The panel will select one artist or artist team to be awarded the commission.

NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS
Artist finalists will be notified in January and be asked to interview two weeks after they are notified (date to be determined).

All artists will be notified of the selection panel’s decisions by late February 2013. The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs reserves the right not to select any of the applicants.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP
Please contact Kelly Pajek, public art project manager, at kelly.pajek@seattle.gov or (206) 684-7311.

If you are applying using CaFE for the first time we suggest applying in advance of the application deadline to allow for formatting of your images and uploading of all required application requirements.