Uncle Bob’s Place Invitational Call for Artists: Balcony Railing Panels and Temporary Mural Artwork

Applications Due Monday, November 29, 2021, 11:59 pm Pacific Time

Uncle Bob’s Place Art Committee (UBP-AC) aspires to engage a diverse range of up to 17 artists from a variety of media to conceptualize and create fabrication-ready artwork for 12 residential balconies and 5 mural artworks at Uncle Bob’s Place (UBP).

Introduction, Uncle Bob’s Place

Uncle Bob’s Place is a mixed-use housing project being developed by InterIm CDA (https://interimcda.org/) in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID). It is named after our beloved and distinguished community leader, Bob Santos (1934–2016), and continues a vision that celebrates an ongoing sense of community, self-determination, stability, and vibrancy. Public Art at UBP will lend a sense of meaning, beauty, and joy; and will uplift the story of Uncle Bob and the importance of community and be an integrated part of the building.

InterIm CDA is grateful to the Bob Santos family for entrusting us with his name and the awesome privilege of honoring and carrying forward his legacy at Uncle Bob’s Place.

Scheduled for completion in early 2023, the building will include:

• 126 low-income units that provide permanent homes for families with children, elders, and others;
• A reimagined Bush Garden Restaurant, a cherished legacy business and Uncle Bob’s favorite karaoke bar;
• The Bob Santos Community Room, a space for organizing, education, events, and more;
• A residential Community Room

Guiding Principles for Public Art at Uncle Bob’s Place

Art at Uncle Bob’s Place will inspire activism and advocacy to preserve and protect the people and culture of the CID community, centered on a social justice narrative. It will stand as a reminder that each of us can make a difference. At its heart, this effort seeks to pay homage to Uncle Bob, the person, by carrying forward both his and the community’s legacy.

• The power of storytelling, community organizing, and solidarity across ethnicities
• Person to person relationships as the cornerstone for community organizing
• The power of solidarity across ethnicities
• The importance of mentoring future generations of activists
• How community history lives to inform and inspire today’s actions and provide clarity for envisioning the future
• Inspire and foster ongoing activism and advocacy for the CID community
• Maintaining the CID as a home for low income, elderly, immigrants, refugees, workers, and other marginalized groups
• Recognize the international connections of local social justice struggles
• Amplifying personal and historic connections to the CID

Artists are invited to apply to both (2) projects.

1) Metal Balcony Railing Panel Artwork

Uncle Bob’s Place Art Committee (UBP-AC) aspires to engage a diverse range of up to 12 artists from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, aesthetic direction, and working media to conceptualize and create fabrication-ready artwork for 12 residential balconies at Uncle Bob’s Place (UBP). These balconies will be made of cut aluminum panels, all made in a red color.

Aside from the themes and goals for all the public artwork, specific themes for the balcony railing artwork include:

• The power of storytelling of the history of the CID
• Reflect layers of migration, history and diversity of those who inhabit and have inhabited the neighborhood
• Personal and historic connections to the CID shown through cut metal images
• The international connections of local social justice struggles
• Engaging with community, affiliated organizations for inspiration about the artwork

THIS PROJECT HAS AN ACCELERATED TIMELINE AND WILL REQUIRE A VERY FAST ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTION PROCESS.

Project Rendering:

UBP Balcony Scope of Work:

Selected Artists Will:

• Complete and submit a memorandum of understanding before work begins
• Research, develop, and present visual concepts related to desired themes of UBP
• Work in collaborative dialogue with the other selected artists and UBP-AC
• Work within the technical requirements for cut metal and safety codes
• Submit fabrication-ready artwork as a two-dimensional black and white drawing/digital file of the correct proportions/scale for each balcony as required by deadlines
• Provide a final artist statement related to final creation, and optional contact information (web address, social handles, etc) for publicity related to the UBP
• Be paired with a community organization that was important to Uncle The organization will provide a “creative brief” containing inspirational stories, words, images from which to draw.

Material Constraints:

• Material is perforated/cut metal, coated in a red powder coating
• UBP-AC will work with one fabricator to maintain production consistency
• There will be 2 sizes of balcony Though final sizes will be confirmed for selected artists, the approximate sizes are as follows: Street-facing panels will be 3’-6” tall by 7’-10” wide or 7’-0” wide. Side railings will be 3’-6 1/2” tall by 2-1” wide or 1’-6” wide., depending on the location. (Final dimensions subject to change)
• Maximum opening or negative space in balcony material is 4 inches, per
• Art is subject to review by the International Special Review District Board (ISRD)

Timeline (dates subject to change):

November 29, 2021          Artist applications due

December 6, 2021            Panel selects artists

January 15, 2022               Selected artists submit initial designs March 1, 2022      Final designs due to fabricators

Early Summer 2022          Anticipated balcony installation

2) Mural Artworks

A 2-part project to create 1 of 5 images that will make up a large temporary exterior mural and will also be made into an interior artwork for the elevator lobby of each of 5 residential floors. The 2 parts will be created using digital reproductions of the same image, but at differing scales. The temporary large exterior mural will include a combined image of the 5 artists’ work, while each of the elevator lobbies are interior and will include only a single artist’s work, of a much smaller scale. Artists will be selected for one of the 5 opportunities that will include full color images expressing the ideas of justice, equality and cultural diversity, all values very important to Uncle Bob and his lifelong activism.

Artists will be asked to collaborate/coordinate with each other to develop “connections” between the images. These connections might be a visual through line, or where images might connect with adjacent images in some way, to allow the combined temporary mural to have cohesion as a whole, while maintaining the aesthetic personalities of each selected artist and artwork.

The scope of the project is to create artwork of a specific proportion that may be digitally reproduced at 2 different scales, either directly on the computer as a digital file or one that could be scanned or otherwise digitized.

Production of the mural and the work for the residential floors will be undertaken by the project.

PROJECT ILLUSTRATION:

The anticipated timeline for project completion is Summer 2022. Because the production lead times are still in flux, schedules might change:

UBP Murals Scope of Work:

Selected Artists Will:

• Complete and submit a memorandum of understanding before work begins
• Research, develop, and present visual concepts related to desired themes of UBP
• Work in collaborative dialogue with the other selected artists and UBP-AC
• Submit fabrication-ready artwork as a drawing/digital file of the correct proportions/scale as required by deadlines
• Provide a final artist statement related to final creation, and optional contact information (web address, social handles, etc) for publicity related to the UBP

Timelines:

November 29, 2021          Artist applications due

December 6, 2021            Panel selects artists

April 15, 2022                   Selected artists submit initial designs June 1, 2022 Final designs due to fabricators

Late summer 2022            Anticipated installation

BUDGET FOR EACH PROJECT:

Each selected artist will receive $3,000 Artist/Design Fee upon successful completion and delivery of project deliverables.

• $1,000 artist deposit with a signed contract
• $1,000 final design to fabricators
• $1,000 written statements, and public relation things all done

How to Apply:

Apply here: https://form.jotform.com/212857326539161 Eligibility:

Artists working in Washington State and Oregon, 18 years and older, are invited to apply.

Online Application to include:

1. Artist contact information with email, phone, and pronouns
2. Application Please limit your response to approximately 3500 characters or fewer. Please address:
   1. How your creative practice relates to public art themes of Uncle Bob’s
   2. Relevant past community-based work
   3. Your personal involvement and/or connection with the C-ID community and community organizations
   4. Your general approach to this project
   5. Biographic information: briefly describe yourself and your artistic accomplishments
3. Submit up to 6 images (and no fewer than 4) of relevant work
4. Image identification list including title, year created, medium, commission amount (if applicable), and brief
5. Indicate if you are applying for the Balcony project, the Mural or Please indicate whether you are able to meet the fast deadline for the Balcony project.

If you are unable to use the application form, please email us (UncleBobsArt@gmail.com) to make arrangements.

Selection Criteria:

Artists will be evaluated based on their artistic expression and how their work relates to the themes and focus of art at Uncle Bob’s Place. No previous experience with public art is necessary. UBP-AC will prioritize artists who reflect (through their work or lived experiences) the layered history of diverse peoples who have and continue to inhabit the CID and other historic communities of color in the greater Puget Sound area.

Artists must agree to meet all production deadlines.

What to Prepare Before Starting Your Online Application:

Written Material:

• Write and edit your written statements before starting the online The online application will NOT save working drafts. Note character counts.

Photographic Material:

• Check your digital images for clarity
• We suggest not submitting more than two images of the same Composite images are not recommended.
• Label photographic files with your last name and the submission image For example, Santos_1.jpg; Santos_2.png
• Provide an image identification list including title, year created, medium, commission amount (if applicable), and brief description as a low-resolution

.PDF file.

• Minimum width of any side is 1000 pixels
• File size limit is 10 MG per image
• The committee is not seeking sketches or final design ideas with this We wish to see your overall style and themes.

While the call above is our intention for the projects, the Uncle Bob’s Place Art Committee reserves the option to select fewer than the anticipated number of artists or to alter the intended scope of the project.

Uncle Bob’s Place Art Committee Members are here to support your successful application submission. Email UncleBobsArt@gmail.com with any questions. Include “Uncle Bob’s Place Balconies” in the subject line.