NCAPACD calls for volunteers
The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (NCAPACD) is seeking volunteers for their 2022 Seattle convention on July 11-13! The NCAPACD helps AAPI communities all over the country by publishing research that highlights issues within low-income AAPI communities, advancing national policy agenda which promotes social justice, and providing education and training. If you would like to volunteer or attend this convention, check out the links below:
National CAPACD 2022 Building CAPACD Convention – National CAPACD
CALL FOR ARTISTS | REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
CALL FOR ARTISTS | REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
South Jackson Street Under I-5 Community Art Wall Project
The South Jackson Street Wall Project will develop a community-based, meaningful, aesthetically imaginative, high- quality public art mural that spans 8th Ave and 10th Ave S. along S. Jackson Street, underneath the I-5 freeway.
Project Description:
InterIm Community Development Association and the I-5 Art Wall Steering Committee invite artists to submit qualifications to help the Chinatown-International District develop an integrated conceptual art plan on the retaining wall along the north side of S. Jackson Street underneath the I-5 Freeway. The art piece will be installed on a concrete retaining wall divided into 42 “panels” with steel beams. We will want the selected applicant to work with residents, youth, community members, and the artist selection committee to develop a community-based theme that will be utilized to create the public art piece. The artist will also develop the process in which we will select up to five other artists to work on this project. This project can potentially extend and connect to a larger project as part of the activation and beautification of the I-5 underpass at Jackson St and 8th/10th Avenue South.
Project Background:
Creating artwork on the South Jackson Street wall was part of the recommendations that came from a conceptual plan for the area underneath the I-5 freeway completed in 2021. The Friends of I-5 Freeway decided to move forward with this project after discussing this in late 2021.
Eligibility & Selection Criteria:
We are seeking a person or team who meets the following qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience with public
- Aesthetic excellence in the design and execution of completed
- Ability to design, fabricate, install and/or oversee the fabrication and installation of commissioned work.
- Consider the physical constraints of the site, installation permitting requirements, and resistance to vandalism.
- Ability to apply a racial justice lens and an understanding of the cultural and historical context of the Chinatown-International District (Japantown and Little Saigon) to the process and final product.
- Engage the community at least in the conceptual phase of the
- Ability to organize and work with other artists
- Ability to work with an existing steering committee comprised of community
Project Budget:
The selected applicant(s) will receive $5,000 to work with the community on developing a community-based art theme, working with community stakeholders, developing an artist selection process, and working with the other selected artists in creating the design and installing our South Jackson Street art project. The selected artist will have a $10,000 budget for the other artists involved in the project and an additional $7,000 for material expenditures.
Project Timeline:
Phase 1 – Artist Search
August 5: Deadline for submission of artist qualifications
August 12: Steering Committee selects 2-3 finalists
August 17-19: Finalists present concepts/fabrication models/panels to Steering Committee for review
August 21: Final artist selected via evaluation rubric; artists notified with the committee and public feedback
Phase 2 – Design Development: September
Phase 3 – Implementation: October – December
Phase 4 – Unveiling/Opening Celebration: January 2023
Historical context:
The I-5 freeway is part of a larger American story – surbanization, the cold war, the lobbying powers of the automobile, concrete, and rubber industries, the destruction of inner-city transportation systems, and urban renewal. Throughout that history, freeways were designed to link urban centers throughout the US; however, communities of color mainly shouldered the brunt of these capital projects, as these projects often created, for the most part, unintended negative impacts on these communities.
The creation of the I-5 freeway cleaved the International District in half, displacing 100’s housing units. The highway also created, what many would consider, an ugly concrete barrier between the eastern and western parts of the neighborhood. In addition, the emissions produced by automobiles have created poor air quality for the community, leading to many health maladies for the community’s residents. In comparison, when the I-90 freeway was built, the State and Federal governments mitigated the project by making a tunnel and park for the Mercer Island residents.
In 1997, the International District utilized public stadium mitigation funds to design and paint the I-5 freeway columns. The community used input from the nascent Little Saigon community to alternate the painting from red to a combination of yellow and red. The project developed from the need to improve the pedestrian circulation between Chinatown/Japantown in the ID and Little Saigon. In addition, the project served as a gateway between the two communities.
The Friends of I-5 has been created to improve the areas underneath the I-5 freeway. We are planning to repaint the Jackson Street columns this year. In addition, we have developed this Request For Qualifications soliciting proposals to create a mural on the Jackson Street retaining wall.
How to Apply:
This is a request for qualifications. No specific proposals for artwork will be accepted at this time. Applications must include all of the following for consideration:
- Artist’s statement of interest, considering the cultural and historical context of the site (1 page)
- Resume(s) of artist(s)
- Three professional references
- Submit digital materials as a pdf attachment via email or provide a link to the website or portfolio
- Self-addressed stamped envelope for return of materials (if sending physical materials)
- 5 to 10 images with a max size of 2MB 72dpi. Up to 2 of 10 work samples may be video work, edited to 2:00 max, in Quicktime format or available on YouTube or Please label your images by name and number in the following format: LastName_01, LastName_02, etc.
Email Qualifications to: tim@interimcda.org
Subject: South Jackson Street/I-5 Art Wall Application Mail Qualifications to:
InterIm CDA c/o Thomas Im
P.O. Box 3363
Seattle, WA 98114
Deadline: August 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Just Economy
On June 13th and 14th our Advocacy and Policy Program Manager, Derek Lum, will be attending the Just Economy Conference. The Just Economy Conference is the premier gathering of people who want to create opportunities for people, and communities, to build wealth in an equitable manner. Conference attendees represent the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and its grassroots members. Attendee’s come from organizations that are working toward a more just and inclusive economy. These can include government, nonprofits, CDA’s, CDFI’s, unions, amongst others. Some topics covered include the racial wealth gap, affordable housing, small business survival, development, displacement, and more.
A Different Mirror: Community Building & Resilience in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District
Watch our first episode here: A Different Mirror: Kau Kau BBQ
I-5 Activation Project
We would like to share information that was completed in 2021 with our I-5 Steering Committee on the I-5 Activation Project.
Uncle Bob's Place Invitational Call for Artists
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:
- Artist contact information with email, phone, and pronouns
- Application Please limit your response to approximately 3500 characters or fewer. Please address:
- How your creative practice relates to public art themes of Uncle Bob’s
- Relevant past community-based work
- Your personal involvement and/or connection with the C-ID community and community organizations
- Your general approach to this project
- Biographic information: briefly describe yourself and your artistic accomplishments
- Submit up to 6 images (and no fewer than 4) of relevant work
- Image identification list including title, year created, medium, commission amount (if applicable), and brief
- 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.
Domestic Violence Housing First: A Celebration of What We're Learning!
InterIm CDA Denounces Anti-Asian Violence
We, at InterIm CDA, are deeply saddened to hear of the horrific events in Atlanta, GA that left 8 people murdered including 6 members of the Asian Pacific Island community. Our deepest condolences to the victims’ families and friends.
As attacks on the API community increase, we need to highlight the depth of white supremacy and racism that humanized the shooter as “having a bad day” while framing the massage parlors as “temptation” to “eliminate”. This sexualization of Asian women is even more abhorrent in the light of the recent Stop AAPI Hate report that more than twice as many women are victims than men. We stand against misogyny and the stigma of earning a living in massage parlors. We respect all forms of work that our community engages in.
We want to lift up the sentiments aptly expressed by our sister organizations:
If you experience or witness a hate crime, please contact our friends at CISC and tell them about it by calling or emailing as follows:
Cantonese-粵語/English: (425) 240-5825
Mandarin-普通话/English: (206) 393-2110
Russian/English: (425) 326-9497
Spanish-Español/English: (425) 598-5436
Vietnamese/English: (206) 235-4372
Email: antihb@cisc-seattle.org
If you are in need of mental health support, please contact ACRS: (206) 695-7600.
We, as a social justice organization, need to support our Brown and Black brothers and sisters. We need to unite the ‘beloved community’ against all forms of violence, white supremacy and xenophobia.
Once again, our deepest condolences to these victims’ families and friends.
InterIm CDA solidarity statement
InterIm Community Development Association (ICDA) stands in solidarity with this weekend's protests around Black Lives Matter and with every black community seeking justice around the criminal justice system and other matters. The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop have brought our country's profound anti-blackness into full view. These incidences have caused us to reflect upon the anti-blackness that exists within our own community.
We are committed to the fight for true equity in every measure of life for the Black community. As a broad Asian and Pacific Islander community, we have benefitted from the civil rights struggles and other efforts of the African American community. In the early fights of the 20th century to protect and preserve our neighborhood, the Black community stood by us when we needed help. As an organization rooted in the Chinatown International District, we recognize that there has been a long history of black residents and business owners as being an integral part of our community. This was part of the work that Uncle Bob did with the Gang of Four. Currently, many black people live in or visit the CID daily. We must never forget this.
We will do work to reckon with our anti-blackness, as an organization and in our community advocacy. We are committed to fighting Institutional Racism and fighting for Racial Equity, as well as following racial justice principals in our Internal and Program work in all area's, including Homelessness Prevention, Housing Development, WILD Youth, Resident Services, Policy and Advocacy, The Danny Woo Garden, Employment Navigation, and Food Security.
Finally, we encourage everybody to donate to Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesseattle.org/bail-fund/. We encourage you to do what is possible in your personal capacity.