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Calling all Artists! – Seattle Bridge Residencies for 2016

Art commissioned by the City for the 2009 Bridge Talks Back event.

Art commissioned by the City for the 2009 Bridge Talks Back event.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), in partnership with the Office of Arts & Culture (Arts), is excited to announce two unique opportunities for artist residencies in 2016. Using the towers of two movable bridges as a canvas, the City is seeking an individual or team of artists for the following residencies:

Fremont Bridge writer/poet-in-residence

Summer 2016

This artist will produce a written piece and make a public presentation as homage to the 100th birthday of the Fremont Bridge, which opened on July 4, 1917. The Fremont Bridge crosses the Lake Washington Ship Canal, connecting the Fremont and Queen Anne neighborhoods in North Seattle. Opening an average of 35 times a day, it is one of the most frequently opened drawbridges in the United States, and also one of Seattle’s most colorful and beloved.

University Bridge lighting artist-in-residence

Summer 2016

The lighting artist(s) will work closely with SDOT staff and engineers to create a concept sketch and budget for future lighting on three of Seattle’s draw, or bascule, bridges: University, Fremont, and Ballard. The University Bridge spans Portage Bay, linking the University District with Eastlake neighborhood. The Ballard Bridge is located in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, and crosses the Lake Washington Ship Canal just before it opens to the Puget Sound.

More information will be available in early 2016 and will be commissioned with 1% for Art funds. In the meantime, you can read the blog of the Fremont Bridge last artist-in-residence (2009) at this link: http://thebridgereport.blogspot.com/.