City of Bellevue: Call for Portable Art
The City of Bellevue seeks to purchase portable artwork that exemplifies the mission of the Bellevue Art Collection. The maximum purchase price of selected artwork(s) per artist is $2,400. This call is open to all visual artists living in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Purchased artworks will be included in the Bellevue Art Collection and will eventually be located throughout city-owned and publicly accessible buildings and offices. The future locations of the artworks will be at the city's discretion.
Available two-dimensional visual art (drawings, mixed media, painting, photography, prints and textiles), electronic art (digital, film, new media and video) and small three-dimensional artwork (no larger than 18” in any direction) will be considered for purchase at this time. The artwork will enter a rotating portable works collection and artworks may need to be moved by one person. Artists may submit up to ten images of available work or up to five links if submitting electronic artworks. If two-dimensional, Bellevue will arrange and pay for framing, listening to advice from the artist once the artwork has been purchased. Framing, hanging and presentation costs will be managed completely by Bellevue staff and is not a part of the $2,400 maximum purchase price of an artwork.
This call is open to all active professional visual artists in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties in Washington. Artists must be able to deliver or arrange for delivery of artwork to Bellevue. Bellevue is a very diverse community. Diverse artists are highly encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline
The deadline is 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Please allow ample time to complete your application; applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Full Prospectus and application instructions available at: https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/community-development/arts-and-culture/public-art/call-portable-art
To be submitted via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This curated gallery within the larger festival premiered in 2018 and featured 17 sculptures by NWSSA members Cyra, Markos Weiss, Sabah Al-Daher, Ben Kimura, Tom Francis, Julie Pitman, Ed Salerno, Steve Sandry, Steve Rabago, Wakey Nelson, Woody Morris, Bob Olander, Mark Andrew, and Jocelyne Dodier. Ed Salerno and Sarah Tanksley were instrumental in helping organize and run the gallery as festival viewers were invited to don blindfolds and explore the sculptures by touch, guided either by one of the artists or by someone they trust. Our part of the show was a huge hit! Thousands of people interacted with our artworks and the Touch Gallery was hands down one of the favorite installations that year at SEAF. The show resulted in at least one sale.
I’ve been attending SEAF since its first year, and it is one of my favorite events specifically because I’ve never seen another art show where people are so excited about the art and spend so much time with it. At the galas, most everyone spends hours circling the exhibits, picking out and voting on favorites, sharing their opinions and discussing artwork with both friends and strangers. In my history with SEAF, I’ve been part of a team of invited installation artists in 2010 (we won the People’s Choice award that year for our peek-a-boo dollhouse), a juried artist for marble works in 2016, and an invited installation artist with Touch in 2018. This year I’m officially a Guest Festival Curator and will be partially curating the Touch Gallery with NWSSA members and partially jurying from SEAF submitters. We are limited to 12 pieces this year, and I encourage you to be a part of this! 
