Organizer Information
The Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) is a state agency formed by the Washington State Legislature in 1961, when House Bill 57 created a commission of governor-appointed members charged with advising the state on the beautification and cultural development of Washington. In 1974, ArtsWA established its Art in Public Places program (AIPP), which reserves one-half of one percent of the cost of new state building construction for art — a "percent-for-art" model that has since built the State Art Collection into one of the oldest and largest statewide public art collections in the country, with more than 5,000 works sited across roughly 1,300 buildings, including public schools, colleges, universities, and state facilities throughout nearly all of Washington's counties. Beyond public art, ArtsWA also administers grants to arts organizations, arts-in-education programs, and initiatives supporting tribal cultural affairs and creative districts statewide.
Title & Description
Call for Artists: Commission for University of Washington Seattle — Chemical Sciences Building (CSB) RFQ
ArtsWA and the University of Washington Seattle are seeking an artist or artist team to create engaging, unique, and contemporary public artwork for the university's new Chemical Sciences Building and its surroundings. The Art Committee is interested in work that evokes or reflects on the innovative, interdisciplinary research taking place within the building — including the transformative properties of chemistry — as well as artwork that responds to the surrounding natural and built environment. The artwork may be sited inside or outside the building, or both, and the selected artist will collaborate with the Chemical Sciences Building design-build team during the proposal stage.
Theme
Art and science, specifically the connection between artistic practice and the transformative properties of chemistry, along with the innovative, interdisciplinary research (including synthetic biology, polymer science, machine learning applications in molecular science, clean energy materials, and chemical catalysis) that will take place within the Chemical Sciences Building.
Categories
- Public Art
- Site-specific
- Visual Arts
- Sculpture
- Installation
- Design
Eligibility
- Open to established artists or artist teams residing in the United States or British Columbia
- ArtsWA and UW do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, or gender identity
- UW staff are ineligible
- Artists with current ArtsWA public art contracts are ineligible
Program Benefits & Awards
- Total artwork budget: $360,000
- Design contract: $35,000, covering travel and stamped structural engineering
- Commission contract (upon design approval): $325,000, covering all fabrication and installation costs, including sales tax and contingency
- Up to three funded site visits during the proposal/design process (some meetings may be held remotely)
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Statement of interest (limit 250 words) summarizing interest in the project and relevant experience with projects of similar scope
- Brief biography or artist statement (limit 250 words); artist teams may submit one statement per member
- Design process statement (limit 250 words) describing the applicant's approach to developing artwork in dialogue with an architectural design team
- Eight (8) images of past works, preferably created within the last 5 years, horizontal orientation preferred
- Brief description (1–2 sentences) for each image, including title, dimensions, materials, date, location, budget/cost, and commissioning entity if applicable
- Three (3) professional references (limit 250 words), including name, title, and contact information
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 30 July 2026
- Art Selection Committee review: August–September 2026
- Notification to selected artist: September–October 2026
- Design Phase: October 2026 – June 2027
- Fabrication Phase: July 2027 – October 2028
- Anticipated artwork installation: Fall/Winter 2028
Location
University of Washington, Seattle campus, United States
Additional Details
- The UW Art Selection Committee — made up of UW administrators, faculty, students, curators, and members of the Chemical Sciences Building design team — will review all submissions and may interview 2–3 finalists
- Evaluation criteria include clarity and distinctiveness of practice, potential to engage with the surroundings, technical skill, relevance to the vision for the CSB artwork, and willingness to work collaboratively
- If selected, the artist must travel to the project site up to three times, work within the fixed budget, maintain registration as a Washington State vendor, adhere to state permitting/licensing requirements including Prevailing Wage rules, and enter into contracts with ArtsWA, including paying applicable taxes
- The completed artwork becomes part of both the State Art Collection and the UW Campus Collection
- Late submittals will not be accepted; applicants are encouraged to submit well ahead of the deadline to avoid technical issues
- Accessibility assistance with the application is available through ArtsWA's Accessibility Coordinator; general project questions go to Janessa Post, Art in Public Places Project Manager (360-468-0889, janessa.post@arts.wa.gov)