Call For Artists: Art Panel Wraps, City of Bellevue Arts Program

Due: April 28, 2025, midnight PDT

Budget: $8,000 for design

Opportunity: The City of Bellevue seeks an artist or artist team to design artwork for a series of nine large art panels along a retaining wall in the BelRed Arts District. This opportunity is open to all active visual artists living in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties in Washington State and working in any medium that can be digitally reproduced on a 2D vinyl wrap. The final selected artist or artist team will be required to license their artwork in a digital vector format for the city to reproduce. The city will manage production and installation. Please note that this is a request for qualifications. Artists will be evaluated based on their prior work and are asked not to create new artwork proposals in response to this call. 

About the Call: The goal of this call is to provide opportunities to local artists that will help bring character, intrigue, and beauty to the BelRed Arts District. This call will wrap all nine 7’ x 7’ art panels that span a 675’ long retaining wall on 124^th Ave NE. 

The theme of this call is water. The location of the retaining wall is in the West Tributary Basin, where several types of fish are present, including Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Cutthroat Trout, some of which are endangered. More broadly, the City’s Public Art Collection Vision states: “The Bellevue Public Art Collection aims to be a leading platform and community resource for cultural exchange and creative inspiration through art. The collection enhances the experience of Bellevue’s public places, fosters community pride and belonging, raises the discourse on the defining aspects of Bellevue’s civic life, and explores the diverse identities and converging cultures of our residents, creative sectors, and the interplay between nature and the urban experience.”

The city will also request that each of the nine panels be cohesive but not replicate the same designs repeatedly. Artists will be required to follow additional general design guidelines; please refer to these at the end of the call, along with more details about the project site. 

Eligibility: This call is open to all active visual artists living in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties in Washington State. Applicants must attest to delivering their final designs in a vector format.

Project Timeline (Please note that dates are tentative and subject to change)

Application Requirements 

• Artist Application: Complete all required fields in the online application, including your primary location, artistic medium, and the items below.
• Artist Bio: Summarize your background as well as artistic influences, training and significant achievements.
• Example Artwork: Submit up to five (5) images of example work. This call is a request for qualifications, so please do not submit proposals.
• Resume (optional)

How to Apply: Complete the online application by midnight on April 28. All applications will be collected on SurveyMonkey Apply unless other arrangements are made by April 21. 

Selection Criteria and Process: Artists must meet eligibility requirements and submit complete applications. Artists will be selected based on the following criteria: artistic merit, craftsmanship, and connection to the theme of this call. Artists are encouraged to submit a range of work examples that address the theme of water, as well as broader aspects of nature. A panel of Arts Commissioners, community members and arts professionals will select artists based on the selection criteria. The City of Bellevue reserves the right not to choose any applicants.

General Design Guidelines

• The artist or artist team must supply an original artwork that can be digitally reproduced on a vinyl wrap. The final digital artwork must be in vector format to maintain quality while scaling to the large art panel size. 
• The artist or artist team must own all rights to images and content used in the artwork design. 
• The artwork must be visually complex (not contain large swaths of blank space or solid colors) to deter graffiti. 
• The artwork must be suitable for display in public spaces and viewing by a general audience, containing no text (including words, quotes, or letters), advertising, branding, or graphic depictions of violence or sexually explicit material (including nudity).  
• The artwork must not contain any representations of traffic lights, signs, or signals, and should not aim to confuse or endanger drivers and pedestrians. 
• The average lifespan of a vinyl wrap is typically 5 to 10 years. This time frame should be considered the general lifespan of the artwork.

Project Site: 124^th Ave NE and NE 16^th St (just east of the Safeway Ice Cream Plant). Please see the full call for images of the project site (link at the bottom of this page) 

Contact Us: For questions regarding the call, please contact Manette Stamm at (425) 452-4064, mstamm@bellevuewa.gov

For alternate formats, interpreters, or reasonable modification requests please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-4064 (voice) or mstamm@bellevuewa.gov.  For complaints regarding modifications, contact the City of Bellevue ADA, Title VI, and Equal Opportunity Officer at ADATitleVI@bellevuewa.gov.

Download the full call language here: https://bellevuewa.gov/sites/default/files/media/pdf_document/2025/call-for-artists-art-panel-wraps-2025_final.pdf