Call to Artists: Utility Box Art Call

This call is CLOSED as of April 7, 2025 at 4:00pm.

Call to Artists: “Kirkland Welcomes You” Utility Box Wraps 

Project Description 

The Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission (KCAC) seeks an artist or artist team to create one two-dimensional design to vinyl wrap one utility box set (the set has one larger and one smaller box). The design should be one piece of art that cohesively wraps around both boxes. The art for the set should be distinct and should embody the theme “Kirkland Welcomes You.” The art should reflect Kirkland’s diverse population, rich history, connected community and commitment to inclusion. The art should enliven the area and transform the street.  

City of Kirkland 

Kirkland, a city of approximately 97,000 in East King County, is known for its Lake Washington waterfront, vibrant downtown, parks, and public art collection. Kirkland is a diverse community with many immigrants; according to the US Census, 26 percent of the city’s households speak languages other than English at home.  

The City of Kirkland Supports Equitable Opportunities 

The KCAC, in alignment with the City Council, seeks to dismantle structural racism and inequities in Kirkland. The KCAC affirms that all people, their cultures, and their art contribute to the meaning and understanding of our shared humanity and should be honored and celebrated. The KCAC strives to proactively solicit and curate art that reflects the diversity of the Kirkland community, encourages a sense of belonging for all people, and supports the expression of historically marginalized communities. The art created by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color performs a unique role in our community and helps provide inspiration to resolve societal inequity and injustice. This important work of bringing equity to art is pivotal to the KCAC’s efforts to confront injustices of the past and reveal inequities of the present in order to build a more diverse, inclusive collection of public art, now and in the future. 

Artist Selection Process 

An art selection committee composed of members of the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission (KCAC), advised by city staff and other relevant stakeholders when appropriate, will make the artist selections for the utility box wrap call to artists. Artist selection will be based on the evaluation of written submissions. The committee may also conduct an interview process of all or selected submitting artists; however, it reserves the right to select an artist based only on the evaluation of written proposals. All proposals and interviews will be evaluated based on the Scoring Rubric Criteria (below) and committee deliberations. The committee will present its recommendations to the full KCAC for approval, with final approval of the selected artist provided by the Kirkland City Council.  

The KCAC reserves the right not to select any submissions received from this call for artists. Applicants should be prepared and available to present their submissions virtually during an interview process if selected. Submitting artists should note the potential interview dates for their scheduling purposes and must be able to meet the project timeline. 

Site and Requirements 

The City of Kirkland has identified the location of the existing boxes to be wrapped as the intersection of Lake Street and Kirkland Ave (‘the scramble’ intersection). The art for the set (one large and one small box) should be coordinated.  

The image below shows an example of the utility box set (one large and one small).  

The utility boxes are located next to an intersection in a busy pedestrian area, close to a beachfront park and downtown shopping. The intersection is a newly completed ‘scramble’ crossing where pedestrian activity is encouraged.  

The Lake Street Scramble project intersection of Lake Street and Kirkland Avenue is marked by the red dot in the image below:  

The image below depicts a street-view rendering of the Lake Street Scramble crossing:

• Statement of interest (no longer than one page) describing why the proposing artist(s) should be considered for this opportunity, a brief explanation of the proposed concept and how the concept, vision, and proposed work address this specific call.  

• Two (2) to five (5) digital images of work samples that demonstrate the artists’ capabilities, approach, and style. New renderings or concept sketches specific to this art call are not required but may be submitted if desired. 

• Brief artist(s)’ biography, resume or curriculum vitae (CV). If the applicant is a student, a letter of recommendation from an art teacher or art mentor will be accepted in lieu of a résumé. 

• IRS Form W-9 

• State of Washington Business License with City of Kirkland endorsement.