Downtown Emergency Service Center
Deadline: 10/13/2023, 5 PM
Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) desires an experienced artist or graphic designer, familiar with mural installation and/or high definition digital artwork creation, to complete one or more of the following scopes. DESC desires an artist or graphic designer with strong connections to the Burien community. Call is open to all artists and preference will be given to artists with strong ties to the Burien community. These murals will be permanent art installations and we want to bring recognition to the vibrant and talented artists of the Burien community. As this building serves individuals who are exiting chronic homelessness, it is DESC’s hope that the mural creator(s) will demonstrate a keen understanding or a desire to learn more about how homelessness can affect people experiencing it and communities as a whole. Artists or graphic designers may use this RFQ to apply for Mural 1, Mural 2, or both Mural 1 AND Mural 2.
Timeline:
Qualifications Due: October 13, 5 PM
Install: March 2024 (see RFQ link under “how to submit” for more timeline details)
Artist Stipend for Designs: $2,500 (for digital or photographed art to be printed) – $5,000 (for mural design only, installation budget will be requested from those who are invited to submit designs)
How to submit: Please submit your responses + images to the emails listed on page one of the DESC RFQ posted here.
About Downtown Emergency Service Center: DESC is a nonprofit organization with a mission to end chronic homelessness in our community. DESC provides shelter, emergency housing, permanent supportive housing, intensive case management, supportive services, and behavioral health crisis response and outpatient treatment services to some of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in the Seattle area. DESC is a leader in the field, an innovator of the Housing First model, and recipient of numerous awards for its innovative behavioral health programs and housing developments for people with complex needs. Today, DESC owns and manages nearly 1,500 units of supportive housing throughout Seattle and has four projects currently under development in Burien and Seattle.
Project Details: DESC Burien Permanent Supportive Housing is aimed at addressing the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in our region using an innovative and comprehensive approach which combines housing with on-site support services. When construction is complete, this site will permanently house 95 individuals exiting homelessness, with 25 units dedicated to U.S. military veterans and 29 units reserved for people experiencing homelessness in the City of Burien. The first floor of the building is designed with a front reception space where building staff are present 24/7 for tenants, a kitchen out of which staff serve meals twice a day, lounge spaces, group activity spaces, private rooms for individual meetings with case managers, a medical office, and an exterior courtyard for use by tenants.
Housing Developer Julie Nordgren and Field Manager Jared O’Dell manage the construction of DESC Burien with assistance from Housing Development Coordinator Akhil Arun and Construction Coordinator Christopher Ledestich, and oversight from Director Sondra Nielsen. SMR Architects provide design services and Absher Construction is the general contractor.
DESC has partnered with a local company, Overall Creative, which will provide consultation to DESC during this RFQ process. DESC is also may use Overall Creative’s services to assist the selected artist in the actual application of the mural to the building, obtaining a business license, and/or obtaining appropriate insurance as required. A question in the last portion of this RFQ will ask candidates to indicate their need for these additional services from Overall Creative.
Mural 1 – Painted West Elevation:
Description:
Open to both muralists and digital designers, regardless of painting experience. Mural 1 will be a 1,865 square foot painted permanent art piece applied to Hardie panel on the west side of the DESC Burien building. The west façade will face Ambaum Avenue and be very visible to the surrounding community. DESC has prepared an “inspiration board” that shows how it hopes to feature themes that the mural might capture (see Exhibit A). The City of Burien Art Commission must approve the design for this mural.
Scope:
- Compose art design appropriate for the size of the building (see measurements in Exhibit B) and that incorporates themes of community, equity, and home (see Exhibit A).
- Ability to work closely with DESC, the City of Burien Art Commission, and Overall Creative to settle on a final art design. If two artists are selected (one for the painted mural and one for the digital mural), DESC will expect artists to work with Overall Creative to make sure both art pieces are thematically consistent.
- Artists who propose to install work must maintain trade contractors’ insurance requirements described in Exhibit C. Artists who do not propose to install art will not be required to maintain insurance.
Mural 2 – Digitally Printed Aluminum Panels
Description:
Mural 2 will be an art piece printed onto exterior aluminum ALTO panels which will be placed in lieu of siding on the Level 1 northeast corner of the building. In total, the piece will be 564 square feet and will surround the storefront windows near the front door. This art will be easily seen by pedestrians and drivers on 8th Avenue SW and SW 150th Street. The City of Burien Art Commission must approve the final design for this artwork.
Scope:
- Compose art design appropriate for the building’s size (see measurements in Exhibit B) and incorporate themes of community, equity, and home (see Exhibit A).
- Ability to coordinate with DESC, the City of Burien Art Commission, and Overall Creative to settle on a final art design. If two artists are selected (one for the painted mural and one for the digital mural), DESC will expect artists to work with Overall Creative to make sure both art pieces are thematically consistent.
- Work with art production company of DEC’s choice to coordinate printing.
- Selected artist will have the option to provide artwork either in digital vector format or physical artwork that can be photographed or scanned at the largest size and resolution possible.
- Requirements if digital artwork – a vector file is optimum as enlargement is unlimited; whether vector (paths) or raster (pixels); the file needs to be at a minimum of 150 dpi at FILL-SCALE. There must be no pixelation at 100%.
- Requirements if physical artwork – Must be created with the mural format in mind; must be created as LARGE as possible; painting will need to be photographed/scanned at the largest possible size and resolution possible; art that can be vectorized is ideal (solid areas of color, clean lines).
- Ability to provide a preliminary budget and materials list reflecting the scope of the initial concept design. (For Mural 1 – if awarded, artists will be provided with a $5,000 design fee to produce artwork. Budget for installation and execution is separate from design fee. Artist to provide a clear estimate to capture time and materials required to executive Mural 1. Please include any material lists as required.) (For Mural 2 – if awarded, artist will be provided with a $2,500 design fee to produce artwork. Please include any material lists as required.)
For much more information on this project, click here.