Deadline: June 7, 2023, 11:59 pm

Budget: $1,500 for 4 stamp designs

Call Summary

The City of Tacoma is seeking 3 artists to each design 4 digital artworks, which will be reproduced as large stamps to be applied to freshly poured concrete throughout the city. This project is designed to highlight the Tacoma Safe Routes to School (SRTS) partnership, which works to support and encourage students and families to safely walk and roll to school. This opportunity is open to visual artists living in the City of Tacoma, WA. The final designs must be delivered as vector files. The City will pay for and manage stamp production and installation.

Eligibility

• Applicant must live in Tacoma, WA  
• Applicant must be able to translate digital designs into vector files
• Applicant must be 18 years or older 
• Applicant cannot be a member of the Tacoma Arts Commission or an employee of the City of Tacoma
• Applicant cannot have created concrete stamp designs for the City of Tacoma previously

Art Opportunity

There is no theme to this call. Artwork should be graphic in nature, and circular in shape. The final designs will be fabricated at a size of 3’ across. Successful designs will spark joy, create visual interest, and be dynamic enough to capture the attention of those who walk and roll by. Artists will be selected based on past work only and should not submit design proposals in their application.

Selected artists will be asked to develop their design concept for 4 distinctive designs, submit initial design proposals for review by City staff and, if requested, provide revisions. The final artworks must be submitted as vector files. The City will be responsible for stamp production and installation. 

Stamps will be installed at Safe Routes to School projects near Manitou Park, Whitman, Edison, and Birney Elementary Schools and Lincoln High School. In addition to these locations, final stamp designs may be installed in other areas of Tacoma as street improvements are completed. 

Stamp Design Guidelines:

• Designs must be circular in shape, designed to be fabricated at 3’ across 
• Designs must be submitted in vector format
• Designs must be appropriate for display in public spaces and viewing by a general audience
• Designs cannot include vulgar, profane, prejudice, offensive, or insensitive content
• Designs cannot include political or religious content; any breach of intellectual property; trademarks; images of illegal activity; advertisements; logos; signage; promotion of any business, organization, individual, or product; or involve the attachment of objects to the boxes
• All designs will be subject to review and approval by City staff

Selection Criteria

Artists will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Artistic quality as exemplified in past work
• Ability to think and work in a graphic style 
• Ability to deliver designs in a vector format
• Artists with a connection to one or more of the school sites where stamps will be installed will be prioritized (Manitou Park, Whitman, Edison, and Birney Elementary Schools; Lincoln High School)
• Artists will be selected as a “cohort” meant to represent a diversity of styles and perspectives

Timeline (all dates subject to change)

June 7, 2023, 11:59pm Applications Due

June 23, 2023 Notification of Artist Selection 

July 17, 2023 Draft designs due

July 31, 2023 Final designs due as vector files

August – October 2023 Stamp production and installation

Questions? Contact Rebecca Solverson, rebecca.solverson@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-5564

The Tacoma Arts Commission invites Tacoma artists and creatives, working in all artistic disciplines and mediums, to apply for the Tacoma Studio Tour and/or Arts at the Armory. You only need to fill out this one application to be considered for either or both events. 

About the Tacoma Studio Tour

The Tacoma Studio Tour is an exciting opportunity to invite the public into your working studio or performance space, give demonstrations of how you make your work, or host a simple hands-on or interactive activity with the community. The emphasis of this tour is on raising visibility of artists and creatives and providing opportunities for the community to connect to the arts. Your working studio and/or a performance space must be located in Tacoma. A studio is defined as a location where artwork is created on a consistent basis. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in the Tacoma Studio Tour.

Studios will be open on Saturday & Sunday, October 14 & 15, 11 am – 5 pm. You can choose to be open on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. While not required, we encourage you to have work for sale; no commission will be taken on any sales and you will handle any sale of your work directly. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email communications, social media posts, and an interactive website and map. We will also produce a basic printed mailer for the Tacoma Studio Tour. Each participating artist and creative is required to actively promote the Tacoma Studio Tour to their own contacts; we will provide publicity materials for this use. 

This year, we will be continuing the Studio Tour Passport program as an incentive for people to visit new and/or multiple studios. Each studio space will receive a unique stamp to indicate guests’ attendance. You are encouraged, but not required, to donate a small art item that can be included in the prize packages.

About Arts at the Armory

Arts at the Armory is an arts market for Tacoma-based artists and creatives who would like to share and/or sell their work with the community, side by side with other creatives, all under the roof of the Tacoma Armory. You are not required to provide a hands-on experience or demonstration at this event. There is no fee to apply and/or participate in Arts at the Armory.

The event will be held Saturday & Sunday, November 11 & 12, 11 am – 5 pm, inside the spacious Tacoma Armory (1001 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma). You can choose to participate on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. Participating artists and creatives will be assigned a maximum of a 10’x10’ space (table and chair provided, if requested in advance), where they can share/demonstrate their work and talk about their creative practice with the general public. 

While not required, we encourage you to have work for sale; no commission will be taken on any sales and you will handle any sale of your work directly. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email communications and social media posts, as well as a printed postcard for Arts at the Armory. Each participating artist and creative is required to actively promote Art at the Armory to their own contacts; we will provide publicity materials for this use. 

You will be responsible for setting up, being present, staffing, and tearing down your own space. All displays and set ups must be freestanding (no wall attachments allowed) and fit within the allotted space. You are not allowed to provide and/or sell food or beverages to the public, or have any open flames. 

Eligibility:

The following eligibility criteria applies for both the Tacoma Studio Tour and Arts at the Armory:

• You must live within the Tacoma city limits and/or your regular working studio or performance space must be located within the Tacoma city limits
• Your work must be created, performed, and/or handmade by you; not commercially acquired and/or      appropriated

If applying for the Tacoma Studio Tour and you would like to be a guest at another artist’s studio location, the eligibility guidelines listed above still apply. Each artist or creative in a group studio needs to submit their own application, work samples, and artist statement.

Creatives and artists who identify as members of the Global Majority; Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color (BBIPOC); African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, Native-American (ALAANA) communities; economically or socio-economically marginalized communities; LGBTQIA+ communities, and people living with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

Deadline for applications is Tuesday, July 25, 2023 by 11:59 pm. All applications will be reviewed by a sub-committee of the Tacoma Arts Commission and selected based on the quality of work and the overall variety of artistic disciplines and work represented. The Tacoma Studio Tour will also take into account geographic diversity of the studio locations. By applying for the Tacoma Studio Tour and/or Arts at the Armory, and if accepted, you are making a commitment to participate in the event(s), short of extreme life circumstances. 

Eligible artists and creatives interested in either of these opportunities must fill out this online application form.

Questions? Contact Naomi Strom-Avila at 253.591.5191 or nstrom-avila@cityoftacoma.org.