Bellingham city officials seek qualified artists to paint a mural along the new Birchwood Avenue underpass at Interstate 5.
The city will provide $70,000 for design, materials and installation of the mural, which would incorporate a 154-foot-long retaining wall and eight 24-foot pillars. The mural’s theme is fairly open-ended, and the city only seeks a statement of qualifications at this time. The artist or team of artists should show experience in large commissioned murals and provide a portfolio of past work to the city’s selection committee.
Applications are due by noon on Dec. 2 and should be submitted to Shannon Taysi at staysi@cob.org.
The city’s One Percent for Art program provided $5,000 for the anamorphic mural completed in 2019, in an alley between Holly and Magnolia streets in downtown Bellingham. (Ralph Schwartz/Cascadia Daily News)
Money for the project comes from Bellingham’s One Percent for Art program, begun in 2015 to boost the city’s artistic profile, attract tourists and discourage graffiti. The program requires that city construction projects with a budget above $2 million set aside 1% of that cost for artwork.
Past One Percent for Art projects include the Acid Ball at Waypoint Park, sidewalk art on Maplewood Avenue and the “NEVER ODD OR EVEN” anamorphic mural on the alley side of the parking garage on Commercial Street.
