The city is putting in a power substation on the site of the old Greyhound station at Denny and Pontius to serve the growing South Lake Union and the Denny Triangle. They announced they're seeking an artist to develop permanent, site-integrated artwork for the substation. It might be putting lipstick on a pig, but a pig with lipstick is better than one without it. To be fair, the design is in its early stage, and no one knows what the substation will look like. Calandra Childers, a spokesperson for the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs emailed us with more details.
Childers says "At this point we don't know yet if the substation will be completely underground, if elements of it will be above ground, or if it will be all out in the open – that's part of the process that the artist will be involved in. Our intention at the end of the project is to have created a work (or works) of art that engage the viewer and expand the public's experience of the environment."
According to a press release, the art – which comes out of the city's arts fund –will run $300,000, $60,000 for the artist to design it and $240,000 to fabricate and install the work. Stay tuned. Applications are due by Nov. 2. We'll see if the art there will be, err, electric.
Photo Credit: City of Seattle.
— Kery Murakami
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