As King County Metro transitions to a 100% zero-emissions fleet, they are expanding capacity at their South Campus in Tukwila to make room for approximately 250 battery electric buses. The South Annex Base (SAB) will be Metro’s first new permanent base in generations. Like the electric buses, the facility itself will prioritize sustainability in its design and building principles, including a large solar installation and net zero energy consumption.

4Culture and Metro have a long history of working together on public art projects. For SAB, both agencies collaborated with lead artists Haddad|Drugan (Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan) to develop three distinct art opportunities—all of which focus on developing artworks that represent and inspire both the surrounding community and the staff who will work at the base.

“We envision artworks integrated into a variety of sites, some more iconic from distant views and others more nuanced and experiential,” Haddad and Drugan have said. “We are excited about the potential for art to weave together stories about innovative sustainable practices, including electrification of the buses and restoration of Riverton Creek, to create a strong sense of place while also inspiring awareness about how the energy of transit can empower us.”

We encourage you to explore and share these opportunities! Applications are due Thursday, Sept. 26 at 4:00pm PDT.

Surface Treatments: This first opportunity is for two individual artists based in King County. Each artist will be asked to develop a distinct but complementary site-specific surface treatment design for one of two interior walls at SAB. This is a unique opportunity for emerging or mid-career artists who want to gain experience in the field of public art, bridging the gap between studio and public practice by translating their two-dimensional work into permanent media on a large scale. Learn more >>

Lobby Feature Wall: For this opportunity, we are seeking an individual artist or team of artists from Washington or Oregon to create an original surface treatment or low-relief artwork for the prominent feature wall in the lobby of the SAB administrative building. Learn more >>

Community Tables: Individual artists/designers or collaborative teams of artists and designers residing anywhere in the United States are invited to apply to develop a collection of functional tables that comfortably accommodate conversation and various collective activities at SAB. Learn more >>