By Ann McCreary
Methow Arts and the Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation (MSRF) are teaming up in a project that will turn junked cars pulled from the banks of the Methow River into public art.
Local artists are invited to submit proposals by Jan. 9, 2015, for site-specific outdoor public artwork for Rip Rap ’15, a public art initiative. Artwork will enhance fish restoration efforts on trail systems and in public places, with up to five site-specific artworks.
Eligible artists must reside in the upper Columbia region of north central Washington, according to a call for artist proposals from Methow Arts.
Artists will use as their medium vintage cars or parts from cars that will be removed along the Methow River. The project seeks freestanding pieces for installation along trails and in pubic places.
The selection panel is also open to creating spaces for kinetic sculptures or other installations that may invite visitors to discover off-trail areas, said the Methow Arts announcement.
The artwork will need to be weather-resistant, durable, easy to maintain and created with public safety in mind. Artwork must be able to withstand a year or more of exposure to the elements including “nesting birds and the occasional bear,” according to the call for proposals.
Interested artists should email Amanda Jackson Mott at amanda@methowartsalliance.org.
The cars and parts to be used in the public art initiative will be removed from the river early next spring by MSRF with funding from the state Department of Natural Resources.
The mostly mid-century rusting cars were originally placed to shore up the bank after floods stripped its vegetation in the middle of the last century. Over the years vegetation has grown up around the cars and they are no longer needed for their intended purpose.
