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Bellevue Arts Museum is seeking artists, designers, and makers of all kinds working in the Northwest (AK, BC, ID, MT, OR, and WA) to apply to the BAM Biennial 2021: Architecture & Urban Design (scheduled to open November 2021).

Entrants are invited to take a creative approach to architecture and urban design, investigate questions surrounding equity and the built environment during a pandemic, and to pursue the Biennial as an opportunity to push the boundaries of their vision and skill.

Submissions due through CaFÉ by January 1, 2021

With the Eastside being connected to Seattle through a light rail extension in 2023 and Amazon’s HQ2 project in downtown Bellevue, Bellevue Arts Museum—itself a signature and important piece of the architecture of King County—seeks to promote a discussion on the essential role of effective and equitable design in what seems to be an ever-expanding urban environment.

The events of 2020 have underlined that Western society’s assumptions around the utility and progression of the city are precisely that: only assumptions. They can be subject to the challenge of a pandemic, imperatives of long-ignored injustice, or the excessive imposition of state power. The upheavals of recent months have raised important questions about the way we think of architecture and urban design. Should sustainability and density be continually reassessed to respond appropriately to the issues of tomorrow? Are we striving to create places to live and work that aims to be harmonious, equitable, and true?

BAM BIENNIAL AWARD
Once the exhibition is mounted, BAM Curatorial staff will review the exhibition and award one recipient with a $1,500 cash prize plus the opportunity for a solo exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum within two years.

2021 JURORS
Once the application deadline has closed, a panel of five jurors will convene to review entries and select artists to participate in the exhibition.
James Garrett Jr., Managing Partner, 4RM+ULA
Benedict Heywood, Executive Director & Chief Curator, Bellevue Arts Museum
Simba Mafundikwa, Architectural Designer, GGLO Design
Christopher Shaw, Engineer/Artist, Design and Creative
S Surface, King Street Station Program Lead, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

ELIGIBILITY & SUBMISSION MATERIALS
Eligibility will be limited to artists currently residing, working, or studying in the Pacific Northwest region, which for the scope of this exhibition will include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and British Columbia. Artists may be of any age and at any level of recognition or stage in their artistic careers. Artists with a range of backgrounds and experience—emerging and established—are strongly encouraged to apply.

Artists will be required to submit the following materials in digital form by the entry submission deadline via the CaFE platform:
• $20 application fee
• 3-20 digital files representing your work. A minimum of three images is required. Depending on the nature of the work, up to three video files and up to five audio files can also be included. The maximum total number of files allowed on any application is 20. Files should represent past work with an emphasis on recently completed projects.

Plus upload each of the following documents:
• Project proposal description up to 500 words
• Up-to-date resume
• Checklist of digital images (see below for detailed information)
• Any supporting documentation, such as drawings or sketches

Proposals may be as loosely or succinctly defined as the artist desires. Artists are encouraged to submit the maximum number of images to show a cohesive body of work.

Please label images with artist’s last name and a sequential number; for example, if your name is John Smith, your images will be labeled “Smith 01,” “Smith 02,” and so on. Please also provide a checklist with images—including title, date, materials, size of the work pictured, and photo credit—for each work.

ABOUT THE BAM BIENNIAL
In 2010, Bellevue Arts Museum launched the BAM Biennial, a juried exhibition which focused on the work of established and emerging Northwest artists, craftspeople, and designers, with an emphasis on new work. Every two years, Bellevue Arts Museum designated a new focus of exploration, be it a specific medium, technique, process, or theme in art, craft, and design. In 2018, it was decided that the fifth edition in the series, BAM Biennial 2018: BAM! Glasstastic, would be the last Biennial to focus on a single given material. After five different media—fiber, clay, wood, metal, and glass—the next five Biennials will instead be examining specific fields and areas of studies within the realm of art, craft, and design.

The 2021 BAM Biennial will kick off this new format—marked by a gap year in the Biennial’s schedule—by inviting designers, artists, and makers of all kinds to submit proposals for an exhibition at BAM that interrogates the fields of architecture and urban design.

https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=8129

Opportunity Website

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