Artist Karen Betts, known in the Twin Cities for her sign and window painting, sits on a bench in downtown Chehalis in 2018 that she painted as part of the city’s effort to spruce up Market Street. Betts wanted her bench to represent the Chehalis and Chinook Native American tribes.
The Chehalis Community Renaissance Team (CCRT) is seeking local artists and their designs to complete the third round of Chehalis beatification by painting benches that will be placed around the city.
“These visual projects are a signal to our guests that we take pride in our downtown. A touch of color and whimsy can go a long way,” said Annalee Tobey, executive director of the CCRT.
The CCRT initiated this project of bringing more original art to the downtown area in 2018 with the goal of making art a part of people’s daily lives and making Chehalis more beautiful. The project has seen success in the past two years by incorporating more art into the downtown area on benches and electrical boxes.
“The art benches have provided a great opportunity for our local artists to share their talents with the community and add color and interest downtown,” Tobey said.
The CCRT is asking artists to submit up to three original design ideas that will eventually be painted on a bench. The designs must meet a few requirements by being specific to a few themes chosen by the CCRT. Themes include: railroads, nature, area history, wildlife, western, agriculture, local culture, ChehalisFest, and UFOs/Kenneth Arnold’s flying saucer sighting.
The artists do not need to have prior experience but must possess the skills necessary to design a visually-appealing bench. The chosen artists will be paid $250 for each bench, up to three benches, that they design and paint. The bench will be provided by the CCRT but the artists will be responsible for all supplies required to paint it and the transportation of the bench after it is complete.
Interested artists should submit a profile by March 20, 2020, that includes: basic information: name, mailing address, phone number, and email; artist profile: short biography outlining experience as an artist — including a concept and vision for your bench design; artist skills and qualifications: specific skill set and qualifications to create this artwork; artist reference and experience: a minimum of three, but no more than five, examples of your artwork in PDF or JPEG format.
Profiles and questions can be sent to Annalee Tobey at info@expereincechehalis.com. The selected artists will be announced on April 3, 2020.
“It makes my day to see folks taking a selfie on a bench, or parents and kids stopping to look at the details,” Tobey said about the current benches that are placed in downtown Chehalis.
