Request for Artist Qualifications: City of Issaquah Miyawaki Forest Artwork

The City of Issaquah invites artists/artist teams to submit their qualifications for consideration to create artwork and interpretive signage for the City’s Miyawaki Forest Project. The selected artist/artist team will work with the City of Issaquah to create artwork that complements and enhances the forest project. 

Issaquah’s Miyawaki Community Forest is located at 190 NW Dogwood Street, Issaquah, WA 98027. It is an urban reforestation project located on a 3000 square foot plot of land set in the Old Town Issaquah neighborhood, next to Issaquah Creek. It is on a relatively quiet street where neighbors often take walks and pass by on the sidewalk in front of the forest site. More information about the site can be found here. 

The Miyawaki Forest is used by a diverse group of community members including neighbors; Green Issaquah and Issaquah Aps Trails club volunteers; students from Gibson Ek High School and other local schools; UW students majoring in Forestry, Botany, and Sustainable Urban Planning; adults and youth interested in plants, gardening, and climate change resilience.  

Artwork Requirements:  
There are two components of the artwork to be created:  
1) a welcoming entryway public art feature and 2) an interpretive sign (artist responsible for sign design only, the City will fabricate and install the sign). The selected artist or artist team will work with City of Issaquah staff to ensure a cohesive design between the overall project and accompanying public art. Art shall require limited maintenance and withstand the area’s climate.

Entryway:  
 

• Welcoming entryway artwork to be designed of natural wood, and if possible, incorporate found wood or branches from the 2024 Issaquah Bomb Cyclone.
• Ideally, artwork will have a rustic quality – resourcefully using natural materials, while understanding the need for non-wood elements for structural purposes and anchoring.
• Entryway artwork should embody a welcoming spirit that invites people walking by to enter the forest and spend some tranquil time among native trees and plants. It should evoke the feeling of a threshold, where you leave the urban to enter the world of a native forest.

Interpretive Sign:  

• The city will collaborate closely with the artist and provide the text content for the sign, with artist responsible for graphics and design that tie to the entryway artwork. Artist is responsible for graphic design only. The city will cover fabrication and installation of the sign.

The following materials should be submitted via Café at this link. All submissions must be received no later than 5:00 PM on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. 

• Letter of interest indicating your vision and approach for the project (limit one page).
• A resume/CV with qualifications. If submitting as an artist team, the team must submit a resume for each team member.
• Two professional references with current contact information.
• Visual support materials of previous public artwork, creative projects or concepts  
  (10 images max)

Artist Qualifications/Eligibility: 

Applicants must live in Washington State. 

Applicants to this call may be working artists, designers, landscape architects, etc. 

Selection Criteria:

The artist will be selected on the basis of the following criteria: 

Proven ability to coordinate and collaborate with project managers, design teams and community members on creative projects; 

Quality and strength of artwork/creative projects as demonstrated in application materials.