Photographic Center Northwest and King County Metro are excited to launch a call for photographs that will activate and beautify bus shelters throughout King County. The theme, “Show Us Your World”, is intended to explore personal, cultural identity, community connection, and anything meaningful and important in your life. Consider submitting images that:

• Express cultural values and traditions
• Celebrate community
• Explore identity
• Document your world

This international call for photography is open to all ages and abilities. Submissions are accepted July 25 - September 1, 2024.

100 photographs will be chosen and will be printed on a high quality exterior grade signage material and will remain installed in King County Metro shelters for up to 10 years. 

Take a slice out of your image - or stitch several images together, tile, collage...this is great opportunity to be creative - and do something unique with your work! Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of jurors from King County Metro and PCNW. Selected photographs are prominently displayed throughout Seattle and greater King County. 

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The bus shelter public art call began in 2010 when King County Metro partnered with PCNW to expand the public art scene in Seattle and throughout King County. The project is a means to incorporate art into everyday life, to beautify Seattle and other cities served by Metro, and to make new perspectives and ideas available to all. The project seeks photographic artwork that will accomplish these objectives while increasing the visibility of the photographic arts. The majority of King County’s bus service and bus shelters are located in the City of Seattle and throughout King County. Over 1,000 photo murals have been installed since the launch of this public art project. 

PROJECT GUIDELINES

• Submit images that showcase your: 1) culture, values and traditions that have been passed down from previous generations; 2) shared bonds within your community; 3) one’s history, identity, and bond to the past, present, and future.  4) A visual representation or documentation of what is meaningful in your life.
• Images of all subject matters will be considered
• Avoid large blocks of color/negative space (to avoid graffiti on your image)
• Image themes and subjects should be appropriate for all age groups (PG-13)
• In general, themes and subjects should be appropriate for exhibiting as public art
• Your name and the title of your image will appear next to the image along with PCNW and King County Metro logos
• You may tile, collage, crop or stitch together images to create the final photo file
• ALL images will be considered. The final selection will be made by the King County Metro and PCNW jurors

SUBMISSION SPECIFICATIONS

When submitting images to this contest through CaFE:

• Images must conform to one of the following ratios and be under 5mb per image:
  5:4 frame ratio (width: height) 
  5:2 frame ratio (width: height) 
   

Important Note: If an image(s) is selected, the artist will be notified via e-mail from staff at PCNW with further instructions. Final image files submitted to PCNW must adhere to these guidelines:

• Images must conform to an approximate 5:4 or 5:2 frame ratio (width: height)
• Final size for printing will be either 60.5” wide x 23.5” high or 28.5” wide x 23.5” high
• File Format: Save your artwork digital files as a high-resolution JPEG or TIFF.
• Each file must be titled with the photographer's name, and the title of the image. (Example: John Smith Untitled.jpg)

You are encouraged to also submit an artist's statement, excerpts of which may be used alongside the publication of images. If images do not fit either submission or final file criteria, the images will not be considered.
 
ENTRY FEE
The entry fee is $20 for 5 images. IMPORTANT: you must submit at least 5 images, even if they are the same file due to limitations of CaFE.

You may submit additional images for $5 each up to 10 images total. Payment must be in U.S. Dollars. Entry fees are non-refundable.

We are committed to making this call for entry as accessible as possible; if you are unable to afford the entry fee for whatever reason, please contact pgonzales@pcnw.org for a discount code.
 
NOTIFICATION
Selected and non-selected artists will be notified in October 2024 via e-mail. Once the project goes into production, images are installed into bus shelters over a year long period.
 
ACCEPTED WORK
PCNW reserves the right to refuse accepted work that is perceived to be inappropriate, vulgar, or discriminatory. All works selected for the project will be sent to press in 2024 and artist names/titles will be included on printed panels. Selected images may be used for promotion by PCNW, and may be used in King County Metro publications.

QUESTIONS
Contact Paulo Gonzales, pgonzales@pcnw.org

Application Requirements

We are committed to making this call for entry as accessible as possible; if you are unable to afford the entry fee for whatever reason, please contact pgonzales@pcnw.org for a discount code.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: this is an international call for work, open to all ages.