North Mason fire looking for community art

Kirk Boxleitner | Mar 10, 20220

Courtesy photo count

North Mason Regional Fire Authority is seeking community artwork to display at its new headquarters building in Belfair.

As the North Mason Regional Fire Authority's headquarters building at Fire Station 21 nears completion, the district aims to make it a place where they can get business done while also providing a place the public can enjoy.

The fire district is seeking proposals for public art to be displayed inside the under-construction new headquarters at 490 NE Old Belfair Highway.

According to North Mason RFA Fire Chief Beau Bakken, the goals of this project are to increase the community's interest in public art and to heighten the visibility of local artists and the arts.

"There wasn't any one thing that inspired this," Bakken said. "But as we saw this building coming together, we realized we would have a lot of wall space to serve as a blank canvas."

While the fire district's headquarters will adorn several of those walls with fire service memorabilia, as other North Mason fire stations have done, Bakken said 20,000 square feet "still leaves a lot of space left over." The fire authority is calling on area artists to submit their own work, including photography, print, paint, sculptures or woodwork.

Bakken expressed enthusiasm for being able to highlight the area's "amazing and talented" artists, in a place where their art can be viewed and appreciated by many others.

"When you think of so much of the public art that's already on display out there, it's clear we have some really good artists in North Mason," Bakken said. "So rather than just putting random store-bought stuff on our walls, we thought we could help them, and they could help us."

To fill its wall and display spaces, the RFA requests that any prospective public artists submit their pieces through March 31 for consideration by a fire authority art selection committee, made up of more than half a dozen administrators, employees and volunteers.

Each artist can submit multiple pieces as donations for display and ownership of the pieces remains with their artist.

Displayed pieces will note the artist by name, unless they request to be anonymous, and any owner of a displayed piece can recall and pull their piece from display at any time.

Displayed pieces will only be used for public appreciation and viewing, and will not be made available for sale.

Not all pieces submitted will be chosen, and those pieces not selected will be immediately returned to their artists.

If you're looking to see the art at headquarters, Bakken promised the majority of pieces will be displayed in the building's lobby and training room, both of which will be open to the public during business hours.

The fire authority does request that art submissions be made electronically via photograph to North Mason RFA Executive Assistant Renee Wassenaar at [email protected]. Pieces may be dropped off, along with artists' contact information at the fire station at 460 NE Old Belfair Highway.

Additional information about the request to artists can be found at northmasonrfa.com/calling-all-north-mason-artists.