Wire* — In a creative city known for its art and up-and-coming bike culture, stylish and functional bike racks are both a natural fit, and a necessity.
Through a new urban arts initiative, at least 50 new locally designed bike racks will be added to our city’s streets in spring 2018.
Downtown Phoenix Inc., in partnership with Artlink, the City of Phoenix’s Street Transportation Department and Office of Arts and Culture, are inviting artists and designers of all practices to apply for Pedal to the Metal: Phoenix Bike Rack Project.
Four finalists will earn a stipend of $250 and two winning artists will be awarded $4,000 each.
Finalists’ designs will be on display during Art Detour 30, which takes place March 15-20, 2018. After the Art Detour exhibition, two finalists will move forward with fabrication, and get to see their creations brought to life as functional assets in downtown and throughout the city.
These eye-catching racks will be important amenities for Phoenix’s growing bike culture and contribute aesthetic value to our community’s streetscapes.
“This is an important initiative that will have a tangible impact on how our streets look and feel,” said Downtown Phoenix Partnership Executive Director Dan Klocke. “The best streets are user-friendly, yes, but should also be interesting and representative of the neighborhoods in which they’re located.”
As a community-focused project, Pedal to the Metal strives to be highly inclusive. All artists, designers and creative individuals or teams–whether or not they specialize in industrial product design–are encouraged to apply. The project includes a workshop to help participants prepare their ideas for submission. The workshop will be held at Downtown Phoenix Inc. headquarters [1 E. Washington St. #230] on Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 6-7:30 p.m.
Deadline for submissions is Monday, Dec. 18.
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