After infighting stalled the initial plans for the project, an effort to create four new “large scale” murals across Capitol Hill is ready for interested artists to get involved.

On Tuesday, February 25th the Graffiti Defense Coalition and Urban ArtWorks signed a highly anticipated agreement with the City of Seattle to fund, organize, and produce 4 large scale murals in Capitol Hill, and the surrounding East District neighborhood as a statement of our city’s need for public exploration of Seattle’s collective appreciation for street art culture.

This exciting news marks the beginning of Seattle Mural Project’s call to artists which opens March 3^rd 2014 and runs until April 5^th 2014. The Seattle Mural Project call to artists is open to all artists and artist groups internationally. A total of four artists or artist groups will be chosen as winners.

Last year, CHS reported on the re-started Seattle Mural Project. The project originally planned its murals to appear at these four Capitol Hill locations — we’ll check in to find out if any of the plans have changed.

1. Shop Rite @ 426, 15th Ave E on the north facing wall (65 feet x 30 feet)
2. Union Art Coop @ 1100 E Union St. on the north facing wall (125 feet x 80 feet)
3. SJW Studios @ 1424, 10th Ave on the south facing wall (80 feet x 45 feet)
4. The Pike Building @ 1000 E Pike St on the east facing wall (90 feet x 45 feet)

Artists selected to participate will be awarded $3,000 in compensation upon completion of their murals thanks to the city’s Neighborhood Matching Fund. “The muralists will also be provided all of the paint and equipment they need to complete their vision thanks to the generous contributions of Miller Paint and Art Primo who both stepped up to generously sponsor the event,” according to the Seattle Mural Project announcement.

Capitol Hill is currently home to some fantastic murals including the 135-foot long work on by artist Baso Fibonacci on the Capitol Hill Station construction wall and older, random images like the odd and wonderful tree on the 15th Ave E Walgreens. As organic as they may seem, many are the products of civic projects and funded by public agencies. Others, like the work seen atop this post, are temporary investments by developers to help keep a building “activated” before demolition.

Organizers say the goal of the Seattle Mural Project is to “help establish Seattle as an international arts destination similar to cities like Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, London, São Paulo, New York and Miami which are well known for their street arts.” The project is also dedicated to “showcasing the current evolution of contemporary street art which has grown out of the aerosol and graffiti influenced culture.”

You can learn more at seattlemuralproject.org.