Bakery Square seeks artists for project in Larimer
Walnut Capital is seeking an artist or a team of creative people to make a temporary artwork to animate the front of a newly expanded building at its Bakery Square development.
The deadline is Monday for local artists to apply. Digitally projected art, murals or sculpture are all options, said Morton Brown, an art consultant for Walnut Capital, developer of Bakery Square. The artwork will be integrated into two exterior panels.
“It’s a temporary art piece. What that means is the artist is responsible for moving it and relocating after six to 12 months. But the artist owns the work. That’s a good benefit,” Mr. Brown said.
The 12,400-square-foot building at 6425 Penn Ave., Larimer, formerly housed Social, a sports bar and restaurant. Construction began in January 2020, and the building is slated to open in June.
The building will have a threestory, 3,200-square-foot conservatory and a 6,000-square-foot restaurant incubator called Galley Bakery Square, similar to the food hall concept at Federal Galley on the North Side. Outside the building will be a 14,000-square-foot public courtyard with seating, a large lawn and a small stage for live music and community events.
For artists who wish to apply, no formal proposal is required. Artists can submit a cover letter, resume, website and portfolio of their work to: https://bakerysquare.com/art/.
The artist who is chosen will work with Walnut Capital and the Larimer Consensus Group and have a residency with students from Pittsburgh Public Schools Lincoln Elementary and The Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh. Local artists, especially Black and indigenous people of color, are encouraged to apply.
A committee made up of Bakery Square staff, Larimer residents and local art experts will choose an individual or team to design and produce the temporary artwork.
Walnut Capital will fund the new temporary artwork with a budget of $20,000-$30,000. Artists’ submissions will be winnowed to a
handful, Mr. Brown said, and three to five finalists will be interviewed by the committee.
Monika Gibson, a holistic designer for Strada Architecture, said red brick will frame the expanded building so that it matches the historic Nabisco Bakery Factory in the complex. The new building will have large garage-style doors on either end, and, “for most of the time, the doors will be open,” she said.
The star of the conservatory, Ms. Gibson said, will be two green walls with live plants. Each green wall will be 20 feet tall and 16 feet wide. The large outdoor lawn will be surrounded by trees, shrubs and flowers.