BAM Biennial 2021: Architecture & Urban Design at Bellevue Arts Museum November 5, 2021 – April 24, 2022

Bellevue, WA—Twenty-five artists, makers, and architects are bringing their explorations of the built environment to Bellevue Arts Museum for the sixth BAM Biennial exhibition. BAM Biennial 2021: Architecture & Urban Design, which opens at BAM on November 5, takes an in-depth look at the fields of architecture and urban design and considers the role of the built environment in our current moment. The exhibition is the first in the BAM Biennial series to focus on a concept rather than a specific medium within the realm of art, craft, and design. 

Works featured in BAM Biennial 2021 range from traditional architectural models to large-scale multimedia structures and explore themes of architectural history and archaeology, accessibility and ADA compliance, homelessness, queering architecture, the body in architectural space, city growth vs. sustainability, land ownership, and more. The exhibition also includes works in fiber, glass, photography, and a range of media that explore and challenge the limits of architecture and urban design.

Applications for BAM Biennial 2021 were reviewed by a panel of five jurors comprising Lane Eagles, Associate Curator, Bellevue Arts Museum, WA; James Garrett Jr., Co-founder and Managing Partner, 4RM+ULA, MN & NY; Benedict Heywood, former Executive Director & Chief Curator, Bellevue Arts Museum, WA; Simba Mafundikwa, Architectural Designer, GGLO Design, WA; Christopher Shaw, Engineer/Artist, Design and Creative, WA; S Surface, King Street Station Program Lead, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, WA.

The majority of applicants for this biennial proposed new work pushing the boundaries of their artistic and architectural practices. From this pool of nearly 130 ambitious proposals, 26 artists, makers, and architects were selected to participate:

“Rather than focusing on a specific media, the 2021 Biennial explores an artform we are all intimately familiar with—architecture and urban design,” says Lane Eagles, Associate Curator at Bellevue Arts Museum. “The spaces which surround us shape our daily lives. As a growing metropolitan city, Bellevue in particular has undergone extensive architectural shift in the past decades, literally reframing the area. This highly eclectic show surveys architecture and urban design broadly defined through several media, including photography, glass, wood, collage as well as traditional architectural models and spatial mockups. Several works also explore the lack of permanent architecture and space for those experiencing homelessness. The events of 2020 and beyond have forced us to rethink how public spaces are consumed and occupied, providing a rich and topical theme for the artists and architects featured.”

During the run of the exhibition, one cash prize of $1,500 will be awarded. The selected artist, maker, or architect will also have the opportunity to present a solo exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum within two years. The award recipient will be selected by BAM’s curatorial staff and announced in mid-November.

BAM Biennial 2021: Architecture & Urban Design is organized by Bellevue Arts Museum and curated by Lane Eagles. Presenting sponsor: Amazon. Media sponsor: KCTS 9. In-kind support from Seattle SignShop.

ABOUT BELLEVUE ARTS MUSEUM

Bellevue Arts Museum provides a public forum for the community to contemplate, appreciate, and discuss visual culture. We work with audiences, artists, makers, and designers to understand our shared experience of the world. bellevuearts.org.

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