W.T. Preston Steamboat Artist Residency

Calling all PNW creatives! The Anacortes Museum is pleased to announce an artist in residency for two regional artists to create a new site-responsive artwork for our National Landmark sternwheel steamboat in Anacortes, Washington. This opportunity will support the creation of a work of art that responds to the history, environment, and stories about the W.T. Preston and its current surroundings. The W.T. Preston is a 160 foot long, three-deck snag boat that once cleared the local river ways and is now located next to the Anacortes marina and Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center.

This residency is open to artists who work in varying media: sculptors, musicians, sound artists, writers, playwrights, painters, videographers, dancers, textile artists and others are welcome to apply. This residency is designed to support artists who are passionate about making work that focuses on site specificity, storytelling, craft, and/or historic technologies. Your final product could take the form of a permanent installation or a temporary performance. We are open to your interpretation and process. 

The Captain's Room: Future Headquarters of the W.T. Preston Artist in Residence

Captains Officesmall

The W.T. Preston Steamboat Artist Residency provides:

-Dedicated work/research space on the W.T. Preston during public hours

-$1,200 residency award, presented by the Anacortes Museum Foundation

-Anacortes Museum staff research support and advising

-Anacortes Museum staff installation support

-Free season’s pass to the W.T. Preston

W.T. Preston Steamboat Artists-in-Residence will:

-Create and temporarily install / present a new work in the W.T. Preston or the surrounding site. July 1-31 (Session I) or August 1-31 (Session II)

-Be present at least four times aboard the W.T. Preston as part of the work/research process

-Attend the public launch of the new work

-Participate in a public discussion about their experience at the end of their residency

Application Information

To Apply, create an application PDF, and email to katec@cityofanacortes.org. Applications are due May 6, 2019. Applicants will be notified by May 10, 2019.

W.T. Preston Steamboat Artist in Residency Application

Questions? Please contact Kate Clark, the Anacortes Museum Education and Media Curator: katec@cityofanacortes.org

Residency Logistics

-The W.T. Preston is accessible to residents during public hours between 10:00-4:00 Tuesday- Saturday + 11:00-4:00 Sunday

-Two artist residency positions are available

-Housing is not provided

-Artist groups are welcome to apply, the stipend will be divided equally by group members.

-The first deck of the W.T. Preston is ADA accessible. Unfortunately, second and third decks are not accessible

-All work produced in/for the W.T. Preston will be considered as a temporary loan to the Anacortes Museum

-Artists retain all copyright and ownership of their artwork

-If artists make an artwork for the site, they will deinstall their artwork at the end of the W.T. Preston season- at a determined date with staff

-Documentation of artwork and process will be available to the Anacortes Museum for promotional and educational purposes

-After the residency, artists may resale/reproduce artwork created as they see fit

-This opportunity is available for any artists based in the Pacific Northwest


Sponsored by the Anacortes Museum Foundation

About the W.T. Preston:

The W.T. Preston is the descendant of a long line of snagboats that worked the Puget Sound and its tributary rivers, clearing the waterways of navigational hazards. Until her retirement in 1981, the Preston was the only large, active sternwheeler remaining in the Sound. The Preston operated as far north as Blaine and south to Olympia and Shelton. Working all year round near large population centers distinguished the snagboat as one of the best-known vessels to navigate these waters.

Engineers (then the U.S. Engineer Department) had cleared waterways in Oregon since the early 1870s, no work was done in Washington territory until Congress appropriated $2,500 to open the Skagit River to navigation in 1880. A log raft was built, equipped with a derrick and hand-operated capstan for lifting snags from the river. In 1882, Congress allocated $20,000 for construction of a self-propelled snagboat to work on Puget Sound and its tributaries. In 1884, the first of these boats, the Skagit, began operation. Outfitted with a new hull in 1896, the Skagit served until 1914 when she was replaced by the Swinomish. In turn, the Swinomish was succeeded in 1929 by the wood-hulled W.T. Preston. In 1939, the Preston was fitted with a new steel hull and upper structure, or "house." The snagboat was named for William T. Preston, one of the Army Corps of Engineers' most outstanding civilian engineers.

The W.T. Preston is now housed as a National Historic Landmark as part of the Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center of the Anacortes Museum. 

First Deck: engine room, crew sleeping quarters, crew mess hall, outside decking (ADA accessible). Second Deck: Galley, captain’s quarters, captain’s mess hall. Third Deck: Captain’s office, steering room, outside decking

Further resources:

https://www.anacorteswa.gov/475/Research

https://www.anacorteswa.gov/379/WT-Preston-Maritime-Center

https://www.cityofanacortes.org/DocumentCenter/View/4347/Self-Guided-WT-Preston-Tour-PDF?bidId=

www.jetzt-drucken-lassen.de
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