Usually not my thing, but I found this today while looking for something else:

The City of Olympia will commission one local artist to design a suite of five visually or conceptually related vertical tree guards at the intersection of Black Lake Boulevard and Harrison venue, for the functional purpose of protecting trees and supporting locked bikes as well as adding an aesthetic amenity to West Olympia. Fabrication of the tree guards will be undertaken by the South Puget Sound Community College Welding Program, with consultation from the artist.

...

Eligibility:
Practicing artists, dedicated to producing artwork on a regular basis, who reside, own a business or are actively engaged in the Olympia area arts community may apply. This project is intended to be a learning opportunity for established artists who do not have previous experience in the field of public art.

Scope of Work:
• Design 5 tree guards that have a visual relationship to each other and the viewer, as they walk, bike or drive past.
• Be sensitive to the history, environment, and current feeling of the neighborhood where the work is to be located while developing design.
• Work creatively within the general tree guard design that has been approved by the City’s Urban Forester.
• Work with South Puget Sound Community College Welding Program for fabrication of the work.
• Work with City crews to install work.

Here's the entire call for artists in pdf.

This is interesting given the recent discussion regarding the search for artists for Olympia City Hall. Whether this sort of announcement is new, I don't really know. But, if it is new, its nice to see the city changing the way it does things because of discussion in the community.