Oh man. It’s like Iron Chef, only with metal. Iron Iron? Nope. Iron Artists. At Tollefson Plaza no less.



This Friday, artists from around the Puget Sound will don their armor, arm themselves with tools of creation rather than destruction, and put on their most viscous looking face paint before descending on the Tacoma Art Museum and Tollefson Plaza to battle in celebration of the Metal–Urge. OK, they may not wear armor or paint their faces, but this is the big event — the third annual Iron Artist Competition, featuring select artist-warriors who will make wearable art in competitive fashion, celebrating the ongoing Metal–Urge art extravaganza.

Organized by the city of Tacoma, Metal–Urge is a citywide celebration of the metal arts involving 23 venues and more than 100 artists presented in conjunction with Tacoma Art Museum’s two major summer exhibitions — Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection and Loud Bones: The Jewelry of Nancy Worden. The city of Tacoma and Tacoma Art Museum have partnered to present the Metal–Urge Free Community Festival, which will feature free museum admission, handbell ringers, dance performances, gallery scavenger hunts, robots, a molten aluminum pour, and the third annual Iron Artist Competition.



This year’s Iron Artist Competition will gather ruthless, art-sparking (spaRking, not spanKing)  individuals and teams who will have 60 minutes to create the most spectacular work of wearable art from surprise materials that will not be unveiled until the competition begins. It could be Fruit Loops, dental floss and Red Bull cans. Or it could be garden shears, baby food jars and Life Savers. Nobody knows but the wizards behind the Metal–Urge curtain. Artists will grind, string, stitch, weld, rend, and rivet in hopes of earning the title of Iron Artist. At the conclusion of the competition, finished works will be modeled in a procession down the plaza ramp. Two winners will be determined, one by jurors and a second by popular vote. So tell your friends to go down and support you, the artists.



“We are excited to have 20 new teams competing for the Iron Artist title this year,” says Paula McArdle, director of education and audience development for Tacoma Art Museum. “In this third year of the challenge, we’re seeing more professional artists join the fray. We can look forward to a heated competition capped by a fashion show that’s certain to be one of Metal–Urge’s greatest moments this summer.”



Other activities during the three-hour festival include a molten aluminum pour led by Tacoma Community College instructor Kyle Dillehay, who will give participants the opportunity to take home their own aluminum tile. Metro Dance will be performing outside with the SOTAbots-robots designed by students from Tacoma School of the Arts. The robots will be available for visitors to operate. Yeah, that’s right. Control your own robot. 



Inside the museum, the Rainier Ringers Handbell Ensemble will fill the lobby with the most beautiful clanging you have heard in your life. Art projects for children of all ages will be led by guest artists and will take place in the museum studios. Just in case none of that interests you, there will be an adventure packed scavenger hunt at the Tacoma Art Museum, which will take participants on a journey throughout the museum galleries to find stuff.



[Tacoma Art Muesum and Tollefson Plaza, Third Annual Iron Artist Competition, Friday, July 31, 5 to 8 p.m., free, 1701 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, 253.272.4258]