Look beneath your feet and you’ll see sidewalk artwork by Seattle artist John Fleming at 12 locations throughout Seattle. Intended to draw the attention of pedestrians through beauty, surprise and humor, the inlays introduce the element of the unexpected into the everyday sidewalk. There are two different designs, each a four-by-four-foot square. The inlays are currently being installed and should all be in place by mid-November.

The inlays are part of Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT) Sidewalk Development Program. Fleming worked with SDOT and the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs to design and develop the artworks.

Fleming states, “My sidewalk art uses material common to the public right-of-way. But it uses this common material in a surprisingly uncommon way. Yellow detectable warning panels are found at the sidewalk corners of most Seattle streets. In my artwork, I combined these durable dotted panels with the messages ‘Where are you?’ and ‘You are here.’ Used in this new way, the colorful sidewalk panels become unique markers in your neighborhood.”

To see the specific locations where the art will be installed, please visit SDOT’s website and click the sidewalk project locations near the bottom of the page.

The artwork was commissioned with SDOT 1% for Art funds and administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Image: The first sidewalk panels to be installed are located on the west side of College Way North near North 97th Street, across from North Seattle Community College.