Seattle artist Peter Reiquam will create a new public artwork in the Rainier Beach neighborhood for the SDOT program Safe Routes to Schools. The Safe Routes to School construction project at this site was initiated by parents and neighbors of South Shore K-8 School. Reiquam lived in the Rainier Beach neighborhood for over 15 years before relocating to his current residence and studio in Georgetown.

As a program of Seattle Department of Transportation, Safe Routes to School aims to make safety improvements on the walking and biking route to school, and to encourage more students to walk and bike safely to school. This particular Safe Route at Rainier Beach is a response to community interests in improving pedestrian safety and traffic calming, while also creating a defining gateway feature that announces one’s arrival at the heart of the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Further improvements to Rainier Avenue will include flashing school-zone lights, pedestrian lighting, curb bulbs, and a traffic island.

Peter Reiquam is a Seattle-based artist who has been creating public works for over 20 years. His site-integrated works often include furniture or use a stylized representation of familiar objects as a device for viewer interaction. His artworks are often both functional as well as imbued with a conceptual narrative. Peter received his MFA in sculpture from Yale University in 1984 and has completed public art commissions for the Washington State Arts Commission, the City of Kent, Sound Transit, the City of Seattle and other locations nationally.

Pictured: A previous work by Peter Reiquam: “Nine Lives” at Fire Station 9 in Fremont, Seattle. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider.