A companion piece to his multi-part artwork Incrementally at a nearby stormwater detention facility, Kuby designed Hydro-Bio-Geo to be compatible with the character of Washington Park. The artwork animates the exposed facade of the 14-foot-tall stormwater holding tank. Three pairs of downspouts and weep holes send water down the wall to a rain garden below. These wet zones will soon become lush and green as they become colonized with moss and ferns. In between, faux-bark facades lead to 29 cavity nesting birdhouses embedded in the wall. As the landscape matures, the bird houses will become more attractive nest sites.

Kuby has created permanently sited artworks in the Northwest and Canada and has exhibited his artworks throughout the country. His artworks are collaborations with the built and natural world that aim to foster a sense of connectedness in our environment.  Each project provides an opportunity to explore how human activity and natural systems can better coexist and how art can promote a deeper sense of place.

The artwork is funded with SPU 1% for Art funds and addresses SPU’s stewardship of water collection and drainage.

Getting there: Washington Park is accessible by Metro buses 11, 43, 48 and 84. ADA access to Washington Park is available at the north side of the Washington Park playfield, from the parking lot off of Lake Washington Boulevard East.

For more information: Contact Grace Manzano, Project Manager, (206) 233-1534.

IMAGES: Adam Kuby; Hydro-Bio-Geo; 2012; basalt, cast acrylic, recycled plastic; 14’ x 110’ x 8”. PhotoS by the artist.

Fernando Argosino creates caricature map of Seattle 

Artist Fernando Argosino, with his dedication to the comics and community, will engage members of the Filipino community to create a large geographically correct cartoon map of Seattle that will commemorate relevant historical, contemporary, social and personal Filipino-American sites.

Dates and Location: May 6-July 31, 14605 16th Ave. W.

Interstitial Theatre’s Mobile Screen Tour

A six-month long event bringing contemporary video art to eight different neighborhoods across Seattle and featuring the work of 11 individual video artists.

Interstitial Theatre is a curatorial team of three female artists living and working in Seattle who believe that video art has significant value. They develop impactful exhibitions that address important issues relevant to the video and new media arts community within Seattle. The Mobile Screen Tour is a six-month long event from April through September providing free public access to contemporary video art within eight different neighborhoods across Seattle via Interstitial Theatre’s Mobile Screen.

Dates and Locations:

- April 4, TK Building, Pioneer Square
- April 11, Vermillion, Capitol Hill
- May 10, Urban Light Studios, PhinneyWood
- June 14, ArtsWest, West Seattle
- August 10, Location TBD, Ballard
- September 5, Location TBD, International District
- September 20, Location TBD, Columbia City

“Imagine hearing your grandfather’s voice for the first time in 30 years telling you what it was like to take a boat from the old country,” said Lisa Kranseler, executive director of the Washington State Jewish Historical Society. “Or maybe listening to your cousin talk about borrowing money to open a store…You can experience these moving moments during a live performance that will take you into the lives of early Jewish pioneers in the state of Washington.” Tickets can be purchased here.

And on Tuesday, June 11, Budo Dance Theater from Osaka, Japan take you on a magical journey with Tabi Tama-Snaky Spirit. Written and directed by Majinhunter Mitsurugi and choreographed by Niranjan, Tabi Tama is short for “tabisuru tamashi” or “traveling soul.” The performance is at Langston Institute. Tickets can be purchased here.

“Parking Squid” will offer accessible bicycle parking along the Central Waterfront. This functional artwork by local artist Susan Robb was originally created for The Next Fifty, the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair and installed on Seattle Center campus. The project was presented by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs as part of a series of public artworks that illustrated how artists are shaping the conversation around environmental sustainability.

Parking Squid addresses the expanding need for bicycle parking, as identified in the SDOT Bicycle Master Plan. The artwork was commissioned with SDOT 1% for Art funds and administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

 Updated on April 23, 2013 with a photo of the Parking Squid in its new location on the waterfront.

The nomination deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 15. The nomination form is available online here.  For a print version of the form, contact Tamara Gill, (206) 733-9591 or tamara.gill@seattle.gov.

There will be five awards presented this year in the following newly created categories. All categories are open to individuals, organizations or community groups.

Future Focus: Awarded for making a difference in arts education and youth work. Previous recipients include Reel Grrls (2010) and Coyote Central and Marybeth Saterlee (2008)

Artistic City: for helping to shape Seattle as a city of creativity. Previous recipients include public artist Buster Simpson (2012) and Pratt Fine Arts Center (2011).

Venture Culturalist: Awarded for investment in our cultural community by a funder, business, donor or professional development/service organization. Previous recipients include Seattle Foundation (2004) and Artist Trust (2009).

Arts as the How: Awarded for deep and lasting impact on social issues, such as race and social justice. Previous recipients include Three Dollar Bill Cinema (2012) and Longhouse Media’s Native Lens Program (2007).

Raising the Bar: Awarded for artistic excellence. Previous recipients include Gerard Schwarz (2006) and Olivier Wevers (2012).

The Seattle Arts Commission will review public nominations and recommend recipients to the mayor for final selection. Last year more than 500 nominations were received.

Mayor Mike McGinn will honor recipients of the 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards at a public ceremony at Seattle Center, 4 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30. The afternoon will include an opening of the Visual Arts Festival at 3 p.m., Mayors Arts Awards at 4 p.m. and a concert with School of Rock at 5:30 p.m. All Friday afternoon events are free.

The awards are presented in partnership with Bumbershoot®: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival and media sponsor City Arts magazine.

Massive Monkees. Photo by Jennifer Richard.

We hope to see you at City Hall Open House between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday, April 6.

The day will be filled with activities that include performances by School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) at 11 a.m., Massive Monkees at noon, kids’ art-making activities and storytelling, tours of the Mayor’s Office and of public art throughout the building, animal adoptions and food trucks. Meet with representatives from city departments and attend low-income utility assistance workshops. And see a slideshow of our latest public artworks at the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs’ table.

No reservation required. We hope to see you there!

Register now for the event.

This year’s keynote address will be presented by Bill Ivey, respected author and founding director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University. Ivey has served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the Clinton-Gore administration and a team leader in the Barack Obama presidential transition. He was twice elected board chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Album Notes category).

On Monday, April 22, programming will feature a continuing dialogue from the Arts & Social Change symposium last October. Roberto Bedoya, executive director of the Tucson Pima Arts Council, will deliver the keynote address in a conversation facilitated by Huong Vu of The Boeing Company. A roster of cultural leaders will deliver “Lightning Talks” before and after the keynote, with facilitated “Round-Robin Responses” following each set of presentations. Bedoya is also a writer and arts consultant who has worked on projects for the Creative Capital Foundation and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and The Urban Institute.

The internship is paid. Open to full-time junior and senior-level college students studying marketing, public relations, journalism, English, visual or performing arts, arts administration, or an event-management related field. The internship will begin in June and last until the first week of September 2013. Strong written and verbal communications skills are required and experience in planning, promoting and executing performing arts events is a plus.

Application deadline is 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 16. Go here to learn more and apply.

The Call is a mural of aluminum and cast glass on the façade of the fire station. The artwork is inspired by the energy of the firefighters’ response to an emergency. Images of water and fire surge out of the mural alongside bolts of lightning—an early icon of the original Fire Station 6. The bolts are a symbol of the strength, speed and power that characterize the firefighters’ service to the community.

IMAGES: Steve Gardner, The Call, 2012. Located at Fire Station 6 in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. Photos by Kelly Pajek.

South Park Vortex is a free-standing sculpture consisting of 550 laminated, blue, glass disks, supported by a stainless-steel frame. Each sandblasted disk features a unique snowflake pattern designed by South Park residents through a series of workshops sponsored by the Seattle Public Library’s South Park Branch. The artist states, “The artwork symbolizes the coming together of the South Park community to affect change and reflects the independent spirit of South Park: dynamic, creative, proud and inclusive.”

SPU installed a bio-swale to manage stormwater runoff from Marra-Desimone Park.  South Park Vortex is located on the catch basin within the swale. The artwork raises awareness of the Puget Sound region’s water cycle and environmental stewardship, especially as it connects to SPU’s work.

Law’s artwork includes mixed-media installations, public art projects and community residencies. He uses common cultural artifacts to explore issues of identity, memory and cross-cultural struggle in the evolving global community. Law is a Portland, Ore.-based artist whose public art projects include work for the New Columbia housing development and the Old Town/Chinatown Light Rail Station in Portland.

South Park Vortex was commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds and made possible with additional assistance from South Park Arts, South Park Library, South Park Community Center, students of Concord Elementary School and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

IMAGE: Horatio Law; South Park Vortex; 2012; stainless steel, etched glass; 12′x12.5′x12.5′.