The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs invites you to join the city of Seattle and Groundswell NW at the dedication celebration of A Salish Welcome, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, July 17, at the Salmon Bay Natural Area. Salmon Bay Natural Area is located at 3419 NW 54th St., Seattle, along Ballard’s shoreline next to The Canal event hall.
Artist Marvin Oliver completed the public artwork A Salish Welcome at the Salmon Bay Natural Area on Wednesday, July 14. A Salish Welcome features a 7-foot-tall bronze welcome figure draped in a Salish ceremonial robe and holding an aluminum disk that represents the life cycle of Pacific salmon. The sculpture blends traditional forms with contemporary media to honor local indigenous people and celebrate the endangered salmon at Salmon Bay. Oliver states “the monumental Salish figure in ceremonial robe greets us and reminds us to preserve, protect and promote this evolving, living landscape for new generations and man alike.”
A Salish Welcome was commissioned with Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund and administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs in partnership with Groundswell NW.
Image: A Salish Welcome, 2010, bronze, powder coated aluminum, steel, concrete and glass. Photo: Jason Huff.