The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), has commissioned artist Vicki Scuri for a series of site-specific artworks for the Aurora-Licton Corridor Neighborhood Street Fund Project. Scuri will work with SDOT and SDOT consultants from design through construction developing art installations along Aurora Ave. N. between N. 85 St. and N. 105 St. The artwork is expected to be completed in 2018.

Scuri brings over 30 years of experience to this project. Educated in printmaking and design, Scuri’s primary focus is site responsive, collaborative design and public art, with emphasis on community identity through awareness of place, history and culture. Scuri sees infrastructure, best symbolized as the backbone of urban design, as the system upon which society builds its core values, creating meaning, mobility and connectivity. Scuri’s projects, best known for symbolic pattern work; play of sunlight and shadow over sculptural form; and her ability to engage the entire site as a canvas, integrate functionality, landscape and art to create community landmarks. Community identity, site, climate, and environment are important considerations in shaping each project’s unique expression.

This SDOT project began as a community application for improvements along Aurora Ave. N. It was funded by the Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) Program, for design in 2017 and construction in 2018. The project creates improved crossings of Aurora Ave. N. at N. 92 St. and N. 100 St. for people walking and biking. There is also a significant art component to the project, requested by the Aurora-Licton Urban Village. The goal of this project is to create art that will develop a distinctive spirit for the neighborhood, revitalize and change people’s perception of Aurora Ave. N., create a progression of ideas that extend along the entire corridor, bring color, vibrancy, and day and night presence to all modes of transit: pedestrians, motorists, bus riders.

Scuri was selected by a panel of artists and design professionals, advised by Aurora-Licton Urban Village community members, and city staff. The project is commissioned with SDOT 1% for Art funds.

Photo: Vicki Scuri

Image: Arlington Boulevard, Highway 50, laser-cut steel and LEDs, completed 2015