In mid-2020, 11 emerging artists were welcomed into Public Art Boot Camp and for the past year participated in a series of trainings and planning, which has culminated in temporary art installations. The Office of Arts & Culture is pleased to celebrate their hard work by showcasing the artwork at both Seattle’s Lake City and Seattle Center!
Artists Amanda Lee, Baso Fibonacci, Damon Brown, Fumi Amano, Jacques Trautman, Jovita Mercado, Kamla Kakaria, Lynn Yarne, Micah Lawton McCarty, Nate Clark, and Sabina Haque currently have work on view and invite you to explore the two neighborhoods:
Seattle Center Art Walk and “Meet the Artists”
Saturday, October 2, 12 pm
Tour will meet and start at the Fisher Pavilion Rooftop
Lake City Art Walk and “Meet the Artists”
Saturday, October 9, 2 pm
Walking map and information available at the Lake City Library Plaza
Food by Gyros Lake City and Pho An, live music by Trío Guadalevín.
Walking maps, designed by Damon Brown, will be available for self-guided tours.
Art Interruptions in Lake City
Our Excellent Ingredients, Amanda Lee
Our Excellent Ingredients celebrates the culinary knowledge and shared ingredients of the diverse cultures of the Lake City neighborhood. Start at the mural on 30th Ave and then walk to 27th between 125th and 130th to find five augmented reality (AR) pieces.
Illusionary Planters, Baso Fibonacci
Illusionary Planters are three painted steel planters planted with native northwest plants installed in front of the Lake City library. Throughout the year they are there the plants will grow and change and the planters will rust.
Here Before Me, Damon Brown
This public art piece represents the history and neighborhoods that currently make up Seattle’s Lake City area — at the same time, honoring Seattle’s host tribe and our area’s only indigenous tribe, the Duwamish Tribe.
Namaste, Kamla Kakaria
Lake City has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in Seattle. Embracing and celebrating that diversity I made this piece Namaste which is a Hindi greeting. Welcome to Lake City!
Scan to See A Story of This Place: Lake City, Lynn Yarne
Places hold histories we sometimes cannot see. This project is comprised of Augmented Reality (AR) collage interpretations of six Lake City stories accessible through scanning signage throughout the neighborhood or by visiting www.astoryofthisplace.com.
Orca – Wolf Transformation, Micah McCarty
Orca – Wolf Transformation, mounted the Traditional style Box that represents the wealth of the royal families of the Lake. In a tribute to the hereditary legacy and Living memory of the Lake “Lake Washington” and presented to the diverse community of Lake City with respect to indigenous relatives.
Windows on Lake City, Sabina Haque
Sabina Haque created two metal lattice sculptures that incorporate her 54 painted portraits of Lake City residents. The work celebrates this largely new immigrant community and crafts a beautiful artistic tribute to the neighborhood.
Sculpture Walk at Seattle Center
Resilience, Fumi Amano
The world is in the process of adapting well after facing crises such as COVID-19. Resilience not only helps us get through difficult circumstances, but it also empowers us to grow and even improve our life along the way.
Might be Going to Have Imagined This Place, Jac Oliver Trautman
The world is in the process of adapting well after I have heard the Duwamish are the Indigenous people of this land. It is written that the Duwamish do not exist. Look-
Los Trabajadores, Sus Apoyos, Y La Comunidad (The Workers, Their Advocators, And The Community), Jovita Mercado
These Loteria-style prints are centered on Washington state’s laborers and community organizers. This piece specifically commemorates Latinx field workers, Filipino cannery workers, and community activists that fought for workers’ rights and the security of BIPOC communities like Dulce Gutiérrez from Yakima and the Gang of Four from Seattle.
Inverted Pyramid, Nate Clark
Inverted Pyramid is a hand-tied net made of a 2-ply strand combining bonded nylon twine and hand-spun wool. The handbell suspended in the center of the piece rings as wind interacts with the installation.
Art Interruptions is an annual program funded through SDOT % for Art, while Sculpture Walk is funded through Seattle Center % for Art. Many of the scheduled trainings throughout this past year focused on topics specific to public art such as “how to develop a concept proposal” or “how to work with a fabricator.” Most of the content was recorded and is available online.
Boot Camp artists created and installed artwork through both Art Interruptions, an annual program that places temporary artworks in and around Neighborhood Greenways, and the Seattle Center.
Public Art Boot Camp was initiated in 2003 (known as the Emerging Public Artists Roster Program) to introduce artists to the idea and practice of public art and transformed in 2015 modified with the added goal to advance racial equity by centering artists of color and providing them the information and experience they needed to enter the niche world of public art.
