Three local artists, Ken Roepe, Tory Franklin, and Jean Bradbury installed temporary artworks in Westcrest Park, Pritchard Island Beach Park, and Cal Anderson Park, respectively. Installations will be on display starting now through the early Fall and are part of Arts in Parks, a partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) which includes a number of free events and temporary art projects that will activate community parks this summer. There is something for everyone this summer! Click here for more information and a calendar guide about the events.
Arts in Parks temporary art installations are part of a slate of art installations and events this summer. A diverse mix of local artists, genres, and themes will make the summer of 2022 one filled with arts experiences for everyone. This year’s slate of art and artists explore themes of nature, conservancy, history, connections, resilience, and responsibility through both permanent commissions and temporary public artworks that are ephemeral, experiential, and experimental allowing artists to explore current issues.
The People Make This Park by Jean Bradbury
Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
On view through September
Jean Bradbury’s The People Make This Park will consist of multiple, colorful, larger-than-life portraits of parkgoers. These full-body portraits will be spread throughout Cal Anderson Park and accompanied by excerpts from interviews about the subject’s relation to the park. The piece speaks to the theme of how important land is to people.
ChromaCyclium by Ken Roepe
On view through September
Westcrest Park, 9000 8th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106
Ken Roepe’s ChromaCyclium consists of colored acrylic discs mounted in a metal dome. Daylight shines through the dome apertures to project colored light in the dome’s shadow on the ground below. The sun not only changes where and how the colored light is projected on the ground, but the angle of the light influences the colors that shine through, as well.
Island / Marshland by Tory Franklin
On view through September
Pritchard Island Beach Park, 8400 55th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Tory Franklin’s Island / Marshland installation is a human-powered, kinetic toy theater that shows the evolution of the park’s landscape throughout its history. The theater contains a scene with waves raising and lowering to transform the island into marshland. The theater also includes nods to the changing human landscape over time. The inner workings of this kinetic theater will be visible but not accessible, providing a safe way to show children the mechanics of the piece.
