Quarterly updates from our Public Art division. Find the other posts in this series here.
Summer is when many of us spend more time outdoors at events and activities that draw us to different corners of the city. Our Public Art division also gets outside, installing and updating artworks to provide new ways to explore our city through art.
From youth curators in our Fresh Perspectives program, to cyclists taking in the views of Elliott Bay, to the festivities of Seattle Center, our public art projects create new opportunities for the people who live, work, and visit Seattle to enjoy!
In this edition:
- Youth Curators Take the Lead
- Conservation Spotlight
- What’s New in Public Art
- Civic Art Collection and City Gallery Highlights
Youth Curators Take the Lead
This summer, ten young artists became curators, collaborators, and storytellers through our 2025 Fresh Perspectives Program. Coordinated by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and funded this year by Seattle Public Utilities through the 1% for Art Fund, this intensive, paid summer program offers teens a chance to go behind the scenes of the art world and shape it in the process.
Led by teaching artist Janet Nechama Miller, the summer’s work culminated in the exhibition You, Me, & Everything Between Us, on view through Oct. 11 at ARTS at King Street Station. As part of the program, artworks in the exhibition will be reviewed by Seattle Public Utilities staff for potential purchase into the Portable Works Collection.
Don’t Miss the Exhibition
You, Me, & Everything Between Us
ARTS at King Street Station, 303 S Jackson St., Top Floor
On view Sept. 4 – Oct. 11, 2025
Free and open to the public
Conservation Spotlight
As summer works towards a close, conservation staff have been focused on completing field projects that require warmer, dry days.
At McGraw Square Park in South Lake Union, comprehensive repairs to the mechanical and lighting components were completed for the 2009 neon sculpture Sequence/Consequence by artist trio John Sutton, Ben Beres, and Zac Culler. It’s not often that you see neon light emanating from the ground. This bold installation greets travelers’ departing and arriving on the South Lake Union streetcar.
Prior to a re-dedication ceremony, structural stabilization and surface conservation treatments were completed for A Salish Welcome. Created by Marvin Oliver in 2010, the monumental bronze overlooks the Salmon Bay Natural viewing area in Ballard, honoring the Salish people and their connection to the waterway and the resources it has provided them.
In Belltown, structural assessment, mechanical repairs, refinishing, and preventive maintenance were performed on Angie’s Umbrella, created by artists Jim Pridgeon and Benson Shaw in 2003. If you look closely, you will spot the residual form of a large bird’s nest towards the center of the inner canopy. Clearly nature also approved of the design.
What’s New in Public Art
New Artwork Installation for the Seattle Center Sculpture Walk
In partnership with Seattle Center, we’ve completed the 2025 Sculpture Walk installations, on display July 2025 through April 2026.
- Will Jewett installed Find Your Angle, a colorful set of four chairs in various angles of repose which invite passersby to pause on the Theater Commons steps.
- Megan Prince installed Shifting Ribbons (Red Ratchet Strap Remnant Relationship 5) in the Poetry Garden, which builds on previous installations of this work with handwritten poetry and an invitation to pause, reflect and receive.
- Teruko Nimura installed Koi No Taki Nobori (Carp Climbing a Waterfall) in the Founder’s Court, where the vibrant school of koi fish reflect the kites commonly flown at Japanese Children’s Day festivals and symbolize perseverance.
- Morgan Madison installed Cambia near the Museum of Pop Culture. The tree stump-inspired sculpture uses the same high-tech material that covers the museum to reference the evergreen trees of the Pacific Northwest that have historically fueled innovation and development in Seattle.
New Artwork Installation by Toka Valu on the Alaskan Way Pedestrian Bike Lane
New public artwork on Seattle’s Waterfront features a series of Tongan design motifs by artist Toka Valu, integrated into the protected bike lane buffers through stamped concrete, steel inlays, and a thermoplastic crosswalk (to be installed at a later date).
The work is based on the “Fale Tonga” or the architecture of the Tongan house. The Fale Tonga is significant to Tongan culture because it’s where life for the Tongan identity begins, is founded, and is molded. The different segments throughout its architecture denote a different kind of hierarchy tied to its use in the everyday life of the family. This artwork was funded by the Seattle Department of Transportation % for Art Funds and the Move Seattle Levy and was part of the Alaskan Way Safety Project.
New Artwork Installation by Jeffry Mitchell at Ballard’s Canal Substation
In 1995, artist Jeffry Mitchell was commissioned to create an artwork on the exterior corner of the Seattle City Light Systems Control Center at the corner of NW 47th St and 6th Ave NW. In the last 30 years, many of the individual components of the artworks have been damaged, vandalized, or stolen. The artist was brought back to re-envision the existing artwork and create new artwork with the same idea of creating a small “Ballard Sculpture Garden” in materials that will last another 30+ years. This project is funded through the Seattle City of Light % for Art Funds.
Big News from the Bridges: Meet the 2025 Bridge Artists in Residence
In partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), we’re thrilled to welcome Freyja Whitney and Vivian Cho as the 2025 SDOT Bridge Artists in Residence. These two talented animators will take over the historic towers of the Fremont and University Bridges, transforming Seattle’s infrastructure into vibrant platforms for creative storytelling.
Freyja Whitney (Fremont Bridge) brings dreamlike, community-focused animations exploring themes from gender identity to climate change. Vivian Cho (University Bridge) merges analog charm with cutting-edge motion design, crafting experimental and heart-driven visual narratives.
South Park Water Quality Project Planning Artist: Outreach Events
In collaboration with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), we selected Deborah Aschheim as the Planning Artist for the South Park Water Quality Facility Project. Deborah’s outreach began in earnest this Summer and will continue into the Fall. She’ll engage with community members to learn more about the South Park neighborhood, environment, and the community’s dreams for the area.
Deborah noted, “kids loved finishing the drawings based on themes of South Park’s diverse cultural communities and the Duwamish River. Their parents were able to learn about the Water Quality Facility and share their own experiences and preferences for the final design with the team while their kids made art,” at the South Park Summer Party in August.
Ship Canal Water Quality Project: Artist Selection for Gooseneck Air Vents
In partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), we selected three emerging public artists to design and install mural artworks directly onto large gooseneck air vents as part of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project (SCWQP).
Justin Gibbens, Esmeralda Vasquez, and Tommy Segundo will each create unique artwork at three different sites in Fremont, Queen Anne, and East Ballard that reflect each artist’s cultural and artistic sensibilities in response to the larger story of water and connection in the capital project. The three artists will be mentored by established muralist Angelina Villalobos (AKA 179) and will complete their installations in Fall 2025.
Civic Art Collection and City Gallery Highlights
Mapping guidance texts have been added to artwork groupings and collections featuring publicly sited artworks on the Civic Collection virtual portal. These new texts are intended to target this underutilized and fun function.
The mapping function allows users to view the entire collection or selected artworks on a map. The new instructional text is in existing artwork “Groups” and “Favorites.” Users can create their own groupings to map by creating Favorites.
Artist’s Intent: Selections from the City of Seattle Art Collection
July 3 – Sept. 30, 2025
SMT Gallery, 3rd Floor, Seattle Municipal Tower
What does an artist intend? Sometimes it’s explicit and other times cryptic, even confusing. Titles and label text can provide answers but can also pose more questions. It’s a fun exercise to form your own interpretation before reading anything about each piece in this show.
Randy Hayes’ drawing, Member of the Tribe, seems to capture a discrete moment in time whereas James Martin’s, Infanta, Sousa’s Band Suit and Table Dancer II, has a more surreal collection of people and objects that tell a completely different story. Both Mark Onat and Debra Gerth manipulate images in their respective photographs. Onat uses darkroom techniques to critique advertising while Gerth incorporates digital techniques to tell a more personal story. Can you match your interpretation to what the artist seems to be after? Even if you can’t, it’s interesting to try.
Artists in the show:
- Debra J. Gerth
- James Martin
- Abra Ancliffe
- Julie Parks
- Randy Hayes
- Selcuk Mark Onat
- John Feodorov
- John Kieltyka
- Billy King
