Art Beat Blog Office of Arts & Culture

Art Beat

Office of Arts & Culture news and events

ARTS Seeks 2023-24 Seattle Civic Poet

by Leave a Comment

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in partnership with the Seattle City of Literature, commissions and supports an experienced poet with a two-year City residency to serve as a literary ambassador for the City of Seattle. In addition to annual City events, the Civic Poet will foster community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public, and other artists, while celebrating the literary arts.   

Civic Poet Jourdan Imani Keith at the 2019 Mayor’s Arts Awards; Photo by Marcus R. Donner

“Each year Seattle’s Civic Poet brings an efficacy of innovative creativity and authentic narratives about diverse peoples and places. The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture (ARTS) looks forward to continued engagement with poets and communities as we seek the next cultural ambassador for Seattle’s rich literary tapestry.”

royal alley-barnes, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Acting Director
Learn About Civic Poet

Eligibility and Funding

This call is open to Seattle-based poets who have an established body of work including published/self-published works, reading/spoken word plus project planning experience, and applied racial equity practice. Applicants must:   

  • Be based in Seattle (residence in the City of Seattle),   
  • Be eligible to work in the U.S.   
  • Have demonstrated interest/experience in promoting equity and inclusion through the arts, and   
  • Show strong program planning and implementation with partnerships.  

The compensation for the two-year Civic Poet commission is $15,000. Funding covers a two-year period. It covers time for writing, administration, other artist fees, performances, event costs, materials, travel, fees, taxes, and other project-related costs. 

Deadline

Wednesday, July 13, 2022; 5pm PST  

Application

Contact

Please direct any questions about the program to Irene Gómez, Project Manager at irene.gomez@seattle.gov or (206) 684-7310. 

The Civic Poet program is made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle City of Literature. For questions about this program, please contact Irene Gómez, Project Manager at irene.gomez@seattle.gov, (206) 684-7310.

May: Grants, Gigs, and Opportunities

by Leave a Comment

Curated by Ashraf Hasham

It’s time for the monthly roundup of community grants, job openings, opportunities, and resources!

C.A.R.E Grant: CD Forum and Monique Franklin’s presentation of Mama’z Muezz; Photo by Melissa J Thompson

Arts Funding Programs

  • The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) is opening a new funding program, Hope Corps, that connects under- and unemployed workers in the creative industries with career opportunities.  
    • Individual artists, creative workers, community groups, and arts and cultural organizations are eligible to apply for Hope Corps funding, ranging from $15,000 – $300,000, for one of the following project focus areas: Public Health; Mental Health and Healing; Food Security; Media, Journalism, and Storytelling; Social Connection and Belonging; and Arts Education. Applications for project concepts should: 1) Generate career opportunities for the local creative workforce, and; 2) Contribute to the well-being and resiliency of our communities, over the course of either 6 or 12 months.
    • Review the Guidelines. View the Application Preview.
    • Deadline: The application is open now through June 6.
  • The Lewis Prize for Music — a creative arts philanthropy that invests in youth music programs to facilitate positive community change— has opened its 2023 Accelerator Awards application.
    • Multi-year awards of $500,000 each will be awarded in January 2023. By applying for the Accelerator Awards, organizations are also eligible for funding ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. 
    • Learn more and apply here by June 3.
  • National Endowment for the Arts’ Grant for Arts Projects
    • Applicants may request cost share/matching grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
    • Learn more here and apply by June 7.
  • The Centering Art & Racial Equity (C.A.R.E.) Grant is the new name of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s (ARTS) funding program previously known as Civic Partners.
    • The C.A.R.E. grant awards three consecutive years of funding to Seattle arts and culture, heritage, and arts service organizations with a minimum three-year history of providing accessible programming for Seattle residents and visitors. To create a more equitable, vibrant, and relevant arts sector, ARTS prioritizes support for organizations with an arts-focused mission that are taking action to be anti-racist and who value, implement, and uphold inclusive practices through an intersectional racial equity lens. 
    • Learn more and apply by Wednesday, August 10, 5pm Pacific

Artist Grants & Opportunities

  • Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants are open for Cycle 3.
    • These are one-time grants of up to $5,000 to professional dancers who have experienced dire financial emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lack or imminent endangerment of essentials such as housing, medicine/healthcare, utilities, and food. 
    • Cycle 3 has a deadline of May 20, for emergency expenses between January 1 and September 30, 2022.
    • Learn more.
  • Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants Cycle 13 is now open.
    • These grants of up to $5,000 support direct treatment expenses for medical, dental or mental health emergencies that occurred on October 1, 2021, or later; the deadline is June 7.
    • Artists practicing in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts and choreography are eligible.
    • Learn more.

Grants/RFPs/RFIs for Organizations

Courtesy of the Seattle Department of Education & Early Learning
  • King County Seeks Organizations and Businesses to Provide Technical Assistance and Capacity Building to Recipients of Federal COVID-19 Funding. 
  • Seattle Department of Education & Early Learning (DEEL) is seeking requests for investment (RFI) from community-based organizations for Educator Diversity funding. 
    • DEEL will invest up to $700,000 in community-based programs supporting professional learning opportunities for educators of color disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities in education to increase racial and ethnic representation in the education workforce. Funded programs will provide historically underserved youth with increased access to racially, linguistically, and ethnically diverse educators providing culturally-responsive learning opportunities to support student success.
  • WA State’s Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) just opened a By and For Victim Services funding opportunity.
    • Funding is intended to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and unserved individuals who have experienced hurt, harm, or crime. Eligibility is restricted to applicants who demonstrate they are culturally based, directed, and substantially controlled by individuals from the specific BIPOC and unserved population. 
    • Review the application, FAQs, and materials and apply by July 29, 5pm.

Small Businesses/Entrepreneures

  • Applications open for SBA’s T.H.R.I.V.E. executive entrepreneurship training serie.
    • SBA’s T.H.R.I.V.E (Train, Hope, Rise, Innovate, Venture, Elevate) is an executive-level training series designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential small businesses. It’s a six-month, intensive training series including in-person coaching, self-paced instruction, mentoring, and classroom time. The program allows participants to work with a network of experienced subject matter experts in core business topics like accounting, business strategy, marketing, and human resources customized for the unique needs of small business owners.
    • Learn more and apply by May 31.
  • Washington Department of Commerce launches the new Creatives Academy, part of a series of self-directed educational academies for small business owners (joining Mastering Financials, the Entrepreneur Academy, and Restart Academy).
    • Designed to teach the essential skills needed to turn a creative pursuit into a successful small business, the academy contains 11 tracks. Lessons range from developing a business mindset and accessing capital to finding customers, creating winning pitches, and negotiating terms.

Grants and Resources for Youth Development Providers

Courtesy of King County Parks
  • WA State’s Youth Development Workgroup is seeking provider input from across the state.
    • Now is your opportunity to share your perspective to help create recommendations to the legislature about future support for youth development in Washington State. It’s important all our communities have the opportunity to provide feedback to help share their vision for support for our field in the years to come. There are 2 ways to engage and provide your input:
      • Virtual Provider Focus Groups: These will be taking place between May 18 – June 7 and will be hosted by DCYF region.  
      • Provider Survey: Takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Survey available here and closes on June 15.
  • Applications are open for the 2022 Youth Sports & Recreation Relief Fund. 
    • King County Parks has partnered with the King County Play Equity Coalition to design, develop, and implement this federal Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (CLFR) funding to nonprofit organizations providing programs and facilities that support youth access to physical activity. King County Parks will administer a one-time CLFR investment of approximately $4 million across the County to nonprofit organizations serving youth most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and furthest from play equity. 
    • Applications due on Friday, May 20 at 5pm.

Gig Alerts

Courtesy of The Residency
  • Friends of the Waterfront is hiring for event production staff:
    • Event Production and Operations Manager ($80k-86k/annually): We are seeking someone who has strong technical production skills, experience managing budgets, and is familiar with creating event layouts using Visio, CAD, or similar software.
    • Event & Facility Onsite Operations Assistant ($22-30/hr): We are seeking several roles to work flexible hours onsite at Pier 62 maintaining the Pier and ensuring it is ready for both daily guests and larger events. Includes a range of duties including moving barricades and tents, setting up game activations, customer service, and working with facilities vendors.
  • FEEST is hiring for an experienced Community Organizing & Training Manager, to train and supervise organizing staff to organize, build power, and win policy changes in their school district with student leaders. They’ve extended the application deadline until May 18.
  • Public Health – Seattle & King County is hiring a Family Planning Health Educator ($71k-91k annually) to provide sexual health education and outreach for their four clinics.
    • Learn more here and here. There are 3 positions: 2 temporary positions (Bellevue and Federal Way) and 1 permanent position (Kent). Closes May 18.
  • Public Health – Seattle & King County is also recruiting a Family Planning Referral Coordinator ($50k-63k/annually) for four family planning clinics, located in South King County (Kent, Auburn, Federal Way) and Bellevue to provide support to clients in linking with follow-up care and assistance within our clinics and as well as with health and social service resources. Closes June 19.
  • The Residency is hiring Vocal and Production Teaching Artists ($75/hr teaching, $35/hr prep) for their keystone program, the Summer Intensive Workshop Series. Closes May 22.
  • Arts Corps is hiring two program managers ($54k/annually, 32 hrs/wk). Apply by May 24.
  • Votiv, a Seattle-based media group, is hiring for a Coordinator (open until filled).
  • ArtsFund is hiring for a few positions, as well:
    • Communications & Digital Marketing Manager ($52-58k annually)
    • Annual Giving Manager ($52-58k annually)
    • Finance & HR Manager ($52k-58k annually)

Participation is Power

  • Community Members Invited to Participate in Seattle Redistricting Public Forums. Individual forums are scheduled for each City Council District starting May 15. Learn more here.
  • Provide Feedback on Seattle Transportation Plan: Help the Seattle Department of Transportation establish a renewed vision for the future of our streets and public spaces by participating in a public survey here.
  • Public Comment Period Open for City Surveillance Ordinance: The City of Seattle is looking for public input on the fifth set of draft Surveillance Impact Reports for currently existing surveillance technologies. Closes May 20.

Volunteering & Mutual Aid

  • WashMasks has a heat stress prevention donation drive going on right now. They are hoping to provide over 1,000 kits to farmworkers in Wenatchee, Lower Yakima, and Skagit Valleys.
    • Learn more about how to donate here and here.
  • Join Volunteers Across the City for One Seattle Day of Service on May 21, 2022, with over 2,200 volunteer opportunities across more than 80 different activities throughout all seven City Council Districts.

A Recap of The Creative Advantage’s Artful Solidarity for Arts Education

by Leave a Comment

By Tina LaPadula
All Photos by Chloe Collyer

After 2 long, challenging years, The Creative Advantage hosted its first in-person event for Seattle Public School teachers and community arts partners on Saturday, April 30, at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).

Artful Solidarity for Arts Education kicked off with a collective performance from 5 Youth Speaks Seattle poets who performed a piece with a justice-themed take on the Pledge of Allegiance.

Throughout the event, arts educators and community partners alike experienced: updates from The Creative Advantage team; words of encouragement and thanks from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s (ARTS) Acting Director, royal alley-barnes; a keynote by Donte Felder, Executive Director of South End Stories; art-making “solidarity tracks” responding to images from SAM’s current exhibition, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, led by Nabra Nelson, Director of Arts Engagement at Seattle Rep; music with Orlando Morales, Director of Arts Engagement at The 5th Avenue Theatre; and visual art with Yaoyao Liu, Manager of School & Educator Programs at Seattle Art Museum.

After much time spent in virtual meetings and workshop spaces, it brought us collective joy to come together to celebrate our creative resilience, create art, and seed new possibilities that are yet to come.

Save the Date

The Creative Advantage Summer Institute will be held in person on August 18, 2022.

The Creative Advantage is a program of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with Seattle Public Schools, the Seattle Foundation, and community arts partners.  For more information, please visit The Creative Advantage website or contact Arts Education Project Manager, Tina LaPadula, at tina.lapadula@seattle.gov.

ARTS Unveils new name for organizational funding: Centering Art & Racial Equity (C.A.R.E.) Grant

by Leave a Comment

Now open, Centering Art & Racial Equity (C.A.R.E.) grant is the new name of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s organizational funding program previously known as Civic Partners. The updated name highlights the evolution of the program over the past ten years and reflects the values of racial equity, social cohesion, and the importance of art to our communities.

CD Forum and Monique Franklin’s presentation of Mama’z Muezz; Photo by Melissa J. Thompson

“Arts and culture organizations are a vital part of Seattle’s ecosystem. Our cultural investments aim to leverage the collective community action of Seattle’s arts and cultural sector to create a City where all artists, performers, writers and creative workers have the freedom, agency and platform to share and amplify their stories, art, cultures and experiences, regardless of race, class, gender, age, ability, education, country of birth, citizenship, religion and sexual orientation.” 

royal alley-barnes, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Acting Director

The C.A.R.E. grant awards three consecutive years of funding to Seattle arts and culture, heritage, and arts service organizations with a minimum three-year history of providing accessible programming for Seattle residents and visitors. To create a more equitable, vibrant, and relevant arts sector, ARTS prioritizes support for organizations with an arts-focused mission that are taking action to be anti-racist and who value, implement, and uphold inclusive practices through an intersectional racial equity lens.  

Application 

Contact

For more information, visit the C.A.R.E grant page or contact Kathy Hsieh, Cultural Investments Strategist, at (206) 733-9926 or kathy.hsieh@seattle.gov. TTY: Dial 711. Tele-Braille: (800) 833-6385. 

The Centering Art & Racial Equity (C.A.R.E.) grant is made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts& Culture (ARTS). For more information, please contact Kathy Hsieh, Cultural Investments Strategist, at (206) 733-9926 or kathy.hsieh@seattle.gov.

Lake City, Pioneer Square, Chinatown-International District Host Created Commons Events This Summer 

by Leave a Comment

Last year, Created Commons—the community-curated celebrations held in Westwood, Delridge, Chinatown-International District, and Downtown Seattle—coordinated with the Welcome Back Initiatives, creating some highlights of 2021. In 2022, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) seeks to continue the celebration of community and safe outdoor gatherings through another series of community-driven Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition events that will be held in three neighborhoods, Lake City, Pioneer Square, and Chinatown-International District throughout the summer.     

Created Commons as part of Welcome Back to the Chinatown-International District; Photo by Sunny Martini

“Summer in Seattle is a time to celebrate, convene and nourish ourselves. We are excited to work with three of our city’s neighborhoods to bring a festival of arts and culture to our communities. Arts engage, bond and offer shared opportunities for lived experiences across diverse races, cultures and buoys us as we move from pandemic to endemic life.” 

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Chinatown-International District

The first Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition event will take place in Chinatown-International District from May 21 through June 4. Curated by Lourdez Velasco, Jaeeun Kim, Monyee Chau, So’le Celestial, and Roldy Aguero Ablao, CHinalek Festival is a two-week festival that was inspired by the Fino’ CHamoru word CHinalek (tee-now-lick), which means “flower” and also translates to “laughter.”  

“We have collectively been through something we have never been through before with COVID-19. This festival will be a space where we can come together joyously to celebrate our communities, the Chinatown-International District neighborhood, and be immersed in an artistic curated space of workshops, performances, mural art and more.” 

CHinalek

Lake City

The second Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition event will be held in Lake City with Lake City Arts and Culture events, curated by Build Lake City Together and community curators Mark Mendez and Chris Leverson, who will be coordinating music and events within Lake City Parks. They will commission a new community mural and celebrate the opening of a new community arts and culture space.   

“The goal of these projects is to safely come together and celebrate arts and the community that make Lake City a unique and vibrant neighborhood.

Mark Mendez

The Lake City mural projects will address some areas and transform plain concrete into vibrant art that will deter graffiti, beautify the neighborhood, promote public safety, and highlight local businesses and nonprofit organizations. Community and neighborhood youth will be involved in the design and the painting of the murals to make it truly a community effort. The anticipated unveiling of the finished mural projects is at the end of July with a celebratory event to recognize the achievement. The music and events that are being planned will take the form of weekly live music and dance events with a strong emphasis on cultural sharing to reflect Lake City’s cultural diversity.  These “Arts in the Parks’’ events will be held weekly throughout the summer starting in mid-July. 

Pioneer Square

The third and final event will take place in Pioneer Square on August 6. Styled as MS PAM’S Block Party and curated by Tariqa Waters, it will be an 80s-themed event that will be held in Nord Alley, Occidental Mall, and surrounding areas. The event will feature DJs, musical acts, interactive art activities, and performances. 

The event will be coordinated with the release of Thank you, MS PAM, a television show that explores and celebrates local food, fashion, arts, and entertainment with a focus on BIPOC business owners in Seattle neighborhoods.

Thank you, MS PAM is playing a bit of ‘connect the dots’ with Martyr Sauce’s connections to various community partnerships over the years. Bringing Pioneer Square to other hoods around Seattle.

Tariqa Waters, artist and Pioneer Square Created Commons Curator

Stay tuned for additional details and dates for each of these exciting Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition events!

About Created Commons:

Created Commons is an expansive multi-agency initiative that centers, engages, and employs artists, communities, and cultural workers to activate public space for community connections, interpersonal resonance, and resiliency. The program leverages multi-agency collaboration and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s inclusive programming and activation models to support economic and community recovery. Created Commons builds on the momentum of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT) Stay Healthy Streets and Stay Healthy Blocks and the success of our Viaduct Arts Festival and ALL RISE programs to activate our City’s space in vibrant and creative ways in the Summer months of 2021 and 2022. 

Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition is a program created by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. For more information, please contact us at arts.culture@seattle.gov.

Artists Selected for Art Interruptions 2022 along Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway

by Leave a Comment

The Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), has commissioned four emerging public artists to create temporary art installations along the Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway for Art Interruptions 2022. The artworks will be installed on city-owned infrastructure and offer passers-by a brief interruption in their day through moments of surprise, beauty, contemplation, or humor.

The artists selected are:

Look for the latest artworks in Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway summer of 2022!

Artists were selected by a panel of artists, community members, and city staff. Art Interruptions is an ongoing program funded by the SDOT 1% for Arts Fund.

Exhibitions on Feminine Power and Transgender Transformation

by Leave a Comment

May 5 – July 7, 2022

War Mask 1, Hanoko O’Leary, Clay and glaze, 2018
Self-Portrait With Clove Cigarette #2, Molly Jae Vaughan, Oil on canvas, 2020

ARTS at King Street Station is opening an upcoming exhibition from two exciting artists that explores feminine power, transgender transformation, fertility and self-determination: Hanako O’Leary: Izanami and Yomi and Molly Jae Vaughan: Her Body and After Boucher.

“Self-determination for marginalized people is always an act of rebellion. Many of the paintings here depict parts of my body that society is always demanding people like me reveal, while simultaneously insisting we never show. But they are also about challenging social norms and the understanding of trans bodies.”

Molly Jae Vaughan

“This piece (Yomi) is a continued invitation to trace back our buried herstory and tales of heroine-ism within our personal and collective lineage, and find freedom and power through our intergenerational experiences.”

Hanako O’Leary

About the Exhibition

Izanami features a series of ceramic sculptures influenced by prehistoric Japanese fertility icons, Noh theatre masks, and samurai armor. Izanami, meaning “she who invites,” is the Shinto goddess of creation and death. According to legend, after giving birth to many gods and goddesses, Izanami died while giving birth to fire and was sent down into the underworld. The vessels in Izanami symbolize a realm of self-mastery and the masks represent guides who offer protection as one navigates society.

Yomi, featuring a large-scale fiber installation, is a sister project to Izanami and means “the land of darkness,” otherwise known in western cultures as the underworld and is Izanami’s dominion.

After Boucher features paintings, drawings, lithographs, and textiles based on the works of 18th-century French painter, draftsman, and printmaker François Boucher. These works create visions of queer resplendence and pleasure. Baroque figures, furniture, and environments are infused with transgender bodies, process color palettes, and mythological characters. After Boucher features 60+ works based on the book The Drawings of François Boucher by Alastair Laing. Through these works, viewers are re-introduced to the excessively opulent world of 18th century Europe where aristocratic gender constructs operated in a fluid array of warm pastels and powdered wigs.

Her Body features a collection of self-portraits that depict a range of experiences, some emotional and psychological, others medical.

“The apparent conflicts of certitude, action, and outcome are paramount in the complex juxtaposition of these severable states of being,” shares royal alley-barnes, Acting Director Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. “Opening ourselves to the manifest of the possible, the remembrance of the done, and creating intensity beyond our understanding of the circumstance or outcome, is inherent in Molly and Hanako’s narratives that they are bravely sharing with viewers.” 

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

This exhibition includes 2D and 3D portraiture of clothed and nude cis and trans women, and representations of medical instruments and post-surgical wounds and recovery.

ARTS at King Street Station is located at 303 S. Jackson Street, Top Floor, Seattle, WA. FREE and open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and 8pm on First Thursdays.

These exhibitions are organized and presented by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in partnership with program lead Jenny Ku and the ARTS at King Street Station Advisors. Support for the installation is provided by Benjamin Gale-Schreck and Blake Haygood. For more information, please contact Jenny Ku, King Street Station Programming Lead, at jenny.ku@seattle.gov.

Hope Corps Now Open

by 2 Comments

Washington Diamonds Drill Team at the 2017 Muddy Lotus Festival, photo by Jenny Crooks

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) is opening a new funding program, Hope Corps, that connects under- and unemployed workers in the creative industries with career opportunities. The application is open now through June 6, 2022.  

Apply for Hope Corps

“Hope Corps offers a new opportunity for creative workers and artists to re-enter the workforce. We know the value and innovation artists and creative workers bring to our city. Our arts sectors have historically been a driver of local economies, and Hope Corps is a multi-faceted funding program that aims to support our artists and creatives as we move towards recovery.” 

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Individual artists, creative workers, community groups, and arts and cultural organizations are eligible to apply for Hope Corps funding, ranging from $15,000 – $300,000, for the following project focus areas:

  • Public Health
  • Mental Health and Healing
  • Food Security
  • Media, Journalism and Storytelling
  • Social Connection and Belonging
  • Arts Education

Applications for project concepts should:

  1. Generate career opportunities for the local creative workforce, and
  2. Contribute to the well-being and resiliency of our communities, over the course of either 6 or 12 months. 

Please read the guidelines for full details on Hope Corps. They include eligibility, funding requirements, and evaluation criteria. You can also preview the application here without having to set up a Submittable account.

Unemployment and underemployment have devastated the creative sector. Hope Corps is a work program created to provide economic and social opportunities for Seattle’s extensive creative workforce. The program, somewhat inspired by the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration, centers Seattle’s Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, and diaspora community and meets civic needs such as public health and food security by employing artists, cultural and creative workers whose ability to work has been disrupted due to COVID-19. 

Workshops about Hope Corps will be held to help you turn in your strongest application: 

Information Sessions 

  • Wednesday, May 11, 2022, 1-2 pm 
    RSVP
  • Monday, May 23, 2022, 6-7 pm 
    RSVP

Draft Application Feedback Sessions 

  • Friday, May 27, 2022, 11 am-1 pm 
    RSVP
  • Tuesday, May 31, 2022, 4-6 pm 
    RSVP 

Hope Corps project concepts could include:  

  • Artists-in-residence at schools, in business districts or neighborhoods  
  • Free performances and arts activations that engage the public  
  • Free art workshops, lessons, or presentations at community gathering places or online  
  • Community dialogue, healing circles, social practice   
  • Capturing current moment in history – audio/visual/written documentation, historical records, community narratives  
  • Creative campaigns or other outputs that address any of the six Hope Corps focus areas  
  • Sustain existing paid or unpaid creative, educational, research, and service work that supports any focus area  

Hope Corps is made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. For more information contact Alex Rose, Hope Corps Project Manager, at (206) 459-6517 or alex.rose@seattle.gov. 

Culture Inspires Art

by Leave a Comment

By Dr. James R. Gore

Art can communicate cultural perspectives based on an artist’s experiences in society. A period in American history which expressed a unique cultural perspective was the Harlem Renaissance (1918-1937), where African American artists communicated their cultural worldview through artistic platforms of literature, poetry, visual arts, music, and photography. In 1925, an anthology entitled: The New Negro, edited by Dr. Alain Locke, consisting of literary works, essays and poetry expressed a new attitude for African Americans in the 20th Century.   

Note: This article defines attitude as, manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc. with regard to a person or thing, tendency, or orientation, especially of the mind, (Dictionary.com).   

One of the factors inspiring African American artists to express their self-defining perspectives of life in America was the Great Migration (1916 – 1970), an African American exodus from agricultural Southern states to industrial cities in America’s Northern and Western states.  In addition, many African Americans who fought in World War I, discovered the racial bias they experienced in America was not common in Europe. 

Artists of the Harlem Renaissance including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, and Claude McKay received widespread recognition in America and Europe. Reflecting the attitude of the Harlem Renaissance, its most well-known poet, Langston Hughes, was inspired by Jazz and its increasing popularity in American popular culture defined as, The Jazz Age.  Hughes’ poem entitled: Jazzonia which was one of his contributions to the anthology: The New Negro, illustrated the new African American transformation of an urbane lifestyle in the city: 

Jazzonia

Oh, silver tree!

Oh, shining rivers of this soul!

In a Harlem cabaret

Six long-headed jazzers play.

A dancing girl whose eyes are bold

Lift high a dress of silken gold.

Oh, singing tree!

Oh, shining rivers of the soul!

Were Eve’s eyes

In the first garden

Just a bit too bold?

Was Cleopatra gorgeous

In a gown of gold?

Oh, shining tree!

Oh, silver river of the soul!

In a whirling cabaret

Six long-headed jazzers play.

Oh, silver tree!

Oh, shining rivers of this soul!

In a Harlem cabaret

Six long-headed jazzers play.

(Hughes, L. (1925). Jazzonia. In A. Locke (Ed.), The New Negro (p.226). New York, New York: Albert and Charles Boni, Inc.).

Artists of the Harlem Renaissance influence continues for over a century.  Their perspectives on race, gender and humanity were revolutionary with national and international impact; however, the Harlem Renaissance evolved from the African American cultural experience to become one of Western Civilizations most epic artistic periods! 

FLOW: New Artworks Tell the Story of the Ship Canal

by Leave a Comment

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has commissioned four local emergent artists to develop new art installations for FLOW: Art Along the Ship Canal. These temporary and permanent installations tell a visual story of the water and its relationship to the community. The installations are made possible due to SPU’s Ship Canal Water Quality Project and can be seen along the Lake Washington Ship Canal through August 2022. 

Save Our Salmon by Tommy Segundo 

On View in Fremont (NW 36th St. & Leary Way NW) 

Save Our Salmon by Tommy Segundo, courtesy of the artist

Tommy Segundo’s Save Our Salmon showcases salmon flowing down the man-made waterway, Fremont Cut, moving towards the moon. The canoe with a killer whale adorning the side represents the flowing of all living beings that depend on these waters. “Salmon numbers have declined dramatically,” shares Segundo, “and we all need to work together to replenish salmon runs.” 

Kumi Hala by Toka Valu 

On View in Ballard (24th Ave NW & Shilshole Ave NW) 

Kumi Hala by Toka Valu, courtesy of the artist

In Toka Valu’s Kumi Hala, the shark greets salmon precisely where the salt (Salish Sea) meets the great blue slate (Pacific Ocean). Both are guided by ancestral wisdom planted long before either of them existed. It is why they both know and love the water deeply. 

And depths I cannot see by Clare Johnson  

On View in Wallingford (N 35th St & Interlake Ave N) 

And depths I cannot see by Clare Johnson, photo taken by Ricky Reyes

Inspired by memories from local seniors and self-identified community elders, Clare Johnson’s installation visualizes their personal experiences of water. Community elders responded to a variety of questions about early memories of water—from their relationship to Pacific Northwest waters to the ways water connects to their identities or perspectives. 

Using direct quotes from the participants, the art explores their answers in more open-ended ways. Some pay homage to real places and things from individual memories, while others also imagine scenery that symbolize their perspectives.  

“Between the quotes and countless layers of detail in the drawings, every community member who responded is included in the installation in some way—with each banner interweaving aspects of many different people’s experiences,” shares Johnson.

Trim Trail by KT Hancock & Sarah Elizabeth Terry 

On View in East Ballard (NW 45th St. & 11th Ave NW) 

Trim Trail by KT Hancock & Sarah Elizabeth Terry, courtesy of the artists

When Trade Marx Sign, a 50-year-old Seattle sign company closed in 2020, artists KT Hancock and Sarah Elizabeth Terry salvaged leftover parts to create what is now Trim Trail. The materials are strategically arranged so that the threads combine to create a more dynamic, whole community. 

“There is this little bit of history that is now incorporated into the building of something new,” shares the artists. “Inspiration comes from the interconnected network that is our waterfront neighborhood in Ballard.” 
 

FLOW: Art Along the Ship Canal is an annual program that utilizes the construction fences along the Ship Canal Water Quality project as a backdrop to allow artists to showcase their unique voice and provide a changing gallery of experiences for those who walk, bike, drive along the Burke-Gilman Trail and throughout the area. 

Artists were selected by a panel of artists, community members, and City staff. The project is commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds.