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ARTS wins National Award for artwork dedicated to Black innovation and joy

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A public art exhibition from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) received national recognition from Americans for the Arts Public Art Network’s 2017 Year in Review. Year in Review highlights the most successful, innovative, and exciting public art projects and programs in the United States. The award-winning project was Paradise Under Reconstruction in the Aesthetic of Funk: A Quantum Leap, Starting From The Top…!!! an immersive installation by artist Xenobia Bailey.

This year the Public Art Network received 325 entries from public art programs and artists. A total of 49 projects were selected for recognition. ARTS has received recognition for previous projects in past years. The art works selected for the Public Art Network Year in Review can be seen here. The Year in Review selections were presented at the national conference in San Francisco, CA in June. In addition local artist Buster Simpson and Cath Brunner, Director of 4Culture’s Public Art program also received recognition from the Public Art Network.

“These selected works reflect the incredible diversity of public art projects, including temporary to permanent, sculpture to performance art,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “The innovation of work demonstrated in the Public Art Network Year in Review shows the breadth of talent from artists around the country. I congratulate them and their commissioning groups for these community treasures.”

Paradise Under Reconstruction in the Aesthetic of Funk: A Quantum Leap, Starting From The Top…!!! was an installation in the Seattle Presents Gallery. It was part of Dialogues in Art: Exhibitions on Racial Injustice, a year-long series exploring artists’ and curators’ interpretations of racial injustice, both systemic and institutional, impacting Black-identifying people throughout America. In her installation Bailey created an immersive installation featuring African-American homemakers and caregivers that honored and celebrated their innovative, soulful lifestyle. The installation referenced connections to the African-American community and Seattle’s history. The life-sized figures play an important role in cultivating and rebuilding homes and communities, while providing nurturing and guidance for African-American youth. According to Bailey the installation was created as “an exploration for a future of designing and engineering a humane material culture and cyber cottage industry that will address community needs relating to wellness and social and economic development.”

The Public Art Network is a program of Americans for the Arts, designed to provide services to the diverse field of public art and to develop strategies and tools to improve communities through public art. The network’s constituents are public art professionals, visual artists, design professionals, and communities and organizations planning public art projects and programs.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC and New York City, it has a record of more than 40 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in, and appreciate all forms of the Arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

Poetry Garden Art Series 2017: Jennifer Szabo

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Untitled
May 6 – August 4, 2017

The interaction of culture and landscape is at the heart of Jennifer Szabo’s work. Untitled looks to encapsulate the impact Festál has made over time in a single place and moment of time. In visiting the site, Szabo felt the importance of what she considers the “mother tree” of the space behind the screens. The tree acts as a metaphor for this place and time–Seattle’s keeper of history. Using colored string, with each hue representing a different culture, Szabo creates an abstract representation of the Festál calendar.

The colored strings represent the vibrancy that Festál adds to life in Seattle, as well as how the cultures represented are woven into the fabric of place and become rooted there.

About the Poetry Garden: The Poetry Garden was envisioned at its inception to be a site for temporary art activations. The garden, in the heart of the Seattle Center campus, is composed of crushed granite paths punctuated by 12 sculpted, polished, pink granite boulders engraved with an eclectic selection of poems by various authors. The boulders were sculpted and sited by artist/sculptor John Hoge.

Photos courtesy of Office of Arts & Culture.

Downtown Tree Trek with Susan Robb

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In order to bring the public into my Center City Public Art Plan process I have been leading walks through downtown with various themes. On April 23rd and May 7th I led a “tree trek” where, along with my guests Kelly Pajek (public Art Project Manager, 4Culture) and Jim Dememtre (Arts writer/Botanist), we discussed urban “arbortecture” or the planning, designing, and use of trees and other botanicals in the city space.

For this trek I wove together stories of social justice (and injustice), public art, city planning, public/private space, and moments for the participants to offer their own ideas for the future of downtown, using urban forestry as a jumping off point.

We began our walk at Pilgrim Pillars Park on the corner of Pike and Boren where I spoke about the once-forested Duwamish land we now call Seattle, the history of architectural columns, the history and legacy of redlining in Seattle, Pilgrim Pillars itself, and why its location – facing the gaping maw of I-5 – is particularly significant. We then spent time each discussing and offering suggestions regarding how the park might be used and what could make it a more vibrant and people-friendly place.

From there we walked to Freeway Park. At this location we discussed the Babylonian Hanging Gardens, brutalist architecture, and the history and design of Freeway Park itself. Jim Demetre introduced us to particularly special tree specimens and then showed us the little know portal that looks onto the highway from behind the falls.

 

From Freeway Park, Kelly Pajek led us to the Tree Grate Museum at Ninth Avenue and Pike Street. The Tree Grates (artist-designed cast metal grates at the base of Linden, Oak, Gingko, Zelkova, and Maple trees) were part of a public art scheme created in the late 80’s as a way to integrate artists into urban design and city planning. Kelly discussed the design and way-finding function of the grates, why tree grates have fallen out of favor, and what that means for this iconic element of Seattle’s urban art experience.

 

After the tree grates we headed to the Amazon Spheres at Sixth Avenue and Lenora Avenue. Once completed, these three intersecting glass and steel hemispheres will be a super-deluxe, private, botanical garden (complete with exotic plant specimens, waterfalls, and tree houses) for Amazon employees. We spoke about the idea of the “hot house flower” and conducted a quick group action/ritual at the site regarding the necessity of self-care and being “high maintenance.”

Our next stop was to view and discuss examples of “Leaves of Remembrance” on Third and Lenora Avenues. These brass leaves, embedded into the sidewalks throughout downtown, are a part of the Tree of Life (Homeless Remembrance Project) by Clark Wiegman, Karen Kiest, and Kim Lokan, 2012, sited at Victor Steinbrueck Park. They bear the names of homeless women and men who have died, “so that every person will have a place to be remembered.”

From these small leaves we traveled on to the biggest tree downtown, the Giant Sequoia on Stewart Street between Third and Fourth Avenues. At this location I discussed plant intelligence, Sequoias in particular, and this tree specifically. We momentarily considered making this poor lonely tree a Tinder page, but decided to hug it instead. We then each offered up a “big idea” for downtown. Many of our ideas involved methods for reconnecting Center City Seattle back to nature. One of my favorites was the proposal to dig up a portion of the streets next to the bike lane, plant enough trees so that a durable canopy formed, thereby giving bike riders a drier pedaling corridor.

The group’s next stop was to New Archetypes, by Anne and Patrick Poirier, 1990. At this sculpture I tied together the themes I laid out at Pilgrims Pillar Park. I read a particularly prescient quote from the Poirier’s regarding cultural memory, spoke about the construction site across the street (the soon to be built so- called 2&U building), and the architect’s use of tree-like pylons that they hope will be reminiscent of a Pacific Northwest forest.

Our final stop of the day was to the roof top garden on the 17th floor of the Russell Investment building. The outing on April 23rd was marked by non-stop rain. The weather on May 7th however was ideal and our time spent at this avian garden was perfect. Jim spoke about the selected plant specimens (those typically found near the shore). At this elevation we were able to form a clearer understanding of the city streets (particularly near the market). We also began to notice just how many private, rooftop gardens Seattle has while at pedestrian level the city generally lacks significant green space.

I will be leading at least one more public walk through downtown before the end of my residency with the Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Department of Transportation and I hope you can join me. These walks have been a great way for me to connect not only with how the public views downtown but to our shared experience of the city, together.

This summer the third floor of King Street Station will be awash with public art

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Office of Arts & Culture explores Belonging and Resistance with site-specific and collection works
Opening August 3, 2017

This summer the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s (ARTS) public art program will enliven the third floor of King Street Station with 2D- and 3D works from the City’s collection and site-specific installations. The exhibition, focusing on themes of belonging and resistance, will be free and open to the public, and will open August 3, 2017. An anchor project by artist and educator Pedro Lasch will investigate ideas of nationalism and belonging, and will be accompanied by responses from regional artists. The exhibition will introduce the range of programming that the public art program undertakes to provide art experiences to residents of and visitors to Seattle, including lectures, performances and engagement activities.

The exhibition will be the first art installation at King Street Station by ARTS and will give the public a glimpse of how the third floor will be transformed when it becomes a new arts and culture hub. ARTS, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), is creating a permanent cultural space at King Street Station. ARTS engaged in an inclusive, city-wide outreach effort in order to hear from the community about their needs. ARTS’ intention with the new space is to increase opportunities for communities of color to present their work. The dedicated cultural space will provide public access to presentation and creative spaces, ARTS staff and resources, space for city convenings, and professional development and other services that were requested through the outreach process. This innovative plan utilizes an underused city resource to address issues of affordability and livability while preserving the unique creative economy that drives Seattle.

The city’s public art program provides opportunities for individuals to encounter art in parks, libraries, community centers, fire stations, on roadways, bridges and other public venues, enriching citizens’ daily lives and giving voice to artists. Seattle was one of the first cities in the United States to adopt a percent-for-art ordinance in 1973. The program integrates the work of artists in the envisioning of the public realm, advancing Seattle’s reputation as a cultural center for innovation and creativity. Public art projects create a special sense of place and enrich viewers’ experiences of the urban environment. The program specifies that 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase and installation of artworks in a variety of settings.

The collection includes more than 400 permanently sited and integrated artworks and includes pieces by Isamu Noguchi, Marita Dingus, Mark Calderon, Ann Hamilton, Buster Simpson, and Michael Heizer. Artworks are commissioned through a public process. The city stewards and maintains its artworks through an ongoing program of coordinated conservation activities, which include inspections, major restorative work and routine maintenance.

 

30th Anniversary of Contemporary QuiltArt Association exhibition at City Hall

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May 4 – July 5, 2017; City Hall Gallery
Reception on Thursday, May 4, 4-6 p.m.

An exhibition celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Contemporary QuiltArt Association, Coming of Age II, is coming to Seattle’s City Hall on May 4.  The exhibition is a celebration of the many ways that fiber can be used in today’s art quilts. The artworks demonstrate the growth members have made over the last three decades. The exhibit features 38 pieces of fiber art from 25 different artists that live in Washington State.

The Contemporary Quilt Art Association, a non-profit arts organization run entirely by volunteers, is a Washington state group formed in the fall of 1986. This diverse group of artists, teachers, writers, and collectors lives throughout Washington, and view quilts as an exciting medium of expression and a viable contemporary art form. They are proud of the years of CQA exhibitions around the state, the nation, and the hemisphere. CQA includes national and internationally celebrated quilt artists among its members and are equally proud of aspiring and emerging quilt artists, and those who have worked only in traditional quilt-making and are now curious to explore other possibilities.

Artist Statement:

The tanks containing radioactive waste on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation continue to have problems with leakage.  The article printed in this piece is referenced here: Macfarlane, A. (2016, May 4). Nuclear Waste Leak Continues at ‘America’s Fukushima’; 33 Left Ill by Radioactive Fumes. Retrieved July 8, 2016, from www.weather.com

Seattle City Hall Lobby
600 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104

Image caption:
Ginnie Hebert
Tank Farm, 2016
Fabrics created by artist with the following techniques:  Painted, stenciled, printed, screen printed with dye
Materials used:  Cotton fabric, Procion dyes, acrylic paint, foil, cotton and polyester threads, glow-in-the-dark thread and paint, wool batting

 

Vicki Scuri artist commissioned for SDOT Aurora Ave N Corridor Improvements Project

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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

Jill Anholt commissioned to create artwork for Fauntleroy Way SW

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The Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), has commissioned artist Jill Anholt to develop site-specific artworks for the Fauntleroy Way SW Boulevard Project. Anholt will work with SDOT and SDOT consultants from design through construction to develop permanent public artwork for the Fauntleroy Way SW Boulevard Project. Possible sites include green spaces, median strips, and/or sidewalks, to be determined through collaboration and coordination with the project team. Anholt is beginning her project by investigating the history, multiple uses, and busy right of way along this corridor to design and implement site-responsive artwork.

Anholt is a visual artist based in Vancouver, B.C. who has been creating site specific works in the public realm since 1998. Anholt’s practice ranges from complex integrated works in parks, pedestrian walkways and transit stations, to small scale installations in buildings and public plazas across North America. Her installations explore the relationship between nature and infrastructure, body and place; revealing layers of personal and cultural memory and experience. Environmental sustainability play a generative role in the conceptual development, form, and material expression of many of her works. Along with her art practice, Anholt is an instructor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver.

SDOT’s Fauntleroy Boulevard Project builds upon previous planning work done by the community. Discussions of improvements to Fauntleroy Way began in 1999, when the West Seattle Junction Hub Neighborhood Plan identified streetscape improvements in this area, and continued through the multi-year West Seattle Triangle planning process. The streetscape plan was formally adopted by SDOT and the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (now Office of Planning and Community Development) in 2012. Through several extensive community processes, the residents and business owners in the area have expressed the need for improvements to make this stretch of Fauntleroy Way SW safer for pedestrians and bikes, and highlight its role as a main entrance to West Seattle.

Anholt was selected by a panel of artists advised by community members and city staff. The project is commissioned with SDOT 1% for Art funds.

Photo: Carlos Amat

Image: Marking, carved wood, Fort Calgary, Calgary Canada, completed 2015

Essay White City by Elissa Washuta is now available

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Fremont Bridge writer-in-residence Elissa Washuta’s essay White City is now available for everyone to read. In addition, a podcast of Washuta reading an excerpt of the essay at the Seattle Public Library‘s Central branch is available here.

Elissa Washuta was commissioned by the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), to be the writer-in-residence in the northwest tower of the Fremont Bridge from June through August 2016. While in the tower, she researched, and wrote, White City a literary work, based on the history of the Puget Sound, including the lives of this region’s first peoples, the “landscape surgery” that defined the creation of Seattle’s waterways for purposes of commerce and industry, and the city of rapid change that we experience today.

Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a writer of personal essays and memoir. She is the author of two books, Starvation Mode and My Body Is a Book of Rules, named a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Her work has appeared in Salon, The Chronicle of Higher Education, BuzzFeed, and elsewhere. Elissa holds an MFA from The University of Washington and currently serves as the undergraduate adviser for the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington and a nonfiction faculty member in the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Elissa has received fellowships and awards from Artist Trust, 4Culture, Potlatch Fund, and Hugo House. Born and raised in New Jersey, she called Seattle home for the last ten years, and will join the faculty at Ohio State University in the Fall of 2017.

Jeffrey Veregge selected to create artwork honoring Coast Salish culture at the Salmon Bay Pump Station

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The Office of Arts & Culture in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has commissioned artist Jeffrey Veregge for an artwork to honor Coast Salish culture at the Salmon Bay Pump Station project. Veregge will join the Salmon Bay Pump Station design team to develop artwork for the future SPU facility in the Ballard neighborhood. The artwork and pump station are expected to be completed in 2024.

Jeffrey Veregge is an award-winning Native American comic book artist from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Kingston, Washington.  His work uses Coastal Salish and contemporary graphic design techniques dubbed “Salish Geek” by his fans and peers.  In addition to his work for Marvel, Valiant and IDW Publishing, his art is included in the collections of NIKE, Viacom, Museum of Pop Culture, Yale University, Washington State Historical Society, University of Washington and the Seattle Art Museum. His work has also appeared in numerous websites and publications such as Fast Company Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, io9, Seattle Magazine, Native Peoples, Cowboys and Indians and Wired Magazine. Veregge’s creator-owned six-issue comic series, Demicon, published by Native Realities Press, will debut later this spring.

Seattle Public Utilities and King County are working together to build an underground storage tunnel to reduce combined sewer overflows into the Ship Canal during rainstorms. This project is called the Ship Canal Water Quality Project and includes the Salmon Bay Pump Station (24th Ave NW and Shilshole Ave NW). The pump station will pump stored sewage and stormwater from the tunnel to King County’s West Point Water Treatment Facility.

Veregge was selected by a panel of artists, tribal and community members, city staff and consultants. The project is commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds.

Photo: Jeffrey Veregge (photo: Rachel Ann Seymour)

Image: Red Wolf, digital drawing, 2015

Two public art projects recognized as part of the 2016 Design Excellence Awards

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The Seattle Design Commission recognized two projects that were enriched with integrated public art in their 2016 Design Excellence Awards, Fire Station 20 and Mapes Creek Restoration. You can view all the recipients here.

The Seattle Design Commission presents the Design Excellence Awards every two years, selecting the winning projects from the many public buildings, parks, open spaces and vision plans completed in Seattle. They choose projects that promote the mission and exemplify the values of the Design Commission: inspired design, contextual integration, innovative sustainability, social inclusion, exemplary partnerships, effective investment and impeccable execution.

The recognized artworks are Rob Ley’s Wind and Water at Fire Station 20 and the two Mapes Creek Restoration artworks: Yegizaw Michael’s Motion and John Grade’s Gyre.

Wind & Water by Rob Ley
Fire Station 20, 2014
Photographed by Lara Swimmer

Wind and Water at Fire Station 20 comprises more than 100 one-inch stainless steel tubes and stands over 14 feet tall, suggesting the flow of water or the movement of the wind. The sculpture engages passing pedestrians and frames the entrance to the building. The fire station also includes state-of-the-art sustainability upgrades and increased space for more fire engines.

The Office of Arts & Culture commissioned Wind and Water with Department of Finance and Administrative Services Fire Facilities and Emergency Management Levy 1% for Art funds. Photos courtesy City of Seattle.

Yegizaw Michael, Motion

Integrated into the Mapes Creek Restoration is Motion by Yegizaw Michael, which consists of over 450 disks of colored concrete and stainless steel that are inlaid throughout the 52nd Ave. S. walkway. The disks appear to flow between a set of concrete pipes that are inset in the north and south ends of sidewalk, calling attention to Seattle Public Utilities’ combined sewer line along the Mapes Creek Walkway that flows to the King County pump station.

John Grade, Gyre

John Grades’ work Gyre, also at Mapes Creek Restoration, is a stainless steel and wood sculpture suspended over the mouth of Mapes Creek in Beer Shiva Park in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. A master in working with wood, Grade meticulously crafted Gyre with tongue-and-groove slats surrounding a stainless steel frame. The artwork’s gently twisting form conjures a sail, rudder or elongated fin, and references the spiraling eddies of the water below and in adjacent Lake Washington. Sculpted with old-growth cedar salvaged from the Cedar River Watershed, the source of most of Seattle’s drinking water and vital to the area’s salmon habitat, Gyre reinforces the connection between the source of the region’s water and its destination.

The Lower Mapes Creek project is project of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), and both Gyre and Motion are funded by SPU’s 1% for Art funds.

Side note: the two-other project recognized by the Design Commission, Sound Transit’s Light Rail Station at the University of Washington and the Leaves of Remembrance project both included artworks.