Art Beat Blog Office of Arts & Culture

Art Beat

Office of Arts & Culture news and events

Check out our August eNews

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In this issue:

Message from the Director: “Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights?”

We’re seeking:

…an artist to develop a site-specific art project for Fire Station 30 in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood.

…an artist to develop and fabricate a single artwork design to inlay at 10 to 15 new sidewalk locations.

…an artist to develop site-specific artwork for the Mercer West street improvement project.

The Office will celebrate Salon, a new public artwork by artist team SuttonBeresCuller, Aug. 21.

Eight local emerging artists will provide images of original artwork for temporary panels for the fence surrounding the Civic Square construction site in downtown Seattle.

Kick it this summer with free concerts at City Hall’s outdoor plaza, Thursdays from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Bumbershoot visual artists and designers dish about their work.

See 28 rarely seen artworks from the city of Seattle’s portable works collection.

The latest Seattle OnHold mix is available by podcast.

Take advantage of the warm nights with free outdoor movies and concerts.

Image: John Fleming, 17 Year Old Eyes (detail), 2009, recycled stencils, chipboard, and plywood, 25″ x 50″. Artwork will be photographed and produced on a temporary panel surrounding the Civic Square construction site. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Not-Its! bring “it” to City Hall, Thursday, July 29

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Bring your kids (or inner child) to this free all-ages concert 12 to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, July 29, at Seattle City Hall plaza, 600 Fourth Ave. The crunchy guitar riffs and smooth four-part harmonies of The Not-Its! meld to create catchy pop goodness for the young and young at heart. These ’80s-style ladies and gents accent their high energy stage performance with hot pink neck ties and tutus, up-tempo power-pop and danceable tunes to get fans on their feet.

Hot and dusty never felt so good – Dusty 45s at City Hall, July 15

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Get to City Hall plaza, noon, Thursday, July 15, and let the Dusty 45s set yer heart a fire with scorchin’ hot roots and rockabilly. The quartet’s sound is “fast paced and action packed,” writes The Seattle Times.

In case of rain the show will move inside the City Hall lobby and conclude at 1 p.m. Summer concerts are supported by Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Summer in the City and Triamp Group.

The free performance is part of the Seattle Presents concert series at City Hall. For the complete summer concert lineup, go here.

Jitter-jagged jams at City Hall this Thursday, July 8

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Summer weather is here in time for Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band to rock City Hall’s outdoor plaza. At noon, Thursday, July 8, soak up the sun and eccentric blend of pop instincts, jitter-jagged guitar chording, crooning vocals, tripping tempo changes and pastoral harmony. This quartet with a quirky name hit the scene in 2008 and generated an Internet buzz before releasing a full-length self-titled debut. Thankfully, the troupe of young musicians has “the tunes to back up their quirks,” according to SPIN.

The concert is free and part of the Seattle Presents concert series at City Hall. Click here for the complete summer lineup.

Photo by Chona Kasinger.

Rain or shine, catch DANCE This tomorrow at City Hall

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Head on down to City Hall at noon tomorrow (Thursday) to catch more than 70 local teens performing a high-energy dance fusion, including hip-hop, b-boy, Bhangra and tap. The special preview performance of  DANCE This kicks off the Seattle Presents free, outdoor, summer concert series at City Hall.

Audience members will have a chance to get in on the action. Stick around after the show and learn some moves for a flash mob dance to take place immediately following the performance at a secret downtown location!

With a chance of rain in the forecast, we’re crossing our fingers for an outdoor performance scheduled to last until 1:30 p.m. In the event of rain, the show will move inside the City Hall lobby and wrap up at 1 p.m.

The summer concerts are supported by Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Summer in the City and Triamp Group.

Image: DANCE This, photo by Ben Kerns.

Celtic and American folk roots for lunch, June 17

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Enjoy a double bill of beguiling vocals grown from Celtic and American folk roots, noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, June 17 at City Hall. Rose Laughlin is “a true folk music chanteuse” writes Sing Out Magazine. Kat Eggleston won the Live Ireland Female Vocal Album of the Year and the Chicago Tribune raves she has “…the soul of a poet but the voice of an angel, not to mention that the lady can play a mean guitar.”

The performance is part of the Seattle Presents free lunchtime concert series at City Hall. Check out the complete line-up here.

Image: Rose Laughlin, photo by Mike Culver and Kat Eggleston photo by Dennis Cahill.

Caspar Babypants’ kiddie-pop fun at City Hall, June 3

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Bring your kids to City Hall for the kiddie-pop sweetness and giddy humor of Caspar Babypants, this Thursday, June 3. This huggable children’s band, led by Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America, dishes up fun sing-alongs for kids that appeal to parents’ ears. Concert is from noon to 1 p.m.

For the complete Seattle Presents lineup, go here.

Image: Chris Ballew of Caspar Babypant, photo by Josie Ballew.