A Look Back at the Created Commons Launch During The City’s Welcome Back Weeks

August 9, 2021 by April Jingco Leave a Comment

ARTS’ new program, Created Commons, recently launched as a part of the City of Seattle’s Welcome Back Weeks. Spanning two weekends from July 12 – 26, the Welcome Back Weeks celebrated the return of our community to downtown Seattle with large-scale Created Commons events in three neighborhoods — the Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square, and Westlake. Welcome Back Weeks are a key element of the City’s  Road to Downtown Recovery plan, which works to bring workers, small businesses, and visitors back downtown.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the festivities:

Welcome Back to the Chinatown-International District

On July 17 and 18, Hing Hay Park came to life with vibrant arts and culture celebrating the beauty of the Chinatown-International District.

Featured programming included:

The Chinese Association presenting a drill team, martial arts demo, and lion dance
Chrysalis Circus
Massive Monkees
Daniel Pak
Totem Star artists FRESA, Kiddus Fecto; Grae Violett, Lily Indigo, and Yung Fuego
Guma’ Gela’
Chong the Nomad
Bleachbear; Guma’ Gela’
Evan Flory Barnes
Hollis

Plus all-day activities and pop-ups such as Party Hat Gallery’s screen printing station featuring artwork by Stevie Shao, a self-defense class, and a vaccine pop-up with the Seattle Fire Department.

“I personally didn’t realize how much the Welcome Back Week shows would impact me as an artist until I was on stage at Hing Hay Park looking out into the crowd as I started my first song, realizing I would be singing songs for my family and my community. [It was my] first time onstage since the pandemic shut everything down in 2020.
Special thanks to Jenny Ku at ARTS for championing youth voice and culture, as she advocated strongly to get youth artists on the stages at Hing Hay, Occidental, and Westlake. Witnessing Totem Star artists bring so much love and joy to the community shows us how far we’ve come and also where we need to go to ensure that young people have a platform to share their stories and perspectives as the future cultural leaders of Seattle.”
Daniel Pak, artist and Executive Director of Totem Star

Bleachbear by Sheri Foreman for Ballard Vox

“The Created Commons event was amazing! Hing Hay Park was full of people excited to be back together enjoying shows and we were one of them. It felt wonderful to be up on the stage again. In fact, after such a long hiatus from playing live shows during the pandemic, we were probably more pumped to be playing a show than any time we could remember! While it felt new in ways, it was also comfortable and familiar, and it just felt awesome to see familiar faces from past shows singing along with us. Pulling together events in City parks with local performers was a brilliant way to get the community connected again, and we were so glad to be a part of it.”
Bleachbear, artist

Welcome Back to Pioneer Square

On Saturday, July 24, we spent the afternoon in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood, Pioneer Square. Occidental Square was buzzing with live music, local art, and community. Welcome Back to Pioneer Square featured performances by Totem Star artists Sharmaine and Haley Graves, Shenandoah Davis, Shaina Shepherd, and The Black Tones.

Plus, activities and pop-ups such as:

Live busking
Path With Art’s “Found Fashion Show” courtesy of Path With Art
Party Hat Party’s free screen printing booth highlighting artwork by Tariqa Waters
Seattle Fire Department’s Vaccine Pop-Up

Welcome Back to Westlake

Welcome Back Weeks came to a successful end at our last event in the heart of downtown Seattle, Westlake Park. Centering on the theme “Halloween in July,” Westlake was full of people in costumes, downtown businesses offering candy for trick-or-treating, and much more.

Program highlights included:

UP UP UP Inc.
Fraggle Rock Crew
SANCA Seattle Cirrus Circus
Taqueet$ Thriller Dance Class
El Vez, The Mexican Elvis
Teatro ZinZanni
Totem Star Artists Zoser, Mirabai Kukathas, and Delphine Elliott
Digable Planets

All day, audiences could also enjoy activities and pop-ups such as Lelavision, Party Hat Party’s free screen printing station with artist Brandon Vosika, a pop-up with Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery, carnival games, a costume contest, food trucks, and a Seattle Fire Department vaccine pop-up.

Thaddeus Turner (Thaddillac) performing with Digable Planets by Sunny Martini

“What a way to give the communities hope through art — lots going on and changing faster. It was a nice break thanks to you and all the people that got down! It was fun, most importantly.”
Thaddeus Turner (Thaddillac), Co-Founder of Totem Star and Music Director for Digable Planets

We were thrilled to close out the Welcome Back Weeks festivities with the iconic hip-hop trio, Digable Planets! Westlake Park was filled to the brim with audiences anticipating their closing performance.

Over the two weeks, over 15,000 people visited downtown Seattle to participate in the three events. Highlights from the festivities include:

An estimated 5,700 people attended our three events: 2,000 at Hing Hay, 700 at Occidental Square, and 3,000 at Westlake Park
200 creative workers were hired with 90% of the City-hired creative workers identifying as women, LGBTQ+ and/or people of color
Vaccination were given to 52 new people, courtesy of the SFD vaccine pop-up
500 downtown small businesses were supported and involved, with 80% being owned by women and/or people of color

You can see more outcomes from the Welcome Back Weeks on the Downtown Recovery website.

Stay tuned as Created Commons partners with the Seattle Department of Transportation to bring you more unique arts experiences in neighborhoods such as Othello, Rainier Beach, Westwood, Pioneer Square, and the Chinatown-International District!

Weekly Art Hit: ‘Day/Night’ by Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds

August 1, 2013 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

Day/Night (1991), an installation of two double-sided panels created by Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, stands on either side of a sculptural bust of Chief Sealth (also known as Chief Seattle) in Seattle’s Pioneer Place Park. The porcelain enamel-on-steel panels feature quotations in both English and Lushootseed (Chief Seattle’s native language). These passages convey in a contemporary sense the sentiments of Chief Seattle’s famous speech given during the treaty negotiations of 1854, a public address that speaks to the relationship of his people to the earth. One panel reads: “Far away brothers and sisters, we still remember you” while the other one reads: “Chief Seattle, now the streets are our home.”

The artist explains that “the theme of the porcelain panels seeks to proclaim that for many transient inter-tribal native people the streets of Seattle are home…Although these tribal citizens have sought refuge in the urban centers…the far away rural tribal communities from which they originate hold each and everyone’s memory in close and high regard.”

Heap of Birds creates art that includes multi-disciplinary forms of public art, large scale drawings, acrylic paintings, prints and monumental porcelain enamel-on-steel outdoor sculptures. He teaches Native American studies and fine arts at the University of Oklahoma and has received numerous grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012, Heap of Birds was named a Fellow of United States Artists.

Chief Seattle’s speech in 1854:
“Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They still love its winding rivers, its great mountains and its sequestered valleys and they ever yearn in affection over the lonely-hearted living and often return to visit, guide and comfort them.

Day and night cannot dwell together. The red man has ever fled the approach of the white man, as the changing mist on the mountainside flees before the blazing sun.”

Day/Night was funded by the city of Seattle 1% for Art program and private donors.

IMAGES: Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, Day/Night, 1991, porcelain enamel on two steel panels. Located at Pioneer Place Park, 100 Yesler Way.

Weekly Art Hit is featuring artworks every week from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the city’s public art program.

ARTSparks 2013: Sculpture, color, shadow and sound come to Occidental Square

July 1, 2013 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

ARTSparks, a partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Office of Arts and Culture, brings temporary art to Pioneer Square’s Occidental Square for the summer season. The installations below will remain in the park into September.

Installed during June:

Chris Papa’s wood sculptures Epiphyte and Vine are organic structures integrated like temporary growths in the built environment and constructed of scrap from pallets, crates, signage and furniture. Funded by a 4Culture Artist Project Grant.

Suzanne Tidwell’s KNIT2 consists of bright “rain chains” of knit squares filling Occidental Park with color. A progression from her tree sweaters of 2011, KNIT2 builds on Tidwell’s affectionate relationship with the Pioneer Square community.

Coming in July and August:

Jenifer Falldine’s Ties—an 18-foot square dream catcher—will investigate how the things we collectively want pull, push and weave our community into what it is. Falldine will begin installing Ties on July 8, weather allowing, and will work daily, 10 to 4 p.m., until the installation is complete (planned for July 12). She hopes to engage the community during the installation process.

Celeste Cooning’s Ichi Ni San—a cut paper installation developed from a formal investigation of the triangle inspired by textiles, architecture, mathematics and the natural world with specific reference to the Japanese motif Asanoha.

Robb Kunz’s Sounds Squared—handmade electronics and kinetic sculptures made from repurposed materials—will broadcast the sounds of a different city square somewhere in the world every half hour throughout each day.

Lydia Aldredge’s A Moveable Feast will engage the community in the creation of a tide pool mosaic on the surface of a steel table to reflect the tidal lagoon that Occidental Square once was.

IMAGE: Suzanne Tidwell, KNIT2, 2013. Located at Occidental Square in Pioneer Square.

Weekly Art Hit: ‘Seattle Totem Pole’

April 4, 2013 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

While wandering around Pioneer Square, you’ve probably seen the 50-foot carved cedar Seattle Totem Pole standing in the southwest corner of Pioneer Place Park. The totem was created in Alaska in 1940 by native carvers of the Kyan and Kinninook Indian families. The pole was part of a Civilian Conservation Corps project to replace one that had been originally in place there since 1899.

Charles Brown directed the work, with William H. Brown, James Starrish, Robert Harris, William Andrews, and James Andrews on the carving crew. The replica pole left Alaska on a ship headed to Seattle in April 1940 and was dedicated on July 25 with great celebration.

The original totem pole was acquired from Tongass Island, Alaska by an expedition committee chosen by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It was erected where the current one stands now but was irreparably damaged by an arsonist in 1938. The pole symbolizes three Tlingit Indian legends with figures representative of the Raven Clan. The hero of the legends is located at the top of the totem, while Grandfather Raven, a mythological being known as both a creator and a trickster, forms the pole’s base.

The totem pole was a gift to the city from the United States Forest Service.

IMAGES: Seattle Totem Pole, 1940, Charles Brown and other native carvers of the Kyan and Kinninook families, replica pole made of polychromed Alaskan red cedar, 50’H x4’6″ diameter. Photos by Spike Mafford Photography.

Weekly Art Hit is featuring artworks every week from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the city’s public art program.

Artist space program launches in Pioneer Square, ID

December 20, 2011 by Calandra Childers 1 Comment

Artists and arts groups seeking affordable space are invited to attend a space workshop on Jan. 7, take a survey and apply for space consulting services, all part of the the Artist Space Assistance Program (ASAP), a pilot program of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs designed to provide relocation and placement services for artists and arts organizations seeking space.

Nonprofit arts service organization Shunpike is developing and managing the program, which is focused in the Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District neighborhoods. The program, also supported by 4Culture, grew out of community concerns related to the recent loss of artist studio space in Pioneer Square. The 619 Western Building, home to about 100 artist studios, closed in October to make way for construction of the Highway 99 tunnel below.

“One of the primary goals of ASAP is to connect property owners looking for tenants with artists in search of space,” said Vincent Kitch, director of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. “Arts and culture play an important role in sustaining and building active, engaged neighborhoods that attract visitors, residents and businesses.”

Shunpike will assess artist needs and space opportunities, offer direct services to artists and arts groups and develop a model for expanding the program to other Seattle neighborhoods. Artists and arts groups working in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District – especially those displaced by the closure of the 619 Western Building – will receive priority for participation in a small pilot group, which will receive free planning and placement services in January and February 2012.

To help determine current art space needs citywide, Seattle artists and arts groups are invited to take an online survey available here. Artists and arts groups who want to be considered for the pilot program must complete the survey and check a box indicating their interest in the pilot group.

Shunpike will host a free art space workshop, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7 at Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave. Real estate broker Richard Hesik will give an overview of commercial real estate issues for artists. The event will include roundtable discussions, where artists will work with facilitators from Shunpike’s Arts Business Clinic. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information and to register, go here.

Artist space program launches, reception Dec. 1

November 29, 2011 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Artist Space Assistance Program (ASAP), a pilot program designed to provide relocation and placement services for artists and arts organizations seeking affordable studio, live/work, exhibition, performance and/or rehearsal space. Nonprofit arts service organization Shunpike was selected to develop and manage the program, a project of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs with support from 4Culture.

Learn more about ASAP at a First Thursday reception, 6 to 9 p.m., Dec. 1 at LeDouxville, 604 Second Ave., in Pioneer Square. Mix and mingle with Shunpike staff; our director Vincent Kitch, director; and City Councilmember Nick Licata at the opening of LeDouxville, a new Seattle project by artist Jesse LeDoux.

With a focus on the Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District neighborhoods, Shunpike will assess artist needs and space opportunities, offer direct services to artists and arts groups and recommend a model for expanding the program to other Seattle neighborhoods. Shunpike envisions involving more than 30 artists and arts groups and a dozen property owners and real estate professionals and offering more in-depth, free placement services to about 10 artists and/or arts groups. The program will run until March 1.

Interested artists and arts groups must complete a short survey and application and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to artists with ties to Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District, especially those displaced by the closure of the 619 Western Building.

Go here for a link to the survey and/or to register for a free artist space workshop, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7 at City Hall.

ASAP grew out of community concerns related to the recent loss of artist studio space in Pioneer Square, a historic cultural district. In October, the 619 Western Building, home to about 100 artist studios, was boarded up for shoring work to survive construction of the Highway 99 tunnel below.

ARTSparks to close with performance art, opera at Occidental Square, Oct. 6

October 5, 2011 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

Saint Genet. Photo courtesy of the artists.

The new experimental, performance and visual art group Saint Genet will close ARTSparks’ free summer series of installations and performances at Pioneer Square’s Occidental Square at the First Thursday Art Walk, 6 p.m., Oct. 6. Saint Genet will present Triumph and Ruin, the third act of Transports of Delerium (Aesthetic Ascesis in 4 Acts). Triumph and Ruin, a site-specific investigation of Occidental Square and the surrounding alleyways and vacant lots, will include operatic performances.

Saint Genet is performing the other three acts at Lawrimore Project. Go here for dates and more information. The performance at Occidental Square is free and open to the public.

Saint Genet is founded and directed by Ryan Mitchell, founder and director of Implied Violence. Mitchell is collaborating with NKO of Free Sheep Foundation, Olivier Wevers of Whim W’him, Jessie Smith of Dead Bird Movement and Implied Violence, and Casey Curran and Anna Telcs of Implied Violence.

ARTSparks is a collaboration between 4Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Seeking proposals for artist space program, due Sept. 30

September 19, 2011 by Tamara Childress 1 Comment

We’re seeking proposals from individuals, groups or organizations to launch a pilot program in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District to provide relocation and placement services for artists seeking affordable studio or live/work space.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30. Proposal budgets should not exceed $10,000. The RFP is available online here.

The Artist Space Assistance Pilot Program is designed to keep artists in Pioneer Square – a historic cultural district and home to the First Thursday Art Walk – and the surrounding area.

“This pilot program grew out of business and community concerns related to the loss of artist studio space in the neighborhood due to the Oct. 1 closure of the 619 Western Building,” said Vincent Kitch, director of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. “619 was home to more than 100 artist studios and has been an important cultural presence in Pioneer Square for more than three decades. The dilemma of the Western Building reinforces the importance of this work, which could provide a cultural space model for other neighborhoods in the future.”

The selected consultant will determine artists’ need for space, identify and publicize arts space opportunities in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District and provide relocation and placement services for artists. The pilot program will run from October through December 2011 and may extend longer.

Phone booth full of art kicks off ARTSparks at Occidental Square tonight

June 2, 2011 by Tamara Childress Leave a Comment

Head down to Pioneer Square’s Occidental Square and see Gallery (206), a phone booth repurposed to contain the work of more than 200 Seattle artists. Curated by Todd Jannausch, every aspect of the booth, from the Plexiglas side panels, to the pages of the phone book, to an audio feature, is an artwork by a local artist.

The project is part of ARTSparks—a collaboration between 4Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs that brings art to the park June through October. ArtsParks kicks off on June 2 at the First Thursday Art Walk.

On June 11, Sammamish artist Suzanne Tidwell knits colorful coats for the park’s London plane trees for her piece Knitted Trees, celebrating International Yarn Bombing Day. At noon on June 15, 22 and 29, KletzerBalm will perform klezmer music with roots in Yiddish folk from Eastern Europe.

Stay tuned for more artworks coming in July.

Second phase of storefront art program opens Dec. 2

December 2, 2010 by Tamara Childress 1 Comment

The second phase of Storefronts Seattle, a pilot program to make vacant storefront space available for creative uses in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown/International District, opens Dec. 2. Seven new art installations, two creative businesses and three participating commercial spaces will join the five existing creative enterprises that moved to storefronts in September for the first phase of the program. The pilot project runs through February 2011.

The storefronts house a variety of projects including a fine woodworking store, a crochet and wood installation and a large-scale metal prehistoric landscape. The artists are: James Barker, Mia Yoshihara-Bradshaw, Christine Chaney, Celeste Cooning, Ben Hirschkoff, Robert Hutchison and Tom Maul, Etta Lilienthal and Ben Zamora, Paul McKee, and Mathew Richter. Click here for information on the artists.

Storefronts Seattle is part of a series that includes artist installations and residencies in storefronts, where visual and performing artists can create, work, rehearse and perform in storefront space. The pilot program began in September in Pioneer Square and the Chinatown/International District, with the possibility of future expansion to other Seattle neighborhoods.

Partner organizations for Storefronts Seattle are the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Shunpike, Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority, Chinatown/International District Business Improvement Area and The Alliance for Pioneer Square.

Image: Audience members watching the group AWESOME performing in a Pioneer Square storefront.

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