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Celebrating 10 Years of Artists Up

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All photos by Jo Cosme

On Thursday, December 1, community members, artists, and creatives came together at ARTS at King Street Station to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Artists Up program.  

Left to right: Ashraf Hasham, ARTS Partnerships, Education, and Grants Manager; Maritza Rivera, ARTS Deputy Director; Nina Yarbrough, 4Culture Arts Program Director.

Created in 2012, Artists Up is a collaboration between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), 4Culture, and ArtsWA with a goal to better serve all artists in the state. This program was formed to address a common need at the time: to increase the number of artists of color applying for funding. This robust programming was based on conversations with Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, and Indigenous artists about their needs, concerns, and barriers. 

Since its formation, Artists Up has served over 350 artists through programs such as Mentorly scholarships, which connect emerging artists with professional creatives from around the world. 

Artists Up supports our brilliant and impactful individual artists. As we gather celebrating this remarkable 10 years of creativity, we must all pause to commend the tremendous work of Irene Gómez and Artists Up partners.

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

Individuals from Hope Corps, Public Art Boot Camp, The Change Leader Institute, Public Art Roster, CityArtists, and TAT LAB Teaching Artists program gathered alongside 4Culture, ArtsWA, and ARTS staff to celebrate this milestone. Attendees also had an opportunity to explore the current exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station, IMMINENT MODE: US.

“We were delighted to celebrate the tremendous work of Artists Up alongside current and future artists, partners, and community members who share one central goal: to support our artists today and every day.”

Maritza Rivera, Deputy Director for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

One of the original founding partners at ARTS, Project Manager, Irene Gómez, received a standing ovation for conceptualizing and piloting AU and her skillful dedication and generosity in curating the body of work that has impacted so many underrepresented (LGBTQ+, elder, immigrants, and refugee) artists. 

Irene Gómez, ARTS Project Manager and Co-Founder of Artists Up

“I applaud mentors, mentees, sponsors, and partners for continuing this important peer support to advance careers and networks.”

Irene Gómez, ARTS Project Manager and Co-Founder of Artists Up

We celebrate this milestone of Artists Up and look forward to many more years of supporting and elevating artists in our region.

ARTS presents the Public Art Boot Camp Class of 2022-23 and the full list of upcoming workshops

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Photo by Sunny Martini

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) investment in training the next generation of public artists is the Public Art Boot Camp. These selected artists will create culturally relevant artworks that resonate with Seattle’s diverse population. Public Art Boot Camp provides training to artists who are ready to translate their studio art experiences to the public art realm. Twelve artists were selected for the 2022-23 cohort. They will spend the next eleven months in trainings and workshops that will culminate in temporary art projects that will be installed in August 2023. All workshops are open to the public. 

“Public Art Boot Camp helps artists cultivate their skills and explore innovative sharing and showcasing of their art practice.   Public Art brings diverse voices into the public realm to ensure that they are heard. This program uplifts artists and provides them immersive training and mentoring opportunities. It will be exciting to see the art that will be created and installed in communities.”

royal alley-barnes, Interim Director for Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS)

In 2003, ARTS created our first public art training project — the Emerging Public Artists Roster program — introducing regional artists to the idea and practice of public art. In 2015, we evolved the program into Public Art Boot Camp, which advances racial equity by centering artists of color and providing the information and experience they needed to enter the world of public art.  

Public Art Boot Camp is a cohort model program and training includes presentations by working artists, mentor sessions with public art administrators, handouts, and an opportunity for a temporary public art project as a Public Art Boot Camp selected artist.

ARTS is excited to announce the Public Art Boot Camp Class of 2022-23 and the full list of upcoming workshops!

Upcoming Public Art Boot Camp Online Workshops

Meet the 2022-23 Boot Camp Cohort

Upcoming Public Art Boot Camp Online Workshops

Starting this December 2022, a series of online workshops will be free and available to anyone interested in learning more about public art. Featuring staff, artists, and experts in the field, the information shared will highlight the steps needed to navigate through the completion of a public art project successfully. 

These workshops will be held online and recordings of each will be posted on our YouTube Channel subsequent to each event. You can also watch sessions from prior years.  

Where to Begin: Developing Concepts for Public Art

Thursday, December 8, 2022

So you’ve received your first public art commission, now what? This session will explore how to develop concepts for public art using community feedback, project scopes, budgets, and site restrictions. Fellow public artists will share how they’ve navigated the challenges of taking their public artworks from call to concept.

Guest Speakers:

  • Damon Brown
  • Erin Shigaki
  • Horatio Law

Watch the recording of the 12/8/22 workshop below:

Hiring Subcontractors: Engineers, Fabricators and Artwork Installers

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Local engineers, fabricators, and installation experts will share about how they’ve worked with artists on projects in the past and the types of information you will need to best find and initiate your own public art project.

Guest Speakers:

  • Marianne Wilson, Associate Principal at ZFA Structural Engineers
  • Jeff Hudak, Partner at StudioFifty50
  • Rob Saccardi, Special Projects Manager, Seattle and Portland, Art Work Fine Art Services

Watch the recording of the 3/9/23 workshop below:

Life After Project Completion: Post-Installation Rights & Responsibilities

Thursday, May 11, 2023
7 – 8 p.m. PST

Once your artwork has been completed, accepted, and installed, you’re all done, right? Well…not quite. In this session, we will give a brief overview of your rights and responsibilities to an artwork once your project’s been completed. We will discuss VARA and copyright to help demystify some of these long-term considerations.

Speakers Include:

  • Adam Eisenberg, former Seattle Municipal Judge, author, and adjunct professor at the University of Washington (specializing in art and cultural property law)
  • Michelle Pham, attorney of Helsell Fetterman, practicing as a member of the firm’s intellectual property, commercial litigation, and healthcare practice groups.
Register for the 5/11 Workshop

Meet the 2022-23 Boot Camp Cohort

These selected twelve artists will participate in trainings and workshops that will culminate in temporary art projects to be installed in August 2023. Although the cohort has been selected, much of the workshop content is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about public art. Meet the artists below!

愛淳 黃 (Ai-Chun Huang) 

愛淳 黃 is a digital artist and animation director roaming around the world between different media such as hand drawing, installation, digital animation, and sculpture. Their artwork focuses on life limitations and social expectations from an Asian immigrant woman’s perspective and uses metaphors from their Asian cultural icons. 

You can learn more about Ai-Chun on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Amiko Matsuo 

Amiko Matsuo is an educator, artist, and writer. Her writing and art have explored how we might learn from the ways people are connected to the plant and animal communities surrounding the places we live. Matsuo is committed to working collectively to learn and teach about the unfolding crises and realities of our places. She believes that art can be the catalyst to create spaces where we can be vulnerable together in conversations marked by transforming care and belonging. 

You can learn more about Amiko on her website.

VULGAR DREAMER

VULGAR DREAMER uses old-world craft to connect you to ancient symbols and alternative ways of healing. VULGAR DREAMER is Black and female. 

You can learn more about E.T. on their website and Instagram.

E.T. Russian 

E.T. RUSSIAN is a multi-sensory artist, cartoonist, and healer, living in Seattle — the unceded ancestral homeland of the Duwamish People.

You can learn more about E.T. on their website and Instagram.

Hans Amor 

Hans Amor’s artwork focuses on sharing the artists’ Filipino culture and history in the hopes that people will appreciate its resilience and beauty.

Io Palmer 

Io Palmer is a multimedia artist who uses a variety of materials including clay, paper, wood, and video. She is most looking forward to seeing how her usual private work will translate to the public arena. 

You can learn more about Io on her website and Instagram.

JoEllen Wang 

JoEllen Wang is a Seattle-based painter and installation artist. She is a lover of mash-ups and a pursuer of nuance. 

You can learn more about JoEllen on her website and Instagram.

Lee Davignon 

Lee Davignon is a multi-disciplinary artist working in the Pacific Northwest. Through a combination of traditional textile techniques, sculptural experiments, and material play, their work explores themes of waste, value, and craft. 

You can learn more about Lee on their website and Instagram.

Morgan Madison 

Morgan Madison is a Seattle-based artist working in numerous media. His work is inspired by the forms, materials, colors, and other elements that comprise place. He believes the language of place is easily recognized and carries space within for all to become engaged creatively when it used selectively to attend to ideas rather than to steer with intention.

You can learn more about Morgan on his website and Instagram.

Nahom Ghirmay 

Artist Nahom Ghirmay’s work explores identity and emotional experiences through a variety of mediums.

You can learn more about Nahom on their website and Instagram.

Renee Adams 

Renee Adams creates mixed-media sculptures that examine the complex relationships humans have cultivated with the natural world. She is active in the regional arts scene as a Curator and Exhibition Coordinator at Gallery One and a founding member of PUNCH Projects, a rural arts collective dedicated to the promotion of visual dialogue between urban and rural art communities. 

You can learn more about Renee on her website and Instagram.

Sara Dobbs 

Sara Dobbs is visual artist and co-founder of Wilbie Farm. The practical work she does on Wilbie Farm to grow food for her local community provides a grounding for her artistic exploration of the impacts of food production, distribution, and consumption on the individual, society, and environment. 

You can learn more about Sara on her website and Instagram.

View Additional Artist Works

Artists bring life and design to Downtown Seattle

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and King County Metro, commissioned three artists from Public Art Boot Camp alumni to create temporary art in the downtown corridor using out-of-service Real-Time Information Sign kiosks. Artists Angie Hinojos, Baso Fibonacci, and Naoko Morisawa transformed the decommissioned kiosks into art installations that line Third Avenue downtown. SDOT is working with King County Metro on longer-term plans to replace and update bus stop infrastructure in this area. There is potential to expand this project to a kiosk in Pioneer Square. We are working with the Preservation Board to determine interest. 

“This project, reimagining transit infrastructure as art installations, illustrates how public art interprets and contributes to civic life. Artists bring vitality into our environment as they express our shared identities and histories.”  

royal alley-barnes, ARTS Interim Director

This innovative public art project uses existing infrastructure as canvases for the artists to create personal and distinctive artworks giving viewers alternate perspectives on the urban environment. Each artist created one design that is installed at eight different locations. The three artists explored their heritage and histories in their artworks.  

Angie Hinojos’ The Five Creations

Angie Hinojos drew from traditional Aztec beliefs for her installation, The Five Creations, 2022. It is a story of birth, destruction, hope, and the passage of time that illuminates our past and orients us toward the future. 

Colorful Aztec patterns and imagery of corn and creatures.
The Five Creations by Angie Hinojos on the west side of 3rd Ave, north of Pike. Photo by Rebecca Johnson.

Naoko Morisawa’s Target Forever II

Naoko Morisawa’s installation Target Forever II, diptych, 2021, originates from her recent series of works, Target Forever, that is inspired by personal Target’s to live better and Major League Baseball Player and MVP star, Shohei Otani. The original works are created out of handcrafted, oil-stained wood and paper mosaic painting, including acrylic and washi. 

Loose circular patterns radiating outward.
Target Forever II by Naoko Morisawa on the east side of 3rd Ave, north of Pine. Photo by Rebecca Johnson.

Baso Fibonacci’s Hop On

Baso Fibonacci based his installation, Hop On, 2022, on his own past growing up in the 90s and 00s downtown when Seattle was a ‘ride free’ area. The colors in his artwork are based on the color schemes of the buses he rode as a kid and young adult. 

Geometric shapes in a limited palette of golds, oranges and black.
Hop On by Baso Fibonacci on the east side of 3rd Ave, north of Pine. Photo by Rebecca Johnson.

Freely accessible, public art humanizes our built environment, defines our space, elevates our communities, illustrates our history, and creates a sense of ownership and belonging. During the past two years, we have also seen how public art builds community and combats feelings of anxiety and social isolation. 

The three artists selected for the installations are graduates of ARTS’ Public Art Boot Camp. 

Public Art Boot Camp is a professional development and mentorship program for visual artists who are interested in the public art realm but have never done work in the field before. The upcoming 2022-23 Public Art Boot Camp will be a cohort model of 12 artists that will be paired with a staff mentor and participate in monthly lectures, workshops and meetings on a variety of topics throughout the year. Stay tuned for more information on how to apply for the 2022-23 Public Art Boot Camp cohort in the coming weeks. 

The reimagination of the Real-Time Information Sign kiosks is a temporary public art project funded by SDOT’s 1% for Art Funds and administered by the Office of Arts & Culture. 

Public Art Boot Camp Class ’20-21 Culmination and Artwork Celebration

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In mid-2020, 11 emerging artists were welcomed into Public Art Boot Camp and for the past year participated in a series of trainings and planning, which has culminated in temporary art installations. The Office of Arts & Culture is pleased to celebrate their hard work by showcasing the artwork at both Seattle’s Lake City and Seattle Center!

Artists Amanda Lee, Baso Fibonacci, Damon Brown, Fumi Amano, Jacques Trautman, Jovita Mercado, Kamla Kakaria, Lynn Yarne, Micah Lawton McCarty, Nate Clark, and Sabina Haque currently have work on view and invite you to explore the two neighborhoods:

Seattle Center Art Walk and “Meet the Artists”
Saturday, October 2, 12 pm 
Tour will meet and start at the Fisher Pavilion Rooftop 

Lake City Art Walk and “Meet the Artists”
Saturday, October 9, 2 pm   
Walking map and information available at the Lake City Library Plaza 
Food by Gyros Lake City and Pho An, live music by Trío Guadalevín.
Walking maps, designed by Damon Brown, will be available for self-guided tours.

Download a PDF of Printable Postcards

Art Interruptions in Lake City 

Our Excellent Ingredients, Amanda Lee 

Our Excellent Ingredients celebrates the culinary knowledge and shared ingredients of the diverse cultures of the Lake City neighborhood. Start at the mural on 30th Ave and then walk to 27th between 125th and 130th to find five augmented reality (AR) pieces.  

Illusionary Planters, Baso Fibonacci

Illusionary Planters are three painted steel planters planted with native northwest plants installed in front of the Lake City library. Throughout the year they are there the plants will grow and change and the planters will rust. 

Here Before Me, Damon Brown   

This public art piece represents the history and neighborhoods that currently make up Seattle’s Lake City area — at the same time, honoring Seattle’s host tribe and our area’s only indigenous tribe, the Duwamish Tribe.

Namaste, Kamla Kakaria

Lake City has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in Seattle.  Embracing and celebrating that diversity I made this piece Namaste which is a Hindi greeting.  Welcome to Lake City! 

Scan to See A Story of This Place: Lake City, Lynn Yarne

Places hold histories we sometimes cannot see. This project is comprised of Augmented Reality (AR) collage interpretations of six Lake City stories accessible through scanning signage throughout the neighborhood or by visiting www.astoryofthisplace.com.  

Orca – Wolf Transformation, Micah McCarty

Orca – Wolf Transformation, mounted the Traditional style Box that represents the wealth of the royal families of the Lake. In a tribute to the hereditary legacy and Living memory of the Lake “Lake Washington” and presented to the diverse community of Lake City with respect to indigenous relatives.

Windows on Lake City, Sabina Haque

Sabina Haque created two metal lattice sculptures that incorporate her 54 painted portraits of Lake City residents. The work celebrates this largely new immigrant community and crafts a beautiful artistic tribute to the neighborhood.

Sculpture Walk at Seattle Center 

Resilience, Fumi Amano

The world is in the process of adapting well after facing crises such as COVID-19. Resilience not only helps us get through difficult circumstances, but it also empowers us to grow and even improve our life along the way.

Might be Going to Have Imagined This Place, Jac Oliver Trautman

The world is in the process of adapting well after I have heard the Duwamish are the Indigenous people of this land. It is written that the Duwamish do not exist. Look-

Los Trabajadores, Sus Apoyos, Y La Comunidad (The Workers, Their Advocators, And The Community), Jovita Mercado

These Loteria-style prints are centered on Washington state’s laborers and community organizers. This piece specifically commemorates Latinx field workers, Filipino cannery workers, and community activists that fought for workers’ rights and the security of BIPOC communities like Dulce Gutiérrez from Yakima and the Gang of Four from Seattle. 

Inverted Pyramid, Nate Clark

Inverted Pyramid is a hand-tied net made of a 2-ply strand combining bonded nylon twine and hand-spun wool. The handbell suspended in the center of the piece rings as wind interacts with the installation.

Art Interruptions is an annual program funded through SDOT % for Art, while Sculpture Walk is funded through Seattle Center % for Art. Many of the scheduled trainings throughout this past year focused on topics specific to public art such as “how to develop a concept proposal” or “how to work with a fabricator.” Most of the content was recorded and is available online.

Boot Camp artists created and installed artwork through both Art Interruptions, an annual program that places temporary artworks in and around Neighborhood Greenways, and the Seattle Center.   

Public Art Boot Camp was initiated in 2003 (known as the Emerging Public Artists Roster Program) to introduce artists to the idea and practice of public art and transformed in 2015 modified with the added goal to advance racial equity by centering artists of color and providing them the information and experience they needed to enter the niche world of public art.   

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Public Art Boot Camp – Online!

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Group photo of 2020 Public Art Boot Campers wearing face masks in front of a temporary public art project mounted on a chain link fence.

Seattle’s Public Art Boot Camp is an intensive training program that culminates in a commission of a temporary artwork for the City of Seattle.

The “recruits” have been selected through a competitive application process, and starting this November 2020, a series of online workshops will be available to anyone interested in learning more about public art. Featuring staff, artists, and experts in the field, the information shared will highlight the steps needed to successfully navigate through the completion of a public art project.

The workshops will be a WebEx live event and a recording will be made an available on our YouTube Channel.

Session 1 – Developing Public Art Concepts Without Losing Your Own Style and Aesthetic

Collage of the three presenting artists
(l-r) Norie Sato, Sarah Thompson Moore, Melvin Freeman

November 7, 2020, 10 am – Noon
Artists presenting: Norie Sato, Sarah Thompson Moore and Melvin Freeman
Recording of Session 1 below.

Congratulations, you’ve received your first public art commission! You’ve met with the community, conducted research about the site and met with the project team so you know some of the site restrictions. Now, how do you take all that information combine it with your own aesthetic and come through with a strong concept design? Hear from artists in the field how they navigate developing an artwork concept that stays true to their own voice but takes into account many factors.

Session 2 – Planning and Fabrication in Public Art

Denise and Roger pose, arms around each others' backs, in front of a worksite. Peter has a long, gray beard.
(l-r) Denise Bisio, Roger Waterhouse, Peter Reiquam

Saturday, February 20, 2021, 10am – Noon
Artists presenting: Denise Bisio and Roger Waterhouse, Peter Reiquam
Recording of Session 2 below.

From your original artwork concept you’ve gone through a series of reviews and revisions and now have a final design. Now it’s time for the nitty gritty logistics of engineering, construction documents, fabrication, and installation to put together a solid plan (and team) for implementation. Hear from artists and experts in this panel discussion of their experiences, best practices and tips going forward.

Session 3 – Implementation and Long-term Life of Artwork in Public Art

Collage of Horatio Law, Zorn B. Taylor and Tiffany Hedrick
(l-r) Horatio Law, Zorn B. Taylor, Tiffany Hedrick

Saturday, April 17, 2021, 10am – Noon
Artists presenting: Horatio Law, Zorn B. Taylor, Tiffany Hedrick
Recording of Session 3 below.

Hear directly from artists and practitioners in the field about best and worst-case scenarios and share lessons learned. Artwork installation is just the beginning of the lifespan of public art and this session will include important items to consider such as maintenance/conservation, documenting your work through photography, the realities of vandalism and damage to public artwork.

Since 2015, Public Art Boot Camp advances racial equity by centering artists of color and providing them the information and experience, they needed to enter the niche world of public art. To learn more about Public Art Boot Camp, read our white paper here.

ARTS Publishes “Capacity Building for Racial Equity in Public Art”

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Public Art Boot Camp, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s award-winning program, is the subject of the publication Capacity Building for Racial Equity in Public Art (pdf).

ARTS’ Public Art Program specifies that 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase, and installation of artworks, integrating artworks and the ideas of artists into a variety of public arenas. A goal of the public art program is to address historic and current institutional racism and one way we do that is capacity building for public artists through our Public Art Boot Camp program, that received an Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Award in 2017.

Capacity Building for Racial Equity in Public Art illustrates how public art administrators can shift the field to be more inclusive and affect change by creating a program that intentionally serves artists from under-represented and under-invested communities. While systemic changes take time, capacity building is something that can show almost immediate results.

From 2015-18, ARTS’ Public Art Boot Camp centered artists of color and provided them with the information and experience they needed to enter the niche world of public art. Public art reflects our history, society and defines the space and community it resides in. When diverse artists work in the public realm, people see themselves reflected in public space in a way that only commissioning artists of color can do. Cities benefit from a richer visual environment by including everyone’s narrative. Art becomes more culturally relevant and meaningful to everyone.

ARTS published Capacity Building for Racial Equity in Public Art (pdf) to share our experience and to encourage other cultural organizations and municipalities to change their programs to create opportunities for artists of color.

For more information contact us at (206) 684.7171 or email us at arts.culture@seattle.gov

Gear up: public art boot camp is back

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The 2015 public art boot camp was so successful that ARTS decided to bring it back for 2016! Applications are now open for a FREE two-day intensive basic training overview to artists who are ready to translate their exhibition experience into the public realm.

bootcampemailIn 2015, 30 artists participated in the boot camp training. Over the course of two days they learned from city staff, arts professionals and designers what a good proposal looks like, how to navigate panel selection and interviews, how to work with multidisciplinary design teams, review panels, and fabricators.

Of the 30 artists who attended boot camp 14 have received commissions in the public realm. If you want to learn more just visit public art boot camp and watch what the artists themselves had to say about boot camp here.

The deadline for the application is Tuesday, February 2, 2016, 11 p.m. PST. The online application and guidelines are available here.

Optional Workshop We strongly encourage you to attend the workshop, especially if you are a first-time applicant.

Monday, January 11, 2016, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Columbia City Library
4721 Rainier Ave South
Seattle, Washington 98118
http://www.spl.org/locations/columbia-branch

 

Image by Naomi Ishisaka

Public Art Boot Camp Training

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pubbootcampThis spring the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) is offering an intensive two-day basic training overview on how to work successfully in the area of commissioned public artwork. Invested in cultivating and training the next generation of public artists, ARTS has created a free training to prepare artists who are ready to translate their exhibition experience to the public realm.

Public Art Boot Camp is open to artists living in Washington state who have not received a temporary or permanent public art commission (an artwork that is created by an artist at the request of an entity: public agency, corporation or individual). Up to 30 artists will be selected to participate in the Public Art Boot Camp.

“Investing in artists as much as artwork is one of the missions of the Office of Arts & Culture,” says Ruri Yampolsky, Public Art Program Director. “We are dedicated to expanding opportunities and cultivating new artists who can create culturally relevant artworks that represent the diverse population of the city.”

The two-day training will help to demystify and simplify the process of creating publicly commissioned artwork.  Artists selected for the Boot Camp are required to attend both full day workshops on May 9th and May 16th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., held at the Experience Music Project. Topics and presentations will include submitting a competitive application, the selection process, contracts, navigating design teams, public presentations, fabrication and installations and dedications. In addition, artists who are selected for and complete the two-day boot camp will be eligible to apply for an opportunity to create a temporary artwork in one of two sites later this summer at either the Seattle Center campus or the Central Area. There is an optional workshop for first time applicants on Monday, March 30, 6-8 p.m. at the Garfield Community Center – Arts & Crafts Room, 2323 East Cherry St, Seattle, Washington 98122.

Artists can apply online through April 13, 2015. For more information, contact Marcia Iwasaki at (206) 233-3946 or Elisheba Johnson at (206) 684-0182.
Image: Artist Megumi Shauna Arai, installing “A Tribute”.  Image courtesy of Bruce Clayton Tom