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Office of Arts & Culture news and events

University and Fremont Bridges to host Artist-in-Residency for Digital Artists

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Residency will take place June through December 2023 

Application deadline April 14, 2023 

Blue marker drawing of a person wearing a face mask inside the bridge tower. They wave to somebody on the sidewalk below with long hair who's wearing a warm hat.
Excerpt from “The Bridge Was Cut” by E.T. Russian, 2021 University Bridge artist-in-residence

This summer, the University and Fremont Bridges will host two artist-in-residence programs. Designed by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the residency is open to two digital artists/creators working in digital data visualization art for a unique, project-based residency within two of Seattle’s iconic bridges. The northwest tower of the Fremont Bridge and the southeast tower of the University Bridge will be used by the artists as working studio/office space and as inspiration for their work. The application can be found here, the deadline to apply is April 14, 2023. 

Virtual Application Info Session

On March 16, we held a virtual information session to walk you through how to turn in your strongest application. First-time applicants are especially encouraged to watch.

This is one of the most unique artists-in-residence spaces in the city. University and Fremont bridge are key pieces of infrastructure for Seattle, they connect our neighborhoods and hold a special place in our imagination. Giving artists the opportunity to not only work in these spaces but to help SDOT artistically visualize their work is a testament to the integration of art in our everyday lives. 

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

This call is open to digital artists living in King, Snohomish, Pierce, or Kitsap counties and are able to travel to Seattle for the residency requirement of this project. This opportunity is for individual artists, artist teams are ineligible to apply. Each artist selected (2) will receive $10,000 inclusive of all residency time, costs, project, presentation, documentation of the work, and applicable taxes.  

Each artist-in-residence will undertake an in-depth exploration of some type of data regarding or stemming from Fremont or University bridge and interpret that information using some form of artistic digital data visualization. A public showcase (held in-person or virtual) of the artwork created as part of the residency is required.  

The University and Fremont Bridge Artist-in-Residence call is a project of ARTS 1% for Public Art Program. Adopted in 1973, the 1% for Public Art program designates 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase and installation of artworks in a variety of settings. By providing opportunities for individuals to encounter art in parks, libraries, community centers, on roadways, bridges and other public venues, the city creates connections between artists and community.  

Where’s the Party: New 1% for Art Public Artwork Concept for Highland Park 

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Perched at the apex of Highland Park Drive a larger-than-life Steller’s Jay will soon watch over the neighborhood.  This new artwork concept, tentatively titled “Where’s the Party” by artist Matthew Mazzotta was selected by a community selection panel to be part of the upcoming Seattle Department of Transportation Highland/Holden Intersection Improvement project. This 1% for Art project is managed by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS). 

Renderings of “Where’s the Party” by artist Matthew Mazzotta

A community panel, including a junior from Chief Sealth High School, selected three artists from ARTS’ Public Art Roster to develop proposals for the site location.  All three artists participated in a series of meetings and conversations to learn more about the area and the character of the neighborhood. Matthew Mazzotta’s artwork was selected for his exciting proposal of a large-scale Steller’s Jay overlooking the intersection of Highland Park Way SW and SW Holden Street. 

Matthew Mazzotta’s proposal will create an iconic entrance to the neighborhood and bring a spot of color and fun to this heavily trafficked intersection.  

“Involving community in the Public Art process is at the heart of what we do, centering community and using art to placekeep, honoring the people, history, and environment that makes each neighborhood unique. Highland Park chose an artwork that symbolizes bold, inquisitive connections to birds that make their presence known.”

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

Inspired by the heavily wooded green landscape of Highland Park and the crest of the hill where the forest gives way to the built environment, this realistic but oversized Steller’s Jay will be perched upon a branch as a reminder that we share this location with all the rich wildlife that also calls this area “home”. When leaving Highland Park, the Steller’s Jay remains the guardian of the changing neighborhood and the connection between how we travel through space in cars, buses, bikes, and by foot. It also reminds us of how animals make daily migrations of their own. The tentative title for this artwork “Where’s the Party” comes from the fact that a group of jays is known as a “band,” “cast,” and a “party” of jays. 

Inspiration photo; courtesy of the artist

Construction on this intersection improvement project includes new permanent signal lights and roadway improvements which will begin in January 2023. The new artwork will be installed in the summer of 2023.

Matthew Mazzotta works at the intersection of art, activism, and urbanism, focusing on the power of the built environment to shape our relationships and experiences. His community-specific public projects integrate new forms of civic participation and social engagement into the built environment and reveal how the spaces we travel through and spend our time living within have the potential to become distinct sites for intimate, radical, and meaningful exchanges.  Matthew Mazzotta received his BFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Program in Art, Culture, and Technology. He is TED Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, as well as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. Additional information about the artist can be found on his website.

Artists Everywhere is Art Everywhere: Black Lives Matter Mural Restoration

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On the road with royal alley-barnes, Interim Director for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Seattle is an incredible City that is home to a diverse and expansive art and cultural sector. Almost every neighborhood is home to art, artists, and the threads that weave our cultural landscape into a rich city that thrives because art is everywhere. From our city’s first people’s to the birth of the state, music, art and culture have defined our region.  

Supporting, strengthening, and celebrating the rich history and the people who continue to make Seattle one of the nation’s most livable cities is the heart of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Interim Director alley-barnes vision and the impetus behind this blog series celebrating “artists everywhere.” 

“Artists everywhere IS Art EVERYWHERE. Art is the music we listen to, the movies/plays/poems/books/anime/paintings/sculpture we laugh, cry, cling, empathize, live with and through. Artists and the public are the focal point of our mission, employing artists so that we can all enjoy art everywhere. I hope you explore the city with me and discover the art that is everywhere.”

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

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture is an incubator that strengthens the arts sector and Creative Economy through grants, Public Art, arts experiences in public schools. For the first feature in this series, we take a look back at the Black Lives Matter mural restoration in Capitol Hill. 

In July 2022, ARTS partnered with Vivid Matter Collective, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and community volunteers to repaint the Black Lives Matter mural on Capitol Hill. 

Black Lives Matter mural before and after the restoration (l-r); Photos by Rick Reyes

Created on June 11, 2020, Vivid Matter Collective – now comprised of 16 local artists – created the 250-feet-long Black Lives Matter mural along Pine Street as a creative reflection of the grief, anger, pain, hope, and resilience of the Black community amidst the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in Capitol Hill.  

In September 2020, ARTS and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) began collaborations with the 15 original artists from Vivid Matter Collective to recreate and maintain the mural. 

Takiya Ward at the Black Lives Matter restoration; Photo courtesy of the artist

“The annual repainting of the now landmark Black Lives Matter street mural serves as an opportunity for reflection and reverence. We as the artists responsible remember that fateful day when we painted the mural seen around the world June 11, 2020. What has happened since then is the effect of that effort. We decided to form a collective to continue to support one another in our artistic endeavors. We opened a gallery, with support from Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, to continue to show our work and share with the community. As monumental of a moment that mural was, what we got from it was so much more. We got each other. We’ve all experienced individual and collective successes since then, but the real reward is connection, affirmation and a renewed sense of purpose. Our hope with the mural continuing to hold space on Capitol Hill is that the people who encounter it are reminded of the energy of that time, and continue to commune, speak, work and grow from a place of connection and want for everyone to have their fair share. To live and thrive, not just survive.”

Takiyah Ward, Co-Founder of Vivid Matter Collective
Photo courtesy of Takiyah Ward

Among the volunteers at the recent restoration was ARTS Interim Director, royal alley-barnes, who assisted in repainting the large letters while also connecting with the muralists and volunteers. 

“The recent restoration of the Black Lives Matter mural shows the utmost importance of this artwork to both the community and the City. What an honor it was to share the afternoon with Vivid Matter Collective artists, ARTS & SDOT staff, and – most importantly – community members who collectively share the desire to ensure the legacy of the mural prevails for time to come.”

royal alley-barnes, Interim Director, Office of Arts & Culture
royal alley-barnes, ARTS Interim Director with SDOT staff; Photo by Rick Reyes
ARTS Interim Director royal alley-barnes with volunteer Jessie Lipscomb; Photo courtesy of Jessie Lipscomb

“This mural feels like a representation of our neighborhood and of our city. To see Vivid Matter Collective and community members show up to be a part of archiving this moment together feels really important to the work we should be doing as a city.”

Ricky Reyes, ARTS Public Art Project Manager
Photo by Ricky Reyes

Today, the mural stands as a reminder of the importance and cultural significance of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. ARTS and SDOT remain committed to ensuring this mural and its message are preserved for years to come. 

Art Interruptions 2022 explores history, connection, and portraiture along Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway 

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), commissioned four emergent 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 offering passers-by a brief ‘highlight – interruption’ in their day through moments of surprise, beauty, contemplation, or humor. 

“Art Interruptions gives opportunities to emerging artists in our local community that are looking to break into the field of public art. Temporary art is contemporary art that connects us all to time, place and people.”

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

Art Interruptions Delridge-Highland Park explores themes of nature, conservancy, history, connections, and the individuals who make up the neighborhood through temporary public artworks that are ephemeral, experiential, and experimental allowing artists to explore current issues.  

Artwork Descriptions

School’s Out by Malayka Gormally 

Location: Sanislo Playfield Fence along 21st Ave SW 

School’s Out by Malayka Gormally

Malayka Gormally’s project is a portrait series capturing the afternoon ease of Sanislo Elementary School students after school lets out – children enjoying each other’s company, connecting with friends, parents, and guardians, and walking home. Her designs focus on the legs and feet of the students, communicating their energy and liveliness and their varied self-expression through clothes and shoes. These vibrant, mixed media images highlight the beautiful diversity of our communities alongside the things we may have in common. They will be printed across eight banners affixed to the Sanislo Elementary playground fence along 21st Ave SW.  

Lukia e Tenifa by Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu

Location: Digital design, printed on vinyl and adhered to the retaining wall at the NE corner of 18th Ave SW & SW Myrtle St  

Lukia e Tenifa by Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu

Toka Valu’s Lukia e Tenifa features the artist’s take on the traditional Tongan Amoamo Kofe design motif, sharks, and octopuses.

“Our paths to each other are known to the ancestors because we are linked to the same boundless wells of wisdom through roots and connections that provide guidance for generations to come. Shark and Octopus are depicted here in their titanic struggle that set precedence for rituals of respect and relationship nurturing with the sea that are still observed between the two to this very day. We honor the “path-well-traveled” through this legend’s depiction.”

Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu 

all the ways we’ve found through these downs and ups and downs by Clare Johnson 

Location: Backs of signs throughout the greenway between SW Kenyon St. and SW Myrtle St. 

all the ways we’ve found through these downs and ups and downs by Clare Johnson

Inspired by the concept of a scavenger hunt, Johnson’s vividly detailed artwork mirrors how neighborhood greenways can uncover surprising new joys in familiar places. Her handmade drawings intricately fuse past and present aspects of the neighborhood, celebrating our urban environment as full of ordinary daily treasures to be found. Details from the full images will be spread out on the backs of signs throughout the Neighborhood Greenway. 

Animals of the Salish Sea by Tommy Segundo 

Location(s): Various signposts along the Greenway 

Animals of the Salish Sea by Tommy Segundo 

Animals of the Salish Sea grace various signs located along the Greenway. Each animal has a significant role within the Salish Sea and Duwamish River ecosystems.  Since time immemorial, these animals have held great meaning to the indigenous people of the city we now call Seattle. (Named after Duwamish/Suquamish leader Siahl aka Seattle). 

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. 

Public Art Blooms across Seattle this summer 

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Temporary and Permanent Arts abound from West Seattle to Lake City  

Photo by Jenny Crooks

The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture is excited to share that, starting in July, temporary and permanent artworks will be installed in Seattle neighborhoods, parks, and right-of-ways. A diverse mix of local artists, genres, and themes will make the summer of 2022 filled with arts experiences for everyone.

This year’s slate of art and artists explore themes of nature, conservancy, history, connections, resilience, and responsibility through both permanent commissions and temporary public artworks that are ephemeral, experiential, and experimental allowing artists to explore current issues.

“These temporary and permanent artworks showcase our artists at work and embedded in creating new voices in diverse communities. This is One Seattle at its continuous best.”

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

JULY

Events  

Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition – Lake City 
Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition – Lake City will transform plain concrete into vibrant art that will, beautify the neighborhood, promote public safety, and highlight local businesses and nonprofit organizations. Live music and events reflect Lake City’s cultural diversity. Build Lake City Together also commissioned a new community mural to celebrate the opening of a new community arts and culture space.   

  • Thursday, July 14, 7 – 8 p.m.: Gansango African Music and Dance 
    Lake City Farmer’s Market, 12546 – 28th Ave NE 
  • Friday, July 22, 7 – 8 p.m.: Panama Folklore Seattle 
    Lake City Mini Park, 12359 Lake City Way NE 
  • Thursday, July 28, 7 – 8 p.m.: Trío Guadalevín 
    Lake City Farmer’s Market, 12546 – 28th Ave NE  

Artists at the Center
Artists at the Center will host music, dance, theatre, and multi-disciplinary performances, presented by individual artists and performance groups based in the Puget Sound region. The program is an ongoing partnership with Seattle Center, ARTS, Climate Pledge Arena, Uptown Arts & Culture Coalition, and Seattle Kraken.

Friday, July 29, 6 p.m.: Dance with Dora 
Northwest Courtyard 

Art Installations 

Arts in Parks – Temporary Art Installations and Events  
Four local artists, Ken Roepe, Tory Franklin, and Jean Bradbury will have temporary artwork for 6 weeks in Westcrest Park, Pritchard Island Beach Park, and Cal Anderson Park, respectively. Installations will be on display starting mid-July through the early fall. Arts in Parks, a partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation and ARTS, is offering a number of free events and temporary art projects that will activate community parks this summer. The Arts in Parks program includes events, series, public art installations, and family-friendly, kid-centered activities in neighborhood parks throughout the northeast, northwest, central, southeast, and southwest regions. 

ChromaCyclium by Ken Roepe, courtesy of the artist
Island / Marshland by Tory Franklin, courtesy of the artist
The People Make This Park by Jean Bradbury; Photo by Jeremy Beliveau

Art Interruptions at Lake City – Temporary Art Installations 
Enjoy temporary artworks around Lake City by artists Amanda Lee, Baso Fibonacci, Damon Brown,  Kamla Kakaria, Lynn Yarne, Micah Lawton McCarty,  and Sabina Haque. On view for one more month!

Lake City Landbanked Park – Permanent Artwork Installation 
ARTS, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, has selected Seattle artist Elizabeth Gahan to create a permanent, site-specific artwork for a new park in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood.  

The new neighborhood park located at 12510 33rd Ave NE previously housed an office building that was purchased in 2010 as part of the Green Spaces Levy and demolished in early 2016. The park will serve Lake City’s growing population with much-needed green space and provide a safe place to play, exercise and enjoy. Seattle Parks and Recreation has worked over the past year to gather community input into the overall design of this ¼-acre park. 

Northgate Bridge Artwork – Permanent Artwork Installation 
ARTS, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), selected artist Charles Sowers to develop and design artistic elements that will be integrated into the Northgate Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. 

AUGUST

Events 

Artists at the Center 
Wednesday, August 3, 5:30 p.m.: The Mahagony Project 
Northwest Courtyard 

Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition – Pioneer Square
Saturday, August 6, 1-8 p.m., Nord Alley and Occidental Ave S.  
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 Ave S, and surrounding areas. The event will feature DJs, musical acts, interactive art activities, and performances. 

Artists at the Center  
Sunday, August 7, 3 p.m.: Inspired Child 
The Armory  

Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition – Lake City 

  • Friday, August 12, 7 – 8 p.m.: David Arteaga and The Paul Miranda Trio 
    Lake City Mini Park, 12359 Lake City Way NE  
  • Friday, August 26, 7 – 8 p.m.: Indian Classical Dance with Mrs. Ekta Sandbhor Patil
    Lake City Mini Park, 12359 Lake City Way NE

Artists at the Center  
Sunday, August 28, 2 p.m.: Nia Amina Minor 
Northwest Courtyard

Art Installations 

Saltwater Podcast
This podcast is conceived of as a way to engage pedestrians in the area around the Ship Canal Water Quality Project construction sites in Fremont and Ballard, as well as a broader podcast-listening audience. This tour will reveal what’s hidden, go under(water), from the droplets that flow through the Salish Sea’s watershed, to the shallow tidal waters, into the depths of the Sea.

As we move through geography, we’ll also move through time, hearing about some of the environmental and human forces that flow into and through the Ship Canal and the Salish Sea. Given that the Salish Sea Streets’ permanent installations feature Indigenous artists, the audio tour will also center on Indigenous stories and voices with a focus on the peoples of the Salish Sea region. The tour will have a total run time of at least 50 minutes with shorter 1-3-minute short pieces (excerpts). We have consulted with several Coast Salish sources and the Salish Sea Streets artists and conducted additional reading and listening. 

The audio tour will weave together several audio elements:

  • Language recordings of Salish Sea peoples: We hear the human sounds (language) used for thousands of years to describe these waters
  • Underwater recordings: Sound travels faster in water and many water-living creatures use it to communicate
  • Interviews featuring storytellers, Coast Salish language and history experts, scientists, and a Salish Sea Streets artist 

Seattle Center Art Activations – Temporary Art Installations  

Skating in the Sky by Nikita Ares; Photo by Ricky Reyes
To Catch the World by Matthew Dockery; Photo by Ricky Reyes
Path of the Sky Dragon by May Kytonen; Photo by Rick Reyes

Working with Seattle Center and ARTS, up to four selected artists will design and develop small-scale temporary artworks to be installed on City-owned street furniture, infrastructure, or building facades, (e.g., light poles, railings, sidewalks, trees, tree pits, stair risers, etc.). These installations will be on view for a minimum of 12 weeks and up to four months from mid-August 2022 through early-January 2023 on the Seattle Center campus.

FLOW – Temporary Art Installations  
ARTS, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), will be installing the next round of artists commissioned to develop new temporary art installations for four locations in north Seattle. FLOW: Art Along the Ship Canal is a project designed to enliven temporary walls and fences surrounding construction sites that are part of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project.

A Visual Love Letter by Perri Rhoden; Photo by Ricky Reyes
We Are All Immigrants by Malayka Gormally; Photo courtesy of the artist
Landscape, Collage, Waterway, Tapestry by Allyce Wood; Photo by Ricky Reyes
Aquatic Kaleidoscopes by Marsha Rollinger; photos courtesy of artist

FLOW features temporary and site-specific artwork in four different locations (Ballard, East Ballard, Fremont, and Wallingford) and changes every six months. New artists will be commissioned over the next few years. You can view the current round of FLOW artworks which will be on view until late August when the new round will be installed. 

Nihonmachi Alley – Permanent Art Installation  
The Nihonmachi Clear Alleys Artwork is a pilot partnership between SDOT, SPU, ARTS, and the community to commission an artwork in Nihonmachi Alley in support of SPU’s Clear Alleys Program. 

SEPTEMBER

Events

Created Commons – Legendary Children  
Friday, Sept 23: Olympic Sculpture Park  

Art Installations

Art Interruptions West Seattle – Temporary Art Installations 
ARTS and SDOT commissioned four local artists, Clare Johnson, Tommy Segundo, Malayka Gormally, and Toka Valu 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.  

all the ways we’ve found through these downs and ups and downs by Clare Johnson
Lukia e Tenifa by Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu
School’s Out by Malayka Gormally

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

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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!

“Art Interruptions gives opportunities to emerging artists in our local community that are looking to break into the field of public art. We are excited to see four artists commissioned for Art Interruptions 2022 that have not participated in past iterations of the program.”

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

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.

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. 

Aaron T Stephan selected for Thomas Street Corridor Public Artwork

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Written by Maija McKnight

Adjacent to the cultural hub of Seattle Center and under the shadow of the Space Needle, Thomas Street will be updated with a new design and significant pedestrian and bicycle upgrades in upcoming years. Thomas Street Redefined will create an important connection for people walking, biking, and rolling, linking South Lake Union to the Seattle Center. Artist Aaron T Stephan has been commissioned to be part of the design team and selected for the creation of a new public artwork at the site.

The new public art project — a joint effort with the Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle City Light — will feature a multi-element artwork exploring the idea of “illumination” that will be integrated as part of the new design within the two blocks of Thomas Street directly East of the Seattle Center (between 5th Ave N, Taylor Avenue and 6th Ave N).

A selection panel of four professional and emerging artists — including members of the community — reviewed applications and interviewed finalists for this important Public Art commission. The panel selected Aaron Stephan based on his extensive portfolio and innovative approach. Much of Stephan’s work repurposes familiar items in new and unexpected ways that invite the viewer to interact. Stephan is specifically interested in using the length of the corridor for repeating artistic elements that crescendo as one walks or bikes through the area and up the hill. As he researches and participates in site visits and planning meetings, Stephan will be developing the concept through 2022 for installation that coincides with the completion of the project, which is expected in late 2023/early 2024.  

About Aaron T Stephan

  • Paths Woven, Aaron T Stephan, 2018
    Medium maple, claro walnut, and hanging hardware
  • Composition, Aaron T Stephan, 2013
    Medium painted poly-resin and aluminum

Aaron T Stephan lives and works in Portland, Maine. His work presents a wry look at the world around him, focusing on the complex web of information carried by everyday materials and objects. This exploration has taken a dynamic array of formats including a twenty-foot high table and chairs, a shelter made entirely of books, and a series of drawings reproducing iconic artworks ad infinitum. For additional information about the artist, please visit his website.

New Public Artwork in Delridge: “Delridge Know How” by Wowhaus

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The view while traveling along West Seattle’s Delridge Way SW just became a little different with the addition of new public art in three locations.

Created by the Wowhaus artist team Ene Osteraas-Constable and Scott Constable, Delridge Know How is a series of bronze stylized nuts and wrenches that sit prominently alongside Delridge Way SW for pedestrians, bus riders, and vehicular traffic to enjoy.  Created in coordination with the upcoming Rapid Ride H Line, this new public art creates a new view along the busy corridor. 

Photo courtesy of Wowhaus

The artworks are located at three intersections, including Delridge Way SW and SW Henderson Street and Delridge Way SW and 18th Ave SW (east and west sides of the street). Each of the three locations has a series of three sculptures that invite viewers to physically interact with and think about the history of the area.

In the development of the artwork, Wowhaus attended several community meetings, held impromptu focus group meetings on the 120 Metro Bus, hosted a site walkthrough with elementary students from Roxbury Elementary School, and delved deep into the history of the area through resources at the Seattle Public Library and Museum of History and Industry. From this engagement work, the idea for the artwork Delridge Know How was developed.   

Delridge Know How recognizes that the foundation of any industry is human know-how and hard work. For generations, waves of immigrants from around the world have come to Delridge to find work and to make a home.  Home to a wide range of industries in the past, including shipbuilding, brick making, flour milling, canning and fishing, and the steel mill that persists nearby to this day; Delridge has a rich history of blue-collar industry. A tight-knit, diverse, and hard-working community developed in Delridge, and the neighborhood is proud to continue its tradition of welcoming diverse immigrants to this day.  

Photo courtesy of Wowhaus

In a neighborhood that is rapidly changing and growing while continuing to welcome new residents, Delridge Know How captures the persistence of human ingenuity and know-how as new patterns of life and work emerge. A series of nine bronze large-scale nuts and wrench sculptures are integrated with low-maintenance plantings in three medians that herald the entry to South Delridge, inviting engagement and play while evoking the neighborhood’s history of industry and labor. Symbolically, both the nut and the wrench sculptures include repeating elements of a hexagon. The hexagon is the shape created by worker bees that create a series of hexagons in tandem in order to create a honeycomb, a form emblematic of collective community effort. 

Scott Constable and Ene Osteraas-Constable have collaborated as Wowhaus for over 20 years, creating site-responsive art in public spaces nationwide. Wowhaus explores the common denominators of everyday life, the central question of how things, places, and relationships acquire meaning. They embrace a systems-based, community-engaged approach, finding inspiration in the cultural, historical, and ecological factors that shape a sense of place. Their artwork is oftentimes integrated into existing landscapes and specifically designed to inhabit a specific space, becoming beloved landmarks, icons, or touchstones.  

Delridge Know How is commissioned with Seattle Department of Transportation‘s 1% for Art funds and administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

New SLURP mural brings color and whimsy to Maynard Alley in Seattle’s Chinatown International District

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Come see the new SLURP! mural in Chinatown International District (CID)! Designed by local artist Akira Ohiso and installed with technical assistance from muralist Angelina Villalobos, the vibrant new SLURP mural includes eight segments that meander through Maynard Alley near King St.  

Initiated by the community, the mural is the result of a collaboration between the Maynard Alley Partnership, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation Development Authority (SCIDpda), the Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), several neighborhood businesses and individuals, the Seattle Together Initiative, Office of Arts & Culture, and Seattle Department of Transportation working together to reimagine Maynard Alley as a vibrant, community-focused pedestrian space. 

 This mural is inspired by noodles, stepping stones, the immigrant journey, and the diversity of intersecting cultures inhabiting the Chinatown International District today. Each noodle cluster alludes to geographic locations, the circuitous route of immigration, and safe passage through the space. Landing on each cluster promotes this journey. Viewers are invited to appreciate the diversity of the neighborhood through vibrant colors, movement, and a memorable experience. – Akira Ohiso, artist who designed SLURP 

The CID, which consists of Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Saigon, is both a historic district and a lively neighborhood with bustling small businesses, diverse residential demographics, well-used parks, a community center, social service agencies, medical clinics, and cultural institutions.  

Last week SDOT shared a brief history of the CID to help us understand and appreciate how the Asian Pacific Islander communities have overcome some of the harshest systems of racism and created its own vibrant microcosms.  

Maynard Alley with rendering of SLURP mural before it was installed. Photo by Akira Ohiso 

Maynard Alley is one of two historic alleyways in the CID that the community has worked to revitalize in recent years. The other being Canton Alley. 

For more than a century, people have lived and worked in residential units and storefronts off the alley. The historic buildings that line the alley hold layered stories from the neighborhood and people who have called the CID home over the years.  

The Louisa Hotel. Photo by Jordan Samson 

One of the gems on Maynard Alley is the Louisa Hotel. Built in 1909, the Louisa Hotel was built to house Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino laborers while they waited for work in Alaskan canneries. The hotel was also the site of two speakeasies, the Blue Heaven and The Club Royale, and Seattle’s first Chinese bakery. 

The Maynard Alley Partnership has worked with local businesses, community members, and the City to make the alleyway a safe and inviting destination for people to gather, eat, shop, and strengthen the community. 

With funding from the 1% for Arts program, the City is proud to support the community’s vision and install the new piece of artwork. The Public Art program integrates artworks and the ideas of artists into a variety of public settings, advancing Seattle’s reputation as a cultural center for innovation and creativity. 

The City worked closely with the Maynard Alley Partnership and a number of businesses in the neighborhood to ensure that the artist and artwork would speak to the unique community, strengthen connections, highlight and the culture and history of the CID. 

SLURP 

Last week, Akira Ohiso, Angelina Villalobos, SDOT and ARTS staff, and about a dozen talented volunteers painted the mural on the alleyway and King St.  

Dahvee Enciso, who coordinates installing all of SDOT’s ground murals, shared this was one of the most fun projects he’s worked on. “There was so much community support and gracious hospitality! Shop owners stopped by throughout the day to see our progress and brought sweet treats to the amazing volunteers who were helping us paint. Everyone’s cheery spirits reflected the vibrant colors in the mural.” 

Come see the fresh mural for yourself!  

Follow the meandering mural through the alley and ponder the unique cuisines, histories, and experiences that each segment of mural represents. While you’re there, visit one of the mom and pop shops, enjoy a bubble tea, or stop in one of the many restaurants for a delicious bowl of noodles. You can also stop by the Wing Luke and nearby businesses to pick up free stickers of the mural as well 

Visit SeattleChinatownID.com for shops, restaurants, and places to visit in Seattle’s CID.  

To learn more about the historic CID, check out these resources 

Additionally, our friends at the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods are hosting a series of profiles and stories to amplify and honor people, businesses, organizations, and projects connected to the history of Seattle’s API community. And we invite you to read SDOT’s brief history of the CID and resilient API communities.