Art Beat Blog Office of Arts & Culture

Art Beat

Office of Arts & Culture news and events

Temporary artworks Seasons All Around brightens up Lincoln Reservoir Gate House in Cal Anderson Park

by Leave a Comment

This spring the historic Lincoln Reservoir Gate House at Cal Anderson Park will host Seasons All Around, 14 original temporary artworks created by nine Washington Middle School students. The artworks will grace the windows of the gate house through December 2016 and feature images inspired by the four seasons. On Sunday, May 22 from 11 a.m. to noon the students, teaching artist and City departments will host an opening celebration of the temporary artworks.

art class cropped IMG_0474The gate house project is a collaboration between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Out of School Time program at Washington Middle School, Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Historic Preservation Program. Students worked with teaching artist Nate Herth over 15 weeks to design and create 14 original paintings reflecting on the park and the vibrancy of the Seattle. The classes took place at Washington Middle School and the students, representing the many races and ethnicities of Seattle, drew upon their varied prior experience with art, color, and Seattle’s neighborhoods to create this public art installation. The artworks created by the students were photographed and are installed in the gate house windows.

install - front in processThe Lincoln Reservoir in Cal Anderson Park was built after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 and put to use in 1901. In 2000 the reservoir was taken out of service and replaced by underground tanks, but the gate house remains. The park reopened in 2005 with four additional acres of useable open space.

This project was funded by Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds

Arts in the Parks grants support community festivals, art installations

by Leave a Comment

24 organizations, seven temporary artworks receive $200,000 

SEATTLE, (February 22, 2016) —The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture in conjunction with Seattle Parks and Recreation today announced $198,400 in funding awards and artist selections for the Put the Arts in Parks pilot program.

One of the first programs for the new Seattle Parks District, the grant will provide support for arts festivals and events and temporary art installations in parks across the city. These events and installations will activate and encourage the vibrant cultural work being done in and by communities throughout Seattle.

“Seattle’s parks and natural beauty are the centerpiece of our vibrant city,” says Mayor Murray. “The Seattle Park District is integral to activating and improving that amazing legacy. Put the Arts in Parks, one of the first projects funded by the district, celebrates all our city’s diverse cultures in our open spaces.”

This pilot program will support 24 events organized by neighborhood arts councils and community-based groups that are seeking to activate Seattle parks with new and established festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation.

Highlights include the Othello Park International Music and Arts Festival, a showcase of southeast Seattle’s rich cultural heritage featuring authentic music, dance and food from East Africa, the South Pacific Islands, the Filipinas, Latin America, and more (August); Jimi in the Park, celebrating the re-opening of Jimi Hendrix Park and the opening of the Northwest African American Museum’s exhibition Jimi in the Park (September); The Art & Culture of Lucha Libre, a celebration of one of the most popular sports in Mexico—wrestling with high-flying, acrobatic moves in South Park (July); and the Luminata Lantern Walk at Green Lake, an annual autumnal celebration that boasts an illuminated, hand-built lantern parade. (September).

“Thanks to Seattle voters and the Seattle Park District, the Put Arts in Parks program provides a great opportunity for art and artists to activate and energize neighborhood parks,” said Jesús Aguirre, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation. “We look forward to collaborating with artists and community organizations on this program. This is one of many projects and improvements funded by the Seattle Park District throughout the city.”

In addition seven artists have been selected to create temporary artworks in parks across the city. Selected artists include Barbara de Pirro, Ryan Feddersen, Sierra Graves, Elsie Koncsek, Blanca Santander, Melissa Koch, and Anne-Marie Stillion. Artworks will be installed throughout 2016.

Approved by voters in 2014, the Seattle Park District provides more than $47 million a year in long-term funding for Seattle Parks and Recreation including maintenance of parklands and facilities, operation of community centers and recreation programs, and development of new neighborhood parks on previously acquired sites. 2016 is the first full year of implementation and will include funding to tackle the $267-million major maintenance backlog; and will fund the improvement and rehabilitation of community centers; preservation of the urban forest; major maintenance at the Aquarium and Zoo; day-to-day maintenance of parks and facilities; more recreation opportunities for people from underserved communities, programs and art activations for young people, people with disabilities, and older adults; development of new parks; and acquisition of new park land. For more information, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/ParkDistrict/default.htm.

For more information on funding opportunities and the Office of Arts & Culture, go here: http://www.seattle.gov/arts/grants

2016 Neighborhood & Community Arts and Put the Arts in Parks grants open

by Leave a Comment

This fall the Office of Arts & Culture is opening the 2016 Neighborhood & Community Arts program in conjunction with a new pilot program created in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, Put the Arts in Parks. Both grant programs support and encourage the vibrant cultural work being done in and by communities throughout Seattle.

Guelaguetza June 2015-47Neighborhood & Community Arts grant 2016 (NCA) NCA supports neighborhood arts councils and community-based groups that have established a track record for producing recurring festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, celebrates our diversity, builds community connections, and enhances the visibility of neighborhoods through arts and culture.

Put the Arts in Parks grant 2016 (PAP) This pilot program supports neighborhood arts councils and community-based groups that are seeking to activate Seattle Parks with new and established festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, celebrate our diversity and build community connections through arts and culture while connecting with underserved communities. The funds for this program are contingent on the passing of the Parks District budget.

Deadline The deadline for both NCA and PAP grant programs is 11 p.m., Friday, October 30, 2015.

Application and guidelines Find the guidelines for NCA here, PAP here and the application for both here. Guidelines for PAP have been translated into Mandarin, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Free Information Session Learn what makes a strong application, including information about other funding programs. This interactive question-and-answer session will cover specifics on eligibility and how to apply. First time applicants are encouraged to attend. Please register for the session by contacting Jenny Crooks at (206) 684-7084 or e-mail at jenny.crooks@seattle.gov.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 6:30 – 8 p.m. 2100 Building, 2100 24th Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98144

Saturday, October 3, 2015, 10:15 – 11:45 a.m. Lake City Branch Library, 12501 28th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98125

Info Jenny Crooks at (206) 684-7084 or e-mail at jenny.crooks@seattle.gov.

Image by Jenny Crooks.

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

by Leave a Comment

TidwellARTSparks, 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.

Seeking artists to develop temporary artworks for Westlake Park

by Leave a Comment

In collaboration with Seattle Parks and Recreation (Parks), we’re seeking two artists or artist teams to each create temporary, site-specific public art projects for downtown Seattle’s Westlake Park, located at 401 Pine St. The selected artists will create artworks that activate the park during summer 2013.  The call is open to artists who are Washington state residents living within 90 miles of Seattle. The application deadline is 11 p.m., Thursday, March 21 (Pacific Daylight Time).

Go to the Westlake Park Call for Artists for more information and to apply.

Two artists or artist teams will create installations that run sequentially, while accommodating the other activities produced by Parks and other entities that occur frequently at the site. The artworks will contribute to Seattle’s Center City Initiative to help make downtown streets safe and inviting, and will support Westlake Park as an enjoyable hub of the city. The artwork should activate the space, engage pedestrians and encourage pedestrian flow through the park. Artworks may be two- or three-dimensional; offer participatory or interactive experiences for visitors to the park; and can include projection, light, sound or performance components.

The selected artists will develop design proposals for projects to be installed in summer 2013, with fabrication starting in late spring 2013. The artworks will be on view for a minimum of three weeks to a maximum of three months, based on the artwork media and concept.

The budget is $10,000 per project, all-inclusive of travel expenses, taxes, proposal fees, and all project costs for design, fabrication/production, installation and removal of artwork. Two artists or artist teams will be commissioned.

The project is funded by Seattle Parks & Recreation 1% for Art funds.

 

Seattle Parks seeks providers for summer art program

by Leave a Comment

Seattle Parks and Recreation seeks individuals, groups or organizations to create fun, innovative, curriculum-based visual and performing arts programs at four Seattle parks this summer.

The Summer Art in the Park program aims to increase learning opportunities for youth, build self-esteem and promote cross-cultural experiences. The parks are Othello Playground, Lakeridge Playground, Judkins Park and Playfield and Maple Wood Playfield.

The budget is $8,400 for each park. Proposal deadline is Friday, May 18.

For more information and to download a proposal packet go here, or contact Daisy Catague at (206) 615-0303.