takiyah ward

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

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

“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

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.

Friends of Waterfront Seattle (Friends) and the City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects (OWCP) have selected their Future Forward: Artist-In-Residency: Takiyah Ward. Born and raised in Seattle, Ward is artistically known as T-DUB Customs.

Launched as a rapid response plan to provide immediate virtual opportunities for local artists, creatives, and makers, the artist residency supports the long-term health of the future waterfront park and will develop virtual art opportunities to activate the waterfront with temporary art installations.

Working with partners, Ward will lead a process that incorporates elements of the Seattle Waterfront Art Plan as inspiration to develop a program to award $100,000 in funding to local artists. This funding was made available by Friends and OWCP projects in support of the Seattle Together initiative, a partnership among the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Office of Arts & Culture, Office of Economic Development, Seattle Public Library, and the Mayor’s Innovation and Performance Team coming together to build a city-wide COVID-19 community response plan.

Takiyah Ward said, “I’m excited about the opportunity to bring a variety of art to the waterfront that speaks to the essence of the city, and the most vibrant parts of Seattle’s culture. To highlight the beauty of our shared story and the truth of our perseverance.” Most recently, Ward organized Vivid Matter Collective’s Black Lives Matter mural on Pine Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

This Artist-in-Residence pilot is created to be scalable over time and continue throughout the life of the park to allow artist-led projects to be a cornerstone of Friends’ waterfront park programming and ensure participation of a range of artists, especially those representing communities of color.

With Arts Consultant Vivian Phillips serving as facilitator of the Future Forward: Artist-In-Residency, the selection panel was comprised of a diverse group of working artists, arts administrators, and entrepreneurs, including Friends Board Member and Phila Engaged Giving Founder/Principal Stephanie Ellis-Smith, Seattle Art Museum Associate Director for Community Programs and Equity Team Founding Chair and Seattle Arts Commission Co-Chair Priya Frank, artist, educator, and Eighth Generation Founder Louie Gong, Seattle Center Managing Artistic Director of Cultural Programs and Hidmo/Cypher Community Volunteer Heidi Jackson, and visual artist and Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery owner Jake Prendez.

Friends of Waterfront Seattle Board Member, Stephanie Ellis-Smith said, “The selection of Takiyah Ward for the artist-in-residence program is significant in achieving our goal of creating a ‘Waterfront for All.’ Her voice and creativity illustrate our commitment to incorporating BIPOC artists and creatives at all levels and establishing their influence to make the waterfront an inclusive and welcoming place.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Friends and the City recognize the importance of participating in economic recovery for the arts community while leading strategies supporting the long-term health of Seattle’s future Waterfront Park. The residency program will embrace a process for employing a creative waterfront arts program that is artist-driven and audience-minded, inclusive and welcoming of a diversity of thought and approaches, and responsive and adaptable to changing public gathering norms. The program brings to life the significance that the arts play in our daily lives as well as in our ability to be “in community.”

For details, visit friendsofwaterfrontseattle.org/events/artist-program.

Friends of Waterfront Seattle (“Friends”) is the nonprofit partner to the City of Seattle responsible for helping to fund, build, steward, and program the park – today and into the future. In addition to raising $110M by 2024 to fund park construction, Friends will manage the programming and operations of the future Waterfront Park through a joint-delivery partnership with Seattle Parks & Recreation. Friends is responsible for funding and carrying out park programming for the future park. Park construction has begun following the Viaduct’s removal and the first piece of the park — Pier 62 — is planned to open later in 2020.

The Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects is pleased to support this project that aligns with the City’s Seattle Together program, a series of initiatives responding to communities impacted during these unusual and challenging times. Future Forward: Artist In Residency will provide opportunities quickly to artists and arts groups for activation of the waterfront for the benefit of everyone. Seattle Together is a partnership of city departments that includes the city’s Office of Arts & Culture, which in turn collaborates with the Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects to bring arts and culture to the waterfront.

Art Beat Blog Office of Arts & Culture

Artists Everywhere is Art Everywhere: Black Lives Matter Mural Restoration

Friends of Waterfront Seattle and Seattle’s Office of The Waterfront & Civic Projects Announces Artist in Residency Program Selection and Summer Launch of $100,000 Call for Artists