Doing cultural work amidst a global pandemic is no easy feat. King County creatives of all disciplines have faced closures, loss of work, and uncertainty—and we at 4Culture are navigating COVID-19-related financial challenges as well. Throughout it all the cultural sector’s creativity shines through undiminished, and that’s especially evident in our 2021 Projects grant awardees!

This year, Washington State recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday after the dedicated advocacy of many. This day is commemorated on June 19 as a day of remembrance for the day enslaved African-Americans living in Texas learned of their freedom. The new law also encourages Washingtonians to use the day to revisit our solidarity and commitment to antiracism, educate ourselves about slave history, and continue having conversations that uplift every Washingtonian. Here are some ways to do that:

This summer, art meets vaccines! We’re thrilled to partner with Public Health—Seattle & King County to use art to help get King County closer to its vaccination goals.

The Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority (RTA) is celebrating the uniqueness of our place through a new storytelling campaign called Seattle Southside Scenes, designed to share extraordinary local stories with the world:

We are honored to announce the recipients of our 2021 Arc Artist Fellowship!

As many of you are aware, most of the grant funds 4Culture distributes to the cultural sector come from King County Lodging Taxes. These tax proceeds are generated whenever people stay in local hotels and motels. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic recession, people are understandably not staying in hotels and motels with the same frequency. As a result, 4Culture recently learned that it will receive significantly less Lodging Tax revenue than anticipated in 2021. This does not impact 4Culture’s Public Art program, which is funded through a separate revenue source.

This month, we get ready to say goodbye to Charlie Rathbun, who is retiring after nearly 30 years at 4Culture—which was known as the King County Arts Commission at the time Charlie joined! Here, 4Culture staff and friends share their thoughts and wishes for our Arts Program Director:

4Culture Heritage is now accepting remote internship proposals from heritage organizations in King County! Proposal deadline is at 5:00 pm PST on January 15, 2021.

We are happy to announce UrbanRock Design as the artist team selected to work with 4Culture and our partners at the King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD). Based in Los Angeles, California, UrbanRock Design is the collaborative partnership of Jeanine Centuori and Russell Rock who have experience working on a range of public projects in a breadth of materials. The artist team will create a site-specific public artwork as part of the new Jameson building in the Interbay Industrial Area of Seattle, Washington.

On September 1, the King County Council approved an additional $2 million in CARES Act funding to 4Culture’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts. We thank King County Executive Constantine and the Council for this critical support. This amounts to $4 million to 4Culture in 2020 to distribute to the cultural sector in this time of persistent crisis.

COVID-19 continues to impact every aspect of our lives and work. Each day presents new challenges, and as we move forward, our top priority is keeping our community informed and feeling supported as best we can.