Indigenous Peoples’ Day Spotlight: Denise Emerson

Denise Emerson. People of the River, 2016. Seed beads, bone, shell, and suede. 8 x 8 x 1/8 inches. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Mel Carter

In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, proclaiming that “For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.” 1

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In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, proclaiming that “For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.” 1

This October 10th, King County and 4Culture also observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day by acknowledging and talking about the violent history of colonization in the Western hemisphere.

With gratitude, we work on the ancestral and unceded lands and waters of Lushootseed-speaking peoples, especially of the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Snoqualmie, Suquamish, and Tulalip tribes, as well as those whose names we do not know. Today, many Indigenous peoples live and thrive here. We commit to repairing the harmful historic relationship between 4Culture and Native peoples in King County through cultural funding and commissioning opportunities that prioritize Indigenous communities.

As an extension of this charge, we’ve acquired original beadwork by Denise Emerson for the King County Public Art Collection. People of the River, 2016, is made of seed beads, bone, shell, and suede.

Denise Emerson. People of the River, 2016. Seed beads, bone, shell, and suede. 8 x 8 x 1/8 inches. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Mel Carter
Denise Emerson. Photo: Tim Aguero

Denise was born in Shelton, WA and currently resides in Burien, WA. She is the eldest daughter of Bertha Allen who was an enrolled Twana (Skokomish) Tribal Member and Danny Emerson, Sr. who was an enrolled Diné (Navajo) Tribal Member. The imagery in her work is based on familial relationships and, by extension, these dual cultural influences. Trained as a graphic designer, she also merges contemporary practices with traditional methodologies.

 

“My parents taught me that I am here because of my ancestors, that I belong to two rich cultures. I designed this composition to represent the Twana people, also known as the Skokomish Nation. As a small tribe, our cultures and our treaties are not often talked about. I hope to change that.

The Elder Skokomish woman (left) is named Hleastunuh, the second person is titled, “the Skokomish Indian Chief’s Daughter”, and the third and fourth Skokomish tribal members are at a fishing camp. I love the details in the Elder woman’s face, hair, and cape. I illustrated these details to show her beauty… She reminds me of my mother’s older sister, Elsie. In the background, I used Skokomish symbolism representing salmon gills as my stand-in for a rising sun. Symbolism is in all of my beadwork. The three baskets in the front depict the Skok dog symbol. This is in reference to the use of dog hair in historical weaving. The text in the mountain range in English reads, “People of the River” and below in Twana language is written, “People of the River”. Finally, below the shell border is the text “Skokomish Nation”.


 

You can see more of Denise’s work at etsy.com.

1 What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day? – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Ryan! Feddersen Brings Her Mighty Vision to the RapidRide I Line

Ryan! Feddersen. Photo: Mario Gallucci Studio

“The bus stop is the place that the bus rider begins and ends their journey. Their experience there should invite them back, over and over again, not just out of utility but out of joy.” –Johnson|Ramirez, RapidRide Expansion Art Plan

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“The bus stop is the place that the bus rider begins and ends their journey. Their experience there should invite them back, over and over again, not just out of utility but out of joy.” –Johnson|Ramirez, RapidRide Expansion Art Plan

Artist Ryan! Feddersen has been selected to develop a series of small sculptures and related retaining wall treatments for the new RapidRide I Line corridor, which will connect the historically underserved King County, WA cities of Renton, Kent, and Auburn via bus rapid transit.

4Culture, in partnership with King County Metro Transit, conducted a national open call for this opportunity dubbed SMALL BUT MIGHTY and announced with the prompt: How might little artworks add BIG moments of surprise and joy to these otherwise utilitarian places?

98 artists and artist teams submitted their qualifications for consideration. A committee comprised of regional artists and arts professionals, community representatives, and Metro staff reviewed all materials, conducted interviews with finalists, and ultimately awarded the commission to Feddersen.

Unified by concept, scale, and durable media, the work she develops will be permanently installed at up to a dozen bus stations and adjacent points of interest along the 17-mile alignment. Serving a huge diversity of people and places and encompassing at least thirteen different language groups in its ridership, Feddersen hopes to elevate I Line histories and cultures. She says, “I am excited by the concept of stories which unfold over space and time and have long been interested in creating a series of artworks for sites where there is a special opportunity to work iteratively or where viewers experience multiple artworks in sequence that have interesting, surprising relationships to one another. I find it captivating to make artwork for public settings where people experience the same artwork frequently and can continue to find new elements in the work.”

Ryan! Feddersen. Inhabitance, 2021. Portland International Airport, Portland, OR. Photo: Mario Gallucci Studio
Ryan! Feddersen. Schema, 2022. CitizenM Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Ryan! Feddersen. Synecdoche, 2019. Burke Museum, Seattle, WA. Photo: Dennis Wise

About the Artist
RYAN! Feddersen specializes in creating compelling site-specific installations and public artworks which invite people to consider their relationships to the environment, technology, society and culture. She completed a BFA at Cornish College of the Arts in 2009. Feddersen is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, from the Okanogan and Arrow Lakes bands, and of mixed European decent. Recently, she completed public artworks Inhabitance for the Portland International Airport, Schema for CitizenM Pioneer Square, and Antecedents for the University of Washington. She has created large-scale site-specific pieces and interactive installations throughout North America, working with Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture, Regional Arts and Culture Council, ArtsWa, Museum of Art & History Santa Cruz, Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, City of Tacoma, University of Washington, Wellin Museum, College of New Jersey, and Northeastern University. Learn more about her practice at ryanfeddersen.com.

Rosten Woo Selected to Develop a Community-Informed Regional Parks and Trails Art Plan

Rosten Woo. A Park is Made by People, 2018. Metal and wood signs. Los Angeles State Historic Park, CA. Photo by the artist.

We are excited to announce that Rosten Woo was selected to work collaboratively with our partners at King County Parks to develop an art plan for King County Parks’ extensive network of parks, regional and backcountry trails, and open space in collaboration with the communities they touch. Rosten will consider the existing King County Regional Trails System Art Plan developed by Brian Borrello in 2011 as a jumping-off point for a new plan that looks holistically at regional trails, parks, and open space.

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We are excited to announce that Rosten Woo was selected to work collaboratively with our partners at King County Parks to develop an art plan for King County Parks’ extensive network of parks, regional and backcountry trails, and open space in collaboration with the communities they touch. Rosten will consider the existing King County Regional Trails System Art Plan developed by Brian Borrello in 2011 as a jumping-off point for a new plan that looks holistically at regional trails, parks, and open space.

Rosten will create a conceptual framework for system-wide and community-specific art integration and intervention that prioritizes working with BIPOC communities while acknowledging that each community faces different systemic barriers to accessing these spaces. The plan will be informed by communities in urban to rural areas, provide a range of artistic opportunities throughout Parks’ public spaces and provide an opportunity for Rosten to propose his own project for future development.

Over the coming months, Rosten will work closely with 4Culture and KC Parks to conduct research on the natural, social, and cultural history of the area, gain a deeper understanding of the variety of landscapes and uses of Parks’ public assets, and engage with communities to identify key themes or concepts for the art plan.

Photo of Rosten Woo by Kristiania Clark.

Originally from Seattle, Washington, Rosten currently resides in Los Angeles. In naming Rosten a recipient of its 2021 Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities, Americans for the Arts said the following: “He produces artworks that respond to civic concerns, which emerge from long-term collaborations between grassroots organizations, cultural and community nonprofits, and local governments. His projects aim to help people understand complex systems, orient themselves to places, and make group decisions. Since 2010, Woo has centered his community work largely in Los Angeles, producing temporary and permanent installations that illuminate complicated histories and present-day issues in the physical and socioeconomic environment.”

The selection panel was impressed by his thoughtful approach to engaging and collaborating with communities. His work grapples with complex, layered issues such as gentrification and homelessness. Rosten has the incredible ability to take intricate issues and distill them to their essence and in turn, create something new that explains the complexity in a way that is simple and clear to everyone.

Rosten Woo. A Park is Made by People, 2018. Wood signage and audio. Los Angeles State Historic Park, CA. Photo: Tiffanie Tran.

Rosten says, “My work is collaborative and process-oriented. It is abstract, but also warm and inviting. I use quantitative and computational methods to arrive at forms but I also try to call those methods into question and highlight their inadequacy. I frequently work in extended dialog with specific communities (as defined by geography or common interest (for instance, a tenant organizing group, members of a worker’s center, or a car club). My ultimate goal is to re-orient people to the places they live.”

We look forward to working with Rosten and supporting his process in the development of the Regional Parks and Trails Art Plan.

Join Us in Learning and Celebrating this Juneteenth

Damon “Creative Lou” Brown, Gratitude.
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Last year, after decades of advocacy across the country, Juneteenth became a federal holiday; this year, King County and 4Culture are following suit. We’ve spent the last few months thinking about how to acknowledge this holiday in a way that is an expression of our mission, vision, and values. We also plan to do the same for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which we will officially recognize for the first time as well.

We see this as an opportunity to educate and celebrate. Juneteenth is not as well understood as other holidays, so we are teaching ourselves about it and reposting a few resources we found especially helpful:

Juneteenth Acquisitions

Mia McNeal. The stares… A constant reminder, 2018. Gelatin silver print. 20 x 16 inches
Mia McNeal. Unapologetic, 2018. Gelatin silver print. 20 x 16 inches
Mia McNeal. I am not a threat, 2018. Gelatin silver print. 20 x 16 inches

We honor the beauty, power, and uniqueness naturally exuded by Black women with an acquisition of three gelatin silver prints by Mia McNeal. Part of her series, Undefinable, the portraits will become part of the King County Public Art Collection. McNeal’s photography and videography explores the intersections of history and identity. With an emphasis on personal narrative, she hopes to empower marginalized communities and inspire discussion and healing. Born and raised in Washington, she now lives in south King County where she maintains her studio and commercial practice.

We've also commissioned work by Damon Brown, which will be printed and displayed in 4Culture’s storefront, as well as shared digitally across our social media channels.

Events Around the County
Another great way to learn about and celebrate Juneteenth is to attend one of the many events happening around the county. Check out the South Seattle Emerald's roundup as well!

Freedom Week at Wa Na Wari: Photobooth, Book Release, Afrikan Marketplace, and More
June 16–19 at Wa Na Wari

The Songs of Black Folk: the Music of Resistance and Hope
June 19, 6:00 pm at McCaw Hall

Africatown and the Central District Chamber of Commerce Juneteenth Celebration
June 18 and 19 at Jimmy Hendrix Park

AMSA It takes a Village Juneteenth Celebration
June 17–19, 11:00 am–6:00 pm at Othello Park

Festival Sundiata presents Black Arts Fest
June 17–19 at Seattle Center

Waterfront Juneteenth Celebration with LANGSTON
June 18, 2:00–6:00 pm at Pier 62

Black Love: a Form of Resistance
June 18, 1:00–3:00 pm at MOHAI

NAAM Juneteenth Week: Celebrating Black Freedom
June 12–19 at the Northwest African American Museum

Rainier Beach Community Center Juneteenth
June 19, 11:00 am–3:00 pm

KBAC Linda Sweezer 11th Annual Memorial Juneteenth Live and Virtual Celebration
June 18, 10:00 am–3:00 pm at Morrill Meadows Park
Virtual presentation at 5:00 pm

2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration in Federal Way
June 18, 12:00–4:00 pm at Town Square Park

City of Auburn Presents Juneteenth Family Reunion
June 18, 12:00–5:00 pm at Les Gove Park

The Lituation
June 18, 10:00 pm–Sunday, June 19, 2:00 am at 19309 68th Avenue S, R103, Kent

Tukwila Juneteenth Commemoration
June 18, 2:00–4:00 pm at the Sullivan Community Center

2022 Inaugural Juneteenth Royal Ball
June 19, 7:00–11:00 pm at the Renton Pavilion Center

EastHUB Virtual Event: Structural Racism in the Arts: A Lens on Racist Policies in the Arts Community
Jun 15, 2022, 05:30 pm

Guest Post: AA+NHPI Women Artists Launch Anti-Hate Poster Campaign

Art by Juliana Kang Robinson.

We’re proud to support this project by a group of incredible artists. They are seeking additional locations to display posters; if you’d like to offer a site, please contact Juliana Kang Robinson.

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We’re proud to support this project by a group of incredible artists. They are seeking additional locations to display posters; if you’d like to offer a site, please contact Juliana Kang Robinson.

Seattle Asian American Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Women Artists United Against Hate is a visual campaign to fight the tide of anti-Asian violence and xenophobia. In 2021 anti-Asian hate crimes across 16 major US cities spiked by 342% (according to a report from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at CSU, San Bernardino.) Because of this alarming statistic, coupled with the waning media coverage of hate crimes against Asian Americans, we feel the urgency now more than ever to boost awareness and spur empowerment. The posters contain positive messaging like WE BELONG HERE, RESPECT BELOVED COMMUNITY, and PROTECT EACH OTHER, combined with original artwork by seven local celebrated AA+NHPI women artists: Diem Chau, Erin Shigaki, Juliana Kang Robinson, Julie Kim, Raychelle Duazo, Saiyare Refaei, and Saya Moriyasu. The campaign aims to raise awareness, beautify streetscapes, and uplift Seattle’s AA+NHPI community.

Posters will be free to the public at the following events:

July 9, 2022
SCIDpda (Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority) Bash
Canton Alley, Chinatown-International District, Seattle

July 28, 2022
Wing Luke Museum JamFest
Maynard Alley, Chinatown-International District, Seattle

In celebration of AA+NHPI Heritage Month the posters will be on display at the gallery windows of 4Culture in the Tashiro Kaplan building in Pioneer Square, at King Street Station, and in various storefronts throughout Seattle throughout the month of May. This project was made possible with funding from 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and with support from Wing Luke Museum and SCIDpda.

Pick up a free poster and help declare that there is no place for hate in Seattle!

Announcing Awardees of Sustained Support and Recovery Fund for Organizations

Since May 2021 when King County Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Council showed their support of our region’s cultural sector in the form of a $9.4 million appropriation from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund, we’ve been working to get those dollars to those in our field who need it most via our Recovery Fund. We’re now delighted to share the King County cultural organizations who have received funding!

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Since May 2021 when King County Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Council showed their support of our region’s cultural sector in the form of a $9.4 million appropriation from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund, we’ve been working to get those dollars to those in our field who need it most via our Recovery Fund. We’re now delighted to share the King County cultural organizations who have received funding!

We approached how to best support cultural organizations through partnerships with King County Creative and the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. Our region’s larger organizations were served by King County’s Revive and Thrive program while we funded smaller organizations, and by teaming up with the City of Seattle we were able to offer one application for three separate grants, including our long-standing Sustained Support program. This allowed us to look at the applicant pool holistically, prioritizing organizations that were not eligible for ARPA funds for Sustained Support. All of this helped immeasurably in distributing ARPA funds widely while reducing the application workload for overburdened organizations, and we thank those agencies for their collaboration.

On the applicant side, the requirements and restrictions that come with these federal funds have been significant, and we thank every organization for navigating this process alongside us. We continue to be deeply inspired by the resourcefulness of our sector! As these Recovery Fund dollars head out the door throughout 2022, we invite you to join us in celebrating the cultural organizations who will put them to use creating a vibrant and resilient King County.

In total, we are distributing $5 million of Recovery Funds and $2.95 million Sustained Support dollars to 529 organizations. You can view the full lists of 4Culture awardees here:
Recovery Fund for Organizations
Sustained Support: Preservation
Sustained Support: Heritage
Sustained Support: Arts

Please note: these lists reflect funding for organizations only. We also ran a Recovery Fund grant program for individuals, which will be awarded and announced in the coming months. Stay tuned for more!

Remembering Artist Kristen Ramirez

Kristen Ramirez (1971-2021). Ebb & Flow, 2014. Latex paint. Burke-Gilman Trail, Bothell, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: Bob Suh

Kristen Ramirez was a vibrant part of our community and deeply embedded in the world of public art as both an artist and administrator. Never short on creativity or innovation, she changed the things she touched for the better.

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Kristen Ramirez was a vibrant part of our community and deeply embedded in the world of public art as both an artist and administrator. Never short on creativity or innovation, she changed the things she touched for the better.

She exhibited her studio work at Gallery 4Culture in 2006 and 2018, serving as a selection panelist in-between. An original drawing from 2021 will be included in the program’s forthcoming publication, Remark, which is being dedicated in her honor. A number of Kristen’s paintings are also held in the King County Public Art Collection and will continue to be displayed in perpetuity.

Through her first 4Culture commission, she engaged volunteers to create the beloved mural, Ebb & Flow, an immersive experience of color and light in the Burke-Gilman Trail’s bustling Wayne Tunnel. The project was honored with an Americans for the Arts Year in Review Award as one of the top public artworks in the country.

More recently, Kristen and Elisheba Johnson developed the guiding vision for art integration for King County Metro’s RapidRide Expansion as well as a trio of mirrored sculptures for the Burien Transit Center that will be fabricated and installed in 2023.

Kristen was a longtime friend to many of us at 4Culture. We are heartbroken and miss her tremendously.

 

Gallery 4Culture is back, almost!

Remark (with cover card by Sadie Wechsler), 2022

We’re excited to announce the reopening of Gallery 4Culture! Programming will resume on First Thursday, May 5 with Nate Clark’s Squinch. Please join us from 5:00—8:00 pm to celebrate Nate and this momentous occasion, our inaugural exhibition after more than two years of a pandemic hiatus.

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We’re excited to announce the reopening of Gallery 4Culture! Programming will resume on First Thursday, May 5 with Nate Clark’s Squinch. Please join us from 5:00—8:00 pm to celebrate Nate and this momentous occasion, our inaugural exhibition after more than two years of a pandemic hiatus.

This will also serve as your first opportunity to pick up a free copy of Remark, a collaborative publication featuring playful pairings of images and text contributed by 100 gallery alumni. Additional copies will be made available in limited quantities through the end of 2022.

The gallery will operate on reduced hours for the time-being; visit us on Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Congratulations to Our 2022 Arc Artist Fellows!

The 2022 Arc Artist Fellows. Top row from left: Aiyana Reid, Neve Mazique-Bianco, Sondra Segundo. Bottom row from left: Natasha Alphonse, mario lemafa, Gil Adame.

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2022 Arc Artist Fellowship!

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We are thrilled to announce the recipients of our 2022 Arc Artist Fellowship!

The 2022 Fellows are:

Gil Adame, Filmmaker
Natasha Alphonse, Ceramic Artist
mario lemafa, Artist
Neve Mazique-Bianco, Terpsichorean Artist
Aiyana Reid (sƛʼpúlmx), Regalia Maker and Dancer
Sondra Segundo, Multidisciplinary Artist

The Arc Artist Fellowship provides critical—but rare—unrestricted awards of $12,000 to artists residing in King County. This year we received 46 highly competitive applications from King County artists working in dance, music, theatre, media, film, literature, and the visual arts.

From our Executive Director Brian J. Carter: “In this moment of global turbulence, the work of the artist helps us all make better sense of the joys and challenges we’re collectively experiencing. Through the Arc Artist Fellowship Program, 4Culture stands committed to supporting the work of these phenomenal King County artists. Congratulations to all the 2022 Fellows!”

Each year, a new cohort of Arc Fellows are selected, with an eligibility requirement that changes annually. This year, eligible applicants were Indigenous, Aboriginal, or Native artists of diverse international ancestral lands who live in King County, the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. We seek to lift up the expression of cultural sovereignty of Indigenous makers as culture bearers and as contemporary artists.

Arc Fellows will assist in determining the Arc Eligibility Requirement for next year’s Fellowship, as well as participate in a public cohort presentation organized by 4Culture and in planning and community engagement for the 2023 program.

The Arc Artist Fellowship will provide the Fellows with portraits and a page on the 4Culture website featuring images and links to explore their work.

Congratulations to Gil, Natasha, mario, Neve, Aiyana, and Sondra! Stay tuned to learn more about the 2022 Arc Fellows and how you can connect with their work.

Restoration of Brightwater Artwork in 2022

Andrea Wilbur-Sigo. Grandfather’s Wisdom, 2012/2022. Carved and painted cedar. Brightwater, Woodinville, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: King County Wastewater Treatment Division.

Continuing her work to restore Grandfather’s Wisdom, the large-scale sculptural installation at Brightwater Treatment Plant near Woodinville, artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo recently welcomed the Longhouse back to her studio. In 2020 the artist recreated the project’s paddles in red cedar. Now focusing her attention on the surface and longevity of the longhouse, Wilbur-Sigo will be both re-carving and re-painting as needed. The new longhouse is expected to return to the site in late 2022.

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Continuing her work to restore Grandfather’s Wisdom, the large-scale sculptural installation at Brightwater Treatment Plant near Woodinville, artist Andrea Wilbur-Sigo recently welcomed the Longhouse back to her studio. In 2020 the artist recreated the project’s paddles in red cedar. Now focusing her attention on the surface and longevity of the longhouse, Wilbur-Sigo will be both re-carving and re-painting as needed. The new longhouse is expected to return to the site in late 2022.

The carved motifs of Grandfather’s Wisdom feature Killer Whale, Octopus, and Thunderbird—creatures of universal importance among Coast Salish tribes. “My artwork represents in a modern view what a longhouse would look like standing in a place that it’s highly likely one might have been,” says Andrea, a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe and the first woman carver in her tribe and family.

Andrea Wilbur-Sigo. Grandfather’s Wisdom, 2012/2022. Carved and painted cedar. Brightwater, Woodinville, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: King County Wastewater Treatment Division.

As stewards of the King County Public Art Collection, 4Culture cares for nearly 2,500 artworks in 150 locations across the county. This includes contracting with specialized conservators, technicians, and as in the case of Grandfather’s Wisdom, the original artist, to clean, restore, and revitalize these important cultural assets. King County provides stewardship funding for the collection, which supports ongoing maintenance of permanently-sited artworks, repairs, framing, photographic documentation, and other conservation services as needed.

Through the work we do with our King County partners, community stakeholders, and artists, we help nurture a cultural legacy in our region. This ongoing care and investment in the public art collection celebrates the people who live, work, and play here, ensuring these artworks will be part of our communities for many years to come.

citizenM and 4Culture Collaborate in Pioneer Square

RYAN! Feddersen. Schema, 2022. Porcelain enamel tile. citizenM Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com

Public Art 4Culture consulted with international hotel chain citizenM to curate and commission original artwork for their highly anticipated historic Pioneer Square location at the corner of Yesler Way and Post Avenue.

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Public Art 4Culture consulted with international hotel chain citizenM to curate and commission original artwork for their highly anticipated historic Pioneer Square location at the corner of Yesler Way and Post Avenue.

RYAN! Feddersen’s massive graphic mural, Schema, brings color, texture, and personality to the building’s façade. Rendered in porcelain enamel tile, the mosaic imagery features an abstract map referencing Seattle’s early history and idiosyncrasies alongside layered symbols of colonization, nature, industry, and politics. As a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Feddersen took inspiration from the aesthetic structure and palette of turn of the century Native American beadwork to make her message clear: actions of today have lasting effects, both physically and experientially. Schema is a reminder that we are the creators of our world, and that foresight and social responsibility are vital.

RYAN! Feddersen. Schema, 2022. Porcelain enamel tile. citizenM Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com

Schema very much represents a mode for how I like to work: time to dive into research and think in a site-specific way about histories and narratives, then the freedom to combine that content with aesthetic and ideological strategies,” says Feddersen

The mural is just the first piece of a larger portfolio that will give the new property an art collection that is distinct to the region. A second commission—wallpaper by artist Harold Hollingsworth—will be featured in the hotel’s bar area. In the living room, cabinets have been designed to showcase The Allure by artist and curator, Anthony White. Guest room artwork will feature pieces by Natalie Krick, Mary Iverson, and Jennifer Zwick.

New Year, New TAR Artists!

4Culture is happy to introduce great King County talent joining the Touring Arts Roster in 2022. After a live audition at Carco Theatre, nine new performing artists were juried into our lineup by a peer panel composed of presenters and local arts agency administrators. Spend some time visiting their profile pages and keep them in mind when planning your upcoming events!

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4Culture is happy to introduce great King County talent joining the Touring Arts Roster in 2022. After a live audition at Carco Theatre, nine new performing artists were juried into our lineup by a peer panel composed of presenters and local arts agency administrators. Spend some time visiting their profile pages and keep them in mind when planning your upcoming events!

Brian Ledbetter
Don’t Ask Band
Ensemble Eurasia
Notable Journey
NOBI (Never Obey Blind Individuals)
Sphie
Tambor e Cordas
theDGTL and Friends
Wednesday Club

Our 2022 Deadline Calendar is Here!

Whether you’re a professional grant writer or totally new to applying for funding, it always helps to plan! As 2022 gets underway, we’ve put all our annual grant and artist call deadlines for the year in one, easy-to-reference place. Check out the image above or download a printable PDF.

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Whether you’re a professional grant writer or totally new to applying for funding, it always helps to plan! As 2022 gets underway, we’ve put all our annual grant and artist call deadlines for the year in one, easy-to-reference place. Check out the image above or download a printable PDF.

You can learn more about all of these programs on our Grants and Artist Calls page. If you’re looking for funding but not sure what might be a fit for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

If you’re a public artist looking for calls, please keep in mind that this list only includes our annual programs. We post applications for King County projects as they get underway, so make sure you’re subscribed to our Public Art enews to be alerted when those opportunities open up.

We can’t wait to see what you create in 2022—happy applying!

Familiar Faces, New Roles: Our Public Art Team is Ready for 2022

4Culture Public Art staff, clockwise from top left: Willow Fox, Selina Hunstiger, Guy Merrill, Kelly Pajek, Andy Le, and Jordan Howland. All photos by Sunita Martini.

We are thrilled to announce big news from the Public Art 4Culture team!

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We are thrilled to announce big news from the Public Art 4Culture team!

Our longest-tenured public art colleague, Jordan Howland, has transitioned into the role of Senior Public Art Project Manager. Jordan is taking on increased responsibilities given her previous work in project management as well as her oversight of both the King County Public Art Collection and Gallery 4Culture.

This shift has created the opportunity to grow other talent on the team too. Guy Merrill has been collaborating with Jordan since 2017 to steward the Collection. He brings this experience—plus more than a decade of previous technical and administrative know-how—to his new role as Collections Manager. Andy Le, who was hired in 2018, will put his background in studio art and art history to good use as he leads the Gallery 4Culture program and works as the Public Art Coordinator. Willow Fox, no stranger to public art or to 4Culture, rejoins the team in the newly established position of Collections Registrar. And finally, Project Manager Selina Hunstiger and Director Kelly Pajek will continue in their current roles.

This reorganization promises to bring forward great things in 2022 and beyond—stay tuned!