West Seattle, Washington
05 Wednesday
A great West Seattle summer of outdoor music continues tomorrow night with the first of six free Thursday concerts comprising the ninth annual Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series. Here are details of the season’s first show:
Couldn’t make it to Upstream Music this year? Fear not – the Admiral Neighborhood Association will present some highlights at the July 20 concert opening this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series. Three artists will perform in a showcase of fresh new talent curated by SassyBlack.
Headlining the showcase is Paris Alexa, 19-year-old singer, songwriter and loop artist. Her innovative, unique sound is accomplished by using only her voice which is recorded as she performs, then replayed as her own accompaniment. She is a student at Berklee College of Music and performs locally, including the 4th of July concerts in Gas Works park.
18 year old Cameron Miles Lavi Jones of Gypsy Temple will perform an acoustic set. Gypsy Temple brings a firestorm of original alt rock In the true spirit of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam complete with the band’s special guests horn section The Horny Tones and the amazing cello powers of Cory Cavazos. Considered #5 of the top ten bands for Upstream 2017, Cameron and his band are aggressive, melodic, highly musical and full of on stage drama.
Rounding out the lineup is DJ and producer Jamie Blake. Referring to his work as “life music,” he incorporates works of jazz, soul, electronica, and hiphop into his beats and live sets.
You may have caught SassyBlack’s performance at the Junction last weekend. Described as an “electronic psychedelic soul goddess”, Sassy is a tireless advocate for artists in the local music community. She curated a portion of the Upstream festival, where Quincy Jones included her among important new talent to watch: “It is an honor to help them grow,” he said. Her new album, New Black Swing, was released last month. Sassy selected the performers and will be on hand to introduce them.
All concerts are held on the east lawn next to Hiawatha Community Center. Bring a blanket, family/friends, a picnic and enjoy the show!
The series is made possible through the generous donations of community businesses and volunteers.
Showtime is 6:30 pm tomorrow; the lawn is along Walnut, south of Lander. WSB is a co-sponsor, as we’ve been for every year since the series launched in 2009. See the season’s full lineup on the ANA website.
(Photo courtesy Young Shakespeare Workshop)
So much summer fun is on the schedule for this weekend, you’re going to be very busy sampling it all – and tonight we have word of even more, just added to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar. The birch grove at Roxhill Park is where you’ll be able to enjoy William Shakespeare‘s comedy “As You Like It” this weekend – both Saturday and Sunday (July 22-23) at 2 pm each day – presented by the Revolving Company of the nationally recognized Young Shakespeare Workshop, directed by Darren Lay. Thanks to city support, the performances are free. (See the rest of the company’s summer performance schedule – no other shows in West Seattle, so don’t miss these! – here.)
The @WSBigBand Concert in the Park is on! East lawn of Hiawatha until ~8:30. pic.twitter.com/xtUJMcLZY0
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 19, 2017
7:09 PM: With a classic by Count Basie, the West Seattle Big Band just kicked off this year’s Concert in the Park. Even though the longtime presenting organization West Seattle Hi-Yu is no longer active, the tradition will go on, as band director Jim Edwards just told the crowd. (WSB and the West Seattle Grand Parade are co-sponsoring this year.)
Lots of people here but also plenty of room for your chair, blanket, family, friends, neighbors … and it’s free, continuing until about 8:30 pm, with a break along the way to present this year’s Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community to Keith Hughes, in advance of Saturday’s parade.
(Keith Hughes with Michelle Edwards, band member and parade co-coordinator)
(See our preview here and find out more about Keith.)
8:35 PM: The concert just wrapped, featuring vocalists Sarah Ackers, Jeff Carter, and Kevin Mason with the WSBB along the way for a full slate of classics. We have more video and photos to add when back at HQ!
ADDED 11:50 PM: Xavier Cugat‘s “One Mint Julep“:
Sarah Ackers delighted the crowd despite confessing she had awakened with “no voice”:
Here she is on “All Right, OK, You Win”:
The band director himself had a solo during Gershwin’s “Summertime”:
The program was full of great songs – including a musical geographic tour of sorts, from “South of the Border” to “New York, New York.”
6:51 PM: If you’ve been to a major parade in Seattle, you’ll recognize the green shirt/white pants uniforms of the All-City Band, directed by Marcus Pimpleton (who is also assistant principal at Denny International Middle School). They’re in the Seacrest area tonight for their annual photo shoot (and you might hear some music shortly, too). On Saturday, they’ll be in the West Seattle Grand Parade (11 am start at California/Lander, heading south on California to Edmunds); on Sunday, in the White Center Jubilee Days parade; and one week from Friday (July 28th), you can see them and other bands at the annual Band Jam at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), the night before the Seafair Torchlight Parade downtown.
8:58 PM: Photo shoots can be a whole lot of “hurry up and wait,” as was this one, so the musicians decided to play a bit while waiting:
That was a surprise and delight for some of the Water Taxi commuters passing by. Then post-photos, some marching practice:
The band members are musicians from high schools around Seattle Public Schools. While marching, they played the song that will be so familiar to parade fans (like your editor here):
Having just sat in on this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade lineup meeting, we can tell you that All-City is one of two marching bands in this year’s parade on Saturday, along with the Kennedy Catholic High School band from Burien.
(WSB photo, July 2016)
ORIGINAL SUNDAY REPORT, 6:25 PM: Again this year, dozens of Northwest tribes are sending canoes on a regional journey to a gathering site, and Alki Beach is one of the stops along the way. Last year was the first time in four years that they stopped at Alki, where the Muckleshoots are the hosts; here’s our coverage of their arrival and their departure. Last year the canoe families were headed to the South Sound; this year, participants are taking separate routes to Campbell River, British Columbia, with arrival there on August 5th. The Alki stop is set for this Wednesday, July 19th, departing the next day; we don’t have specific times yet but will update when we do.
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: We’re told the arrivals are expected around 3 pm.
It was a Summer Fest spectacle last night on the main stage – lasers and smoke as West Seattle’s own Brent Amaker and The Rodeo wrapped up Saturday night.
(At left, dancer Ruby Mimosa, who’s often performed with the band)
They’ve toured nationally and internationally but hadn’t previously headlined here in Amaker’s hometown, which he hailed from the stage as “best Seattle,” drawing whoops and cheers. Their music’s been described as “psychedelic New Wave country” or some combination thereof. Listen for yourself:
(And here too – maybe the only band that can get a Saturday night crowd moving and grooving to a song with the hook “Death Is Always Near.”) If you want more Rodeo in your life, they’re at Jazzbones in Tacoma next Saturday night. As for Summer Fest, today’s the last of three days; music starts at noon with South Sound Tug and Barge and concludes with The Dusty 45s at 4.
(WSB photos by Leda Costa)
Today (Sunday) is your last chance to enjoy the region’s biggest belly-dancing festival without leaving West Seattle.
As we reported last weekend, the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival will be history after this final two-day run.
WSB contributing photographer Leda Costa stopped by Hiawatha Community Center (2700 California SW) toward the end of the festival finale’s first day.
She also found a shirt in tribute to festival coordinator Saroya Poirier, who founded it with other members of her Babylonian Ensemble – “da Babs” – 30 years ago.
And the dancing went on into the evening:
You can watch dancers and browse vendors 11 am-5 pm Sunday.
Here are the dancer lineups for the indoor and outdoor stages.
Admission is free.
Just wanted to get this on your post-Summer Fest calendar, if it’s not there already: One week from tonight, you’re invited to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center for the West Seattle Big Band‘s 22nd annual Concert in the Park, free and fun. Bring a chair/blanket/picnic dinner, bring the family/friends/neighbors; the band, directed by Jim Edwards, starts playing at 7 pm Tuesday, July 18th. WSB is proud to be a co-sponsor this year. If you haven’t been before, while Hiawatha’s official address is 2700 California SW, the concert is on the Walnut side. See you there!
(Images courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
Two weeks from Tuesday, it’s your second chance to enjoy a one-of-a-kind evening of entertainment and help raise money to restore the 75-year-old murals at The Admiral. Here’s the announcement from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:
Restoration of the art-deco underwater murals of West Seattle’s Historic Admiral Theater will get another boost this summer with a one-night presentation by a West Seattle native whose orchestral scores for classic movies of the pre-sound era have earned him the title of the “Silent Film Music Guru.”
The event is called “Timothy Brock Returns to West Seattle with Music of the Silent Giants.”
It will take place at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at the Historic Admiral Theater, 2343 California Ave. SW, sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.
This exciting evening – to last more than three hours, with an intermission – will start with Timothy Brock being interviewed by his childhood friend, West Seattle’s Dave Beck, a host at KING-FM and longtime former KUOW-FM host. Brock will reminisce with Beck about their West Seattle upbringing and discuss the fascinating process of scoring silent classics. (Brock earned the label of “Silent-Film Music Guru” from Vogue magazine in May 2016.)
Interspersed will be stills and clips from silent films that Brock has scored. Following an intermission, Brock will introduce the screening of the Charlie Chaplin feature “Modern Times,” for which Brock has restored and re-recorded the original 1936 Chaplin score.
Tickets are $20, and proceeds will go to the Historic Admiral Theater mural restoration led by the historical society. A VIP opportunity, to attend the presentation and visit one-on-one with Brock and Beck beforehand, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the theater. VIP tickets are $100.
You can purchase tickets online here, or at the door. Advance ticket purchases are encouraged, as the event may sell out.
Timothy Brock, who has long lived in Bologna, Italy, is internationally renowned for his orchestral scores for the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and many other silent film classics. Over 30 years, he has composed 27 original scores for silent films, and he has served as the film restorer for the Chaplin estate since 1998. Brock also conducts symphonies in live performances of his scores to accompany presentations of silent films all over the world.
This month Brock is making a rare return to his boyhood community, where, as a 10-year-old in the early 1970s, he watched organ-accompanied silent films at West Seattle’s beloved Granada Theater south of The Junction and drew the initial inspiration for his career, which he labels a “lifelong dream.” (The Granada was razed in 1977.)
To see Brock discuss this West Seattle-based inspiration, go here (or view below – time code 1:20-1:50):
Brock’s mother is Berlena Brock, former board member of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.
This unique presentation on July 25 will be the second event this summer to benefit the historical society’s fund to restore the auditorium murals of the Historic Admiral Theater. The first event, a screening of the local documentary “Legends of the Road,” drew 200 people to the theater and raised more than $5,000 for the fund.
The murals date to 1942, when the Portola Theater was converted and expanded to the Admiral Theater. They were covered by curtains when the theater was twinned in 1973 and uncovered as part of the theater’s recent renovation to four screens.
The Historic Admiral Theater became an official Seattle landmark in 1989, following a campaign led by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.
More information about Brock is available at his website, timothybrock.com.
(Photos courtesy Saroya Poirier)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After one last wild weekend of swirling veils and flashing swords at Hiawatha Community Center next Saturday and Sunday, the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival will fold its tents for the final time.
So July 15-16 will bring your last chance to enjoy the only annual West Seattle festival devoted to dance, which also is the region’s longest-running belly-dancing festival.
“It’s been a good run,” organizer Saroya Poirier told WSB, an understatement if anything. The Mediterranean Fantasy Festival is ending in its 30th year; we were surprised to find out this would be its last, so we asked her to take some time to talk about it.
Of the festival-founding Babylonian Ensemble, Saroya explains, “Everybody from the group is retired but me. … I’m ready to go on to something else. I’m 69 and it’s a lot of work” – seven months to plan and schedule, starting in December every year.
And all that work has come with decreasing payoff – it’s always been a labor of love, but more so every year.
(Yes, Caspar Babypants will be back! WSB file photo)
Two weeks from tonight, it’s the first of six shows for this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series (with WSB again among the co-sponsors), and the lineup has just been announced:
The Admiral Neighborhood Association summer concert series has a little for everyone this year
– from reggae to kid rock. Six performances are scheduled for 6:30 pm Thursday nights at Hiawatha Park (next to West Seattle High School):July 20th
SPACE THEORY: INFINITE SOUNDHear what’s next in Seattle on this showcase curated by electronic psychedelic soul goddess SassyBlack. An evening of fresh sounds from three up and coming artists, including Jamie Blake and Cameron Miles Lavi-Jones of Gypsy Temple.
July 27th
NICK DRUMMOND AND FRIENDSOf the legendary Pacific Northwest Band The Senate (hailed by Garrison Keillor for their “Brilliant Dionysian music), Nick Drummond and Friends bring their clever, upbeat alt-folk to the park stage. ()
August 3rd
THE ADARNANamed for a mythical phoenix-like songbird in Filipino folklore, The Adarna are the first band to ever coin their genre as “Jet City Rock” due to their proximity to Boeing Field.
August 10th
ADRIAN XAVIERAdrian bring his blended sax and fiddle for an evening of positive world reggae sounds with uplifting messages and fun, engaging musical fusion.
August 17th
THE DISCO BALLZDust off your platform heel and boogie til the sun goes down – your favorite hits from the golden age of disco! Be ready to dance – glitter jackets and bell bottoms encouraged.
August 24th
CASPAR BABYPANTSSeries favorite is back! Caspar Babypants sings songs for parent and kids ages 0-6 with a catchy simple sing along good time folk acoustic country rock and roll feel that will make you smile and dance at the same time.
All shows are free to the community and will take place at Hiawatha Park on Thursdays from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. The series is made possible through the generous financial support of neighborhood businesses and a partnership with the Seattle Parks Department and Associated Recreation Council.
Bring your own chairs/blankets/etc. to the east lawn at Hiawatha, which is along Walnut, south of Lander.
7:36 PM: Lots of room to stretch out on the grass at Delridge Community Center park as the first of four free Monday night “Music Under the Stars” events gets under way. Until about 8 pm, an ensemble (tonight, the Lenora Duo) is performing live; then the sound system will switch to a live broadcast from the Seattle Chamber Music Society‘s Summer Festival concert at Benaroya Hall. This is the second year the series has included Delridge events! If you can’t make it tonight, the next three dates are July 10th, 17th, and 24th. We’ll add more to this story later when our crew gets back from the park.
7:59 PM: Our crew is back and we’re uploading video fro the duo’s performance. (Added – Here’s the video, featuring Alexander Hawker on violin and Roberta Rominger on cello:)
We expect to get information later this week on who’s performing the rest of the month, and we’ll add that to our calendar listings. Meantime, the program for the Benaroya broadcast that’s about to begin includes a Mozart quartet, and works by Stravinsky and Mendelssohn.
(WSB photo, July 2016)
For the next four Monday nights, you’re invited to the park outside Delridge Community Center for the second year of Music Under the Stars, free “outdoor musical evenings” presented by the Seattle Chamber Music Society. It’s a doubleheader of sorts – at 7:30 pm, live music by “an outstanding student or professional ensemble,” and then at 8 pm, live audio from the night’s concert at Benaroya Hall, piped to the park by KING-FM. We haven’t yet found the lineup of who’s playing in the park, but here’s info on what you’ll hear from Benaroya at 8. Bring a picnic, bring family/friends/neighbors, bring your own chairs/blanket to sit on, and enjoy the summer night (the forecast looks good).
No festivals this weekend, since many people are traveling or otherwise getting ready for the 4th of July. So we’ll be looking ahead to the next wave of big summer events. Among them: The Alki Art Fair, three weeks away, Saturday and Sunday, July 22nd and 23rd. Here’s the official announcement, including info on this year’s free shuttle:
The Alki Art Fair is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer, and everyone from both the peninsula and the mainland is invited. This event is FREE, kid-friendly, and draws upward of 10,000 visitors each year.
Local bands provide the soundtrack and salty breezes provide the atmosphere as you browse the diverse artists’ displays. (Rain or shine — though our track record is almost 100% for shine.)
Saturday, July 22, artist booths are open from 10 am – 6 pm with music all day until 9 pm.
Sunday, July 23, artist booths are open 10 am – 6 pm with music until 6 pm.
This year’s Fair will feature:
*90+ artist vendors selling works in a variety of media including painting, pottery, glass, textiles, metal, jewelry & more
*4 stages featuring 44 musical and other live performance acts
*7 food booths
*An interactive children’s art area – bring the little ones
*A Silent Auction and a Fair history exhibit in the Alki Bathhouse
*2 beautiful limited-edition commemorative T-shirts for sale – an adult and youth shirt by Bill Reiswig and a children’s shirt by Stacey Sterling – while supplies last!
The Alki Art Fair offers a free shuttle from the West Seattle Park n’ Ride parking lot (under the West Seattle Bridge) through the Admiral Junction to Alki Beach. Shuttle will run to and from the Beach from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM both days.
The Alki Art Fair’s goal is to advance art education and appreciation while encouraging community involvement and cultural diversity. The Fair is a Washington State nonprofit organization, whose purpose is to continue the annual event and other mission-related activities into the future.
This year’s Alki Art Fair sponsors include WSB.
Thanks to Erika Lindsay with the city’s Office of Arts and Culture for news that “Engine 32 1/2” has been installed at the new Fire Station 32 in The Triangle. She included photos of the installation, which as you can see required a crane.
Sean Orlando of Engineered Artworks is the artist. Engine 32 1/2 is described as:
… a large-scale fabricated steel version of a wooden toy fire truck. Inspired by historic fire trucks of the late 1920s and 1930s … modeled after the original Engine 32 that Captain Steve Sanislo operated out of this station for many years … a 1924 Seagrave Apparatus … a custom designed and fabricated idealized version of a real vintage fire truck built to ½ scale with a toy-maker’s detailed aesthetic … endowing it with a sense of play, whimsy and imagination. The ladders of “Engine 32 ½” will extend, stretch and come alive behind the apparatus, organically and impossibly creeping up the outer wall of the firehouse. The extension of the ladders behind the truck represents the speed and urgency of the Fire Fighter’s mission. The overall shape of the ladders will emulate a chaotic abstract flame.
Capt. Sanislo is of course the namesake of the elementary school on Puget Ridge. But the truck has even more of a local backstory – inspired by toy trucks made by a man living near FS 32, as detailed on Orlando’s website.
The artist is quoted as saying, “This particular work of art represents an internal discovery and connection between the primal emotions and memory within children of all ages, as well as adults. By creating a piece that spans the generations, “Engine 32 ½” will act as a catalyst to bridge the gap between the adolescent child and the inner child of the adult.”
No date yet for when SFD will move into the new station (which was built on the site where the old one was demolished, at SW Alaska and 37th SW), according to our most-recent check with the department. Construction began with demolition more than 14 months ago. The call for artists originally went out in 2013.
(Colman Estate photo provided by ArtsWest)
It’s a one-of-a-kind volunteer opportunity, at a one-of-a-kind home in West Seattle – here’s the announcement from Michael Wallenfels at ArtsWest:
ArtsWest is looking for additional volunteers to help with our upcoming Gala on Saturday, June 17. We’ve got lots of different kinds of roles that can be filled (see a whole list here: iamiandiamhere.com/volunteers) so there’s something for everybody. It’s located at the historic Colman Estate, and volunteers would have a chance to see this incredible property and its gardens up close, and help out a local arts nonprofit all the while.
Back on Wednesday, we showed you the mural that artist Jesse Link was in the middle of painting on the north side of the Lyman Building on the southwest corner of California/Lander. Via Instagram, he announced it’s complete as of a few hours ago. We’re showing his photo above, since his aerial view is better than ours would be from the ground! This is Link’s third West Seattle mural, after two painted in 2015 at Shack Coffee and at Lofts At The Junction. When we talked to him briefly on Wednesday, he said he’d probably call the new mural “Festoon,” since that’s what it depicts.
Until 8 pm, you can go check out the newest addition to the West Seattle Art Walk – the Makers’ Market, set up in Junction Plaza Park. Participating makers include Mari from Moss and Branch, one of your West Seattle neighbors:
With sweet treats, here’s Andrea from Dolcetta, also a West Seattleite:
Emily from Panacea and Ceres, with watercolor on a 19th century print:
The park is at 42nd SW and SW Alaska.
Thanks to Jennifer for the tip! That’s artist Jesse Link painting his third West Seattle mural on the north side of the California/Lander building that’s home to Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy and Sea-Town Real Estate (WSB sponsor) among others. In summer of 2015, he painted the bear mural on Shack Coffee in Luna Park; in fall 2015, he painted the heron mural at Lofts At The Junction. This one, he told us in our quick ground-to-air interview, is a “giant festoon.”
Thanks to the Smiths for sending photos of this new “temporary art installation” in the park outside Delridge Community Center. The sign says it’s the work of local artist Yeggy Michael, part of the city’s Arts in Parks program, and that you’re invited to contribute your story:
These maps are part of it:
We’ll be checking to find out how long it’ll be on display – the Smiths believe it just went up in the past day or so.
ADDED: We’re told it will be there until July 20th, and after that, your next chance to see it is at the Arts in Nature Festival August 26-27.
(UPDATED SUNDAY with another photo)
Thanks to parent Steve White for the report and photos on West Seattle High School musicians’ cross-country journey!
The Jazz 1 and Jazz 2 bands (directed by Ethan Thomas) flew to New York City yesterday to participate in a workshop at Lincoln Center. While here we are also touring the 9/11 Memorial, seeing a Broadway show and some other sights. Last night we attended the “World of Monk” concert at Lincoln Center featuring the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
And tonight, their travels took them to “The Lion King” at the Minskoff Theater.
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Another photo from Steve, who reports: “The group went on tours of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Empire State Building and are spending the evening in Times Square.”
The musicians are headed back home on Monday.
Summer vacation is weeks away – and so is camp season! Rainbow Parrot Art is a new WSB sponsor, and here’s what they’d like you to know about what they offer:
“Ms. Reuter is very cool! She takes art to the next level, and the next! In Art Workshop, we make gingerbread houses, A LOT of awesome clay sculptures, and toilet-paper clothing! Art with her rocks!”
~ Mia, 5th-grade student
“After attending her first class, my daughter asked to be signed up for the rest of the year. The projects are always unique and the environment is very caring. She comes out with a smile each week.”
~ Kristi, parent of 3rd-grade student
Rainbow Parrot Art is celebrating three years of spectacular kids’ art workshops, camps, and classes in West Seattle. Rainbow Parrot Art has recently expanded its course offerings to include 4 weeks of summer camps and 2 weekly after school classes during the school year. “There is nothing more exciting than watching my students light up with joy when they get excited about their art. Art has the power to really transform kids,” says Rainbow Parrot Art founder Lacey Reuter.
Reuter, a Tacoma native, graduated from the American University of Paris, France, and has a background in fine art, art history, teaching, and mindfulness meditation. She has lived and studied art in Japan, French Polynesia, and Ghana. Since 2011, she has taught hundreds of students at St. Joseph School, Holy Rosary School, and Seattle Lutheran High School.
Glitter-bomb birds of paradise, flying plaster pigs, and rainbow cookie-dough sculpture are just a few of the epic projects that Rainbow Parrot Art looks forward to tackling during this summer’s art camps.
For more information on kids’ summer art camps and art classes, visit rainbowparrotart.com. Also, hear what others are saying and visit us on Yelp!
We thank Rainbow Parrot Art for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
11:02 AM: Thanks to Chi Krneta for the photos and report:
I saw this art display at the Statue of Liberty this morning on Alki. There are pens and stencils for people to leave comments on the artwork.
Chi wonders if anyone knows who created and placed this. Certainly not the first guerrilla art to show up at Statue of Liberty Plaza – but the first we’d heard of this.
1:44 PM: We’ve heard from the artist, Sarah Reitz, who explained via text that it’s part of her graduate thesis work.
4:41 PM: Thanks to Max Szyszkowski for this photo taken a few hours ago after more participation:
9:53 PM: Artist Sarah Reitz has just sent us more about her project:
I spent the day on Alki with the installation and have now moved it back to my studio (didn’t want it to be in the way of 5k activities tomorrow).
I’m a graduate student at the University of Washington studying visual communication and experience design in the School of Art + Art History + Design.
My graduate thesis (working title “Landmark”) focuses broadly on the area of participatory exhibit design. Through it, I’ve been exploring ways to make the visitor experience at memorials or monuments more interactive. I picked the Alki Statue of Liberty as a case study for my research several months ago, and since then I have conducted a series of smaller prototypes at the statue that ultimately informed the design of today’s installation. The prototypes helped me determine what material to work with, what prompt to ask, and how to make the interaction as welcoming as possible for park visitors.
The main questions I explored through my research are:
Do people value experiences that ask them to write, draw, or materially contribute information in an outdoor setting? If given the opportunity, would people participate?
Would the installation spark conversation? What types of responses would I receive and what types of interactions would I observe?
Most importantly, what kinds of things could I do as a designer to make participation intuitive, delightful, and meaningful?
ADDED 11 AM SUNDAY: The artist also tells us in response to our followup question that while she has no current plan to bring it back, she’s open to the idea, or to “donating it to any community group that might be interested.” It’s not available until late June, though – it’ll be on display with other students’ theses at the Henry Art Gallery June 3-25.
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