I introduced the ArtSparks program a little more than a month ago here, but I also wanted to post the schedule of events so that you don’t miss anything — there are some really great installations this summer, and many of them are integrated into the new Saturday Market in the neighborhood. You can also check out 4culture’s Facebook page for pictures and updates.
June 19- end date TBA: Prismatic Landscape by MiLa
The installation includes strips of mylar-like material, strung on 40lb monofilament line, and suspended from the tree branches. Tree branches will be protected by black surgical tubing.
July 12 – end date TBA: Celebration and Fanfare by Celeste Cooning
Large “paper cutouts” made of Tyvek, strung between two trees and a lamppost at the west side of the plaza. An articulated boom truck will be used to install July 12 and de-install on Aug 9 or some later date.
July 24, August 14 and two weekdays TBD– Driving a Sculpture by Sol Hashemi
This piece is a small, mobile “sculpture” made of a sapling strapped to a toy, gas or electric powered, remote-controlled truck. Artist will perform intermittently throughout the day.
[editor’s note: this was absolutely hilarious — I have videos of a kid “walking” the plant, the car/plant just slowly following shoppers, and more. Here’s a photo:
August 2-9 – Teahouse by Christopher Ezzell
Monday thru Saturday 12pm & 5:30pm and possibly also a 7 pm demonstration on First Thursday.
A teahouse (hut) constructed out of metal framing and soda-pop bottles will be placed in the plaza. The artist will carry out tea ceremonies in it, at noon and 5:30 daily. (DJC post)
August 9 to Aug 15 (or later) – Accordion panels by Jonelle Johnson
A free-standing, accordion-shaped series of panels will be placed in the plaza.
August 16-22 – Clay Lines by Ben Waterman (not happening during Seattle Square)
Artist will lay down lines of clay in various shapes and directions throughout the park, with changing patterns every day. Part of the performance is for the lines to be disturbed.
August 23-Sept 26 – Wind Map by Michelle Arab
Bells of different tones will be hung from the trees and will sound when the breeze blows.
All September weekends, Thursdays through Sundays, 6:00-11:00pm – Fire Barrel by Britta Johnson (not happening during Seattle Square)
A coin-operated “fire barrel,” like those used by people on the street in some cities to keep warm, will be installed somewhere on the plaza. Artist will either figure out a way to secure it or else remove it each night.
September 7-11 or 12, Stimulate Dance
Preview Performance Wednesday September 8th Noon-1pm
Performances Thursday September 9th Noon-1pm, Friday September 10th Noon-1pm, Saturday September 11th 1pm-2pm. On the Saturday performance, they will locate the dance floor in the same area as the teahouse and the accordion-panel prints will be placed.
Sept 20 11:30-1:30: Red by Joan Laage
Two pick up trucks loaded with bricks will be driven into the park from the SW alley entrance. Performers will build a wall within a cordoned-off area, audience members will write messages on small pieces of paper that will be inserted in the wall and, at the end of the performance, burned. Performers will then remove all the bricks.
Patent Pending will have a retrospective poster show at the Design Commission Gallery in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Digging deep into the archives, this will be the first time their 11 year body of influential poster work will be seen in its (near) entirety. They are most famous for a lot of the Sub Pop covers in the grunge heydey — and one of their designers is listed as one of the top 100 graphic designers in the world.
Public Opening:
August 5, 2010 – 5 PM – 10 PM
Design Commission
310 S. Washington St.
Seattle, WA 98104
For you out-of-town folks coming to Seattle for Flatstock, this is actually a two-month show so it will be up during Flatstock (Aug 5 – Oct 1). So mark your calendars, book your tickets and tell your friends — you won’t want to miss it. They also hope to do some other “stuff” surrounding the show.
Hopefully it will be back up soon because I always see tourists from the tunnel consulting the maps on there.
Update: A commenter on the PI made a good point that hopefully the map will be updated before it goes up again, and I definitely agree. I always see tourists there confused about where they are and where to go because of the way the map is situated. It’s also a good marketing opportunity to be able to point out frequent tourist destinations, such as the Underground Tour, or Smith Tower (yes, I know, it’s right there), Waterfall Park, the various museums, and more.
The International Sustainability Institute (ISI) will be hosting alpine stages of the Tour de France on a large screen project in the Nord Alley (just like the World Cup – see here and here) on July 19th, 20th and 22nd.
Come show your support for making Seattle a great pedestrian and bike-riding city and cheer on your favorite rider!
TOUR DE FRANCE ALLEY
When: July 19, 20, 22 from 9:30am – 1:30pm
Where: Nord Alley — 314 1st Ave S (between Main and Jackson)
For additional information, visit www.alleyart.org or contact Tess Boeker at tess@isiseattle.org.
This is a call for volunteers for The Seattle Square, the new outdoor market coming to our neighborhood this Saturday.
This market has been totally volunteer-organized and volunteer-driven and they would love to get more volunteers to help out. There is a formal volunteer meeting set up for today, July 12th, at 5:15pm at The Alliance for Pioneer Square’s office across from Smith Tower (2nd & Yesler).
The following is the types of volunteer help that they need:
- Social Media Crew – includes helping with the blog, promote vendors that have been accepted, work on the facebook tagging campaign, etc.
- Promotions Crew – hand out flyers and posters at different locations throughout Seattle
- Set up Crew – help set up tables, chairs, signs, etc.
- Vendor Check In – show vendors where their spot is, answer any questions
- Traffic Crew – help guide people to parking (vendors coming in, shoppers coming in, vendors going out)
- Information Desk (must know the neighborhood well) – help answer questions, direct shoppers to other businesses, or restrooms.
- Vendor Check Out – collect sales tracking sheets from vendors
- Closing Crew (take tables and chairs down to storage)
- Clean up Crew – walk the park and surrounding streets to make sure trash is picked up
If any of these sound interesting to you and you’re interested in giving back to the community, please email info@theseattlesquare.com or fill out a volunteer contact form on their website. There will be free T-shirts for all volunteers involved (designs by market sponsor Tether Design Gallery)
From the ArtHash blog:
The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Shunpike, seeks up to 12 artists to develop temporary installations for 12 vacant storefronts in Seattle’s Pioneer Square and Chinatown/International District neighborhoods. The installation project, titled Storefronts Seattle, will be on display from September to November 2010. Artwork may be in any two-dimensional, three-dimensional or new media. Artists may be selected for more than one installation.
Storefronts Seattle is a pilot program to make vacant storefront space available for creative uses with the possibility of future expansion to other Seattle neighborhoods. The installation project is part of a series of opportunities that include artist residencies using storefronts, where visual and performing artist can create work, rehearse and/or perform.
Apply via CaFE at the website below.
Open to artists living within 100 miles of Seattle.
Deadline: July 26, 2010
Budget: $500 per installation
Information: www.callforentry.org or email Ellen Whitlock Baker ellen@shunpike.org
Mayor Mike McGinn invites residents to apply for three open positions (one architect, one attorney and one retail owner in Pioneer Square) on the Pioneer Square Preservation Board. Individuals who have an interest in the historical preservation of the district are encouraged to apply.
The 10-member Pioneer Square Preservation Board reviews land use, new construction, changes of use, façade alterations, signs, and street improvements within the Pioneer Square Preservation District. Members serve a term of three years and are eligible for reappointment. Applicants must reside within the city of Seattle and should send a letter of interest and resume by July 30, 2010.
The goals of the board are to preserve, protect and enhance the historic character of the Pioneer Square Historic District. The board is composed of two district property owners, two architects and one of the following – retail business owner, attorney, historian/ architectural historian, human services representative, member-at-large, and a young adult appointed through the Get Engaged Boards and Commissions program.
Board meetings are held 9:00 a.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. In addition, board members may be asked to serve on an additional committee, which also meets twice a month. Electronic submissions are preferred, if possible.
Please email your letter and resume to: Genna.Nashem@seattle.gov
(please reference Pioneer Square Preservation Board in the subject line).
To submit a paper copy, please address to: Genna Nashem, Pioneer Square Preservation Board Coordinator, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, PO Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649.
Kicking off on Saturday, July 17th, Pioneer Square will feature an outdoor market from 11am – 5pm every Saturday for the rest of the summer. The Seattle Square will feature a mix of downtown restaurants like Delicatus, with mobile food vendors including Skillet, Ram & Rooster Dumplings and Parfait Organic Ice Cream.
The market will also host a wide range of vintage and craft vendors; selling everything from locally designed clothing, to handmade housewares and accessories, to mid-century modern furniture. To top it off, local and national DJ’s will be providing a soulful, upbeat soundtrack each afternoon in the park.
The Seattle Square is a grassroots, volunteer driven market — organized to activate the neighborhood on Saturdays and to invite people to experience the neighborhood and the great atmosphere and shops it has to offer. When looking at different opportunities to activate Occidental Square Park (remember the post about the ice skating rink?), the idea for a different kind of market approached. One of the market organizers, Don Blakeney, an urban planner who recently came back from New York, saw the popularity of outdoor markets and events like the Brooklyn Flea, MoMA’s PS1, and Seattle’s Mobile Chowdown, and wanted to see if bringing them together in one market would be successful.
Local artists will also be transforming Occidental Park throughout the summer as a part of the ArtSparks program put together by 4Culture and Seattle Parks and Recreation. Shoppers will be able to walk through a maze of art installations as they enjoy the food, music, and market. Local DJ’s will compete in a weekly Battle of the Mega-Mixes–the winner of which will get a headlining slot at a local nightclub later this summer.
“The creative energy behind the Seattle Square is thrilling,” said Todd Vogel, owner of the Nord Building. “The organizers have combined Pioneer’s Square’s artsy vibe and Occidental Park’s beauty to create an event for everyone. I can’t wait to go!” Vogel is the Director of the International Sustainability Institute, a group that forges public and private partnerships to promote public space and urban sustainability. He is also hosting a series of World Cup watching parties in Nord Alley across
from Occidental Park through the finals in July.
Ideally located on top of every form transportation in the city, Pioneer Square offers a perfect town center atmosphere that is accessible to all. In addition to comprehensive rail and bus access, the Seattle Square has partnered with Diamond Parking and the Merrill Place Garage to provide complementary parking for all Seattle Square shoppers each Saturday.
For more information about weekly features, music and mobile food lineup, directions, or contact information go to http://www.theseattlesquare.com/ or email info@theseattlesquare.com.
First Thursday is coming up tomorrow! Although I’m going to be out of town (again) — tomorrow promises to hold quite a few events that aren’t part of the typical First Thursday.
4Culture is organizing a brief artist talk/tour of the three current works on display at the park for this First Thursday Art Walk, July 1st at 5PM, meeting by the bocce court.
Artist Christopher Reitmaier; Jennifer Milliron and Edward Lalonde of MiLa; and Greg Lewis, Julia Khorsand and Caroline Davis of Room4Assembly will be on hand to give a short talk about the work that neighborhood residents and passerby have been so curious about.
New Art Walk maps have been also been printed to help you navigate your way through the neighborhood — they can be picked up from the concierge booth on the south side of Occidental Park.
I’ve also heard rumors that a new business in the area is planning a technological/artistic performance during the art walk, but they are secretive with the details so make sure you hit Occidental Square Park sometime during the evening.
And lastly, don’t forget about Parking For Peanuts — you can park for free in the Merrill Place Garage (between the hours of 5pm – 10pm) and all you have to do is show a receipt or a business card to show that you were there for the Art Walk/Art in the Park.
The following is regarding an event that the City is hosting (with numerous other groups):
Hey Downtown & Center City Residents and Workers– We Want to Know:
“How Do You Walk, Bike, Ride?”
Can you leave your car at home for day-to-day errands?
Do safety concerns make you think twice about bicycling or walking Downtown?
Are transit options working for your commute?
What would make it easier for you to get around car-free more days of the week?
When it comes to getting around easily without a car, the City wants to know what is – and what isn’t – working for you. The Bicycle (2007) and Pedestrian (2009) Master Plans help guide the City’s improvements for biking and walking, and Mayor Mike McGinn is currently updating the Transit Master Plan.
Join us to learn more about these plans and talk with representatives from the Department of Transportation about where you think there is the most trouble – and the most potential – for transit, pedestrian and bicycle enhancements.
DATE: Tuesday, June 29th
TIME: 4-6pm
PLACE: REI (222 Yale Avenue North – served by Metro buses 8, 25, 66)
For more information, please contact Dan McGrady at danmcg@vulcan.com
Sponsored By: South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Committee, Alliance for Pioneer Square, Belltown Community Council, BOMA, Capitol Hill Community Council, Chinatown-International District BIA, Denny Triangle Neighborhood Association, Downtown Seattle Association, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Uptown Alliance, South Lake Union Community Council