Public Art
Seattle Public Utilities, in partnership with the Office of Arts & Culture, has commissioned a suite of artworks, both temporary and permanent, that will help tell the story of the underground storage tunnel. Aligned with the goals outlined in the Ship Canal Water Quality Project and the SPU Drainage and Wastewater Art Master Plan, the artworks seek to make the invisible visible and to provide visitors with an understanding of the flow of water on site and through the surrounding neighborhoods.
The City of Seattle's Public Art program integrates artworks and the ideas of artists into a variety of public settings, advancing Seattle's reputation as a cultural center for innovation and creativity. The program specifies that 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase, and installation of artworks in a variety of settings. For more information about the Public Art program visit, the Office of Arts & Culture’s Public Art webpage or email the Office of Arts & Culture at arts.culture@seattle.gov.
Temporary artwork
Artworks by a variety of local emerging artists are on view at some of the construction sites for about six months. Get on your bike or put on your walking shoes and check out the new artwork!
Artists Selected for FLOW 2021 – 2022
ARTS and SPU recently commissioned 11 emerging artists to develop new temporary art installations for four Ship Canal Water Quality Project sites that will be on display from August 2021 through February 2023. See below for more information.
Current temporary artwork
Save Our Salmon
Salmon flowing down river towards the moon, in what is now the “Fremont Cut” which is a man-made waterway. The canoe with a killer whale displayed on the side represents the flowing of all living beings that depend on these waters. Salmon numbers have declined dramatically and we all need to work together to replenish salmon runs.
Kumi Hala
Shark greets Salmon precisely where the salt (Salish Sea) meets the great blue slate (Pacific Ocean).
Both are guided by ancestral wisdom planted long before either of them existed.
It is why they both know and love the water deeply.
And depths I cannot see
This installation is inspired by memories from local seniors and self-identified community elders, sharing their personal associations and experiences around water. Participants responded to a variety of questions about early memories of water, their relationship to water in the Pacific Northwest, feelings about water-based weather, what kind of water best represents them, changes they’ve perceived over time or things that get overlooked, ways water related to their identity or perspective, and other thoughts around our local water systems.
The words on the banners are all quoted directly from people’s responses. The art explores their answers in more open-ended ways – nodding to real places and things from individual memories, while also imagining scenery that more symbolically represents people’s perspectives. Between the quotes and countless layers of detail in the drawings, every community member who responded is included in the installation in some way, with each banner interweaving aspects of many different people’s experiences.
Trim Trail
When Trade Marx Sign, a 50 year old Seattle sign company closed in 2020, we salvaged left over sign parts that make up this installation. There is this little bit of history that is now incorporated into the building of something new. The materials are arranged in a way that speaks to the threads combining to make a more dynamic and whole community. Inspiration comes from the interconnected network that is our waterfront neighborhood in Ballard.
Chaac
Chaac is the Maya god of rain. This piece emulates the great carved stone masks that can be found on the pyramids in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The masks were made of stone carved into intricate shapes which were assembled together to form the powerful visage of the god. Chaac had both human and animal characteristics, showing the interdependence of all living things and their relationship to life-giving water. It illustrates the natural cycle of the flow of water, as it originates in the clouds, where Chaac strikes his jade axe and causes thunder and rain, to where it falls on the land, is crucial. Water infrastructure will safeguard our environment for future generations.
Artist highlight: Angie Hinojos Yusuf and Carlos Jimenez
MMIW
Elevating awareness of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is the key goal of this temporary installation that includes a large-scale mural featuring traditional formline design of orcas. Kalee Nelson is an Alaskan Native from the Tsimshian Tribe and Crystal Christopherson is Alaskan native from the Tlingit tribe.
Artist highlight: Kalee Nelson and Crystal Christopherson
Crossing
Crossing is inspired by Seattle’s maritime industry, the nearby ship canal, and our relationship to water. Crossing alludes to a journey moving through or along water and serves as a metaphor for our individual experiences, personal connections to, and reflections on water.
Artist highlight: Katie Miller
TATTARRATTAT
Honoring the waterway connecting Lake Union and the Puget Sound, the phrase “TATTARRATTAT” is spelled out using the International Code of Signals for water vessels moving in either direction of the canal. The repetition of the palindrome serves as a visual interpretation of the “knock, knock” emanating from a construction site for months to come.
Artist highlight: Minh Carrico
Rain activated art by RYAN! Feddersen
In 2019, RYAN! Feddersen installed a series of rain activated medallions based on community input and ideas exploring the idea of how we use water. The temporary series could be seen at various locations along the storage tunnel alignment. She is currently developing a concept for her permanent artwork.
If only I could
This work is about duality and the constant role changing that's forced upon Black people. We have to navigate many of our public situations differently from everyone else. Something as simple as turning without using a signal can result in death or any other small act that can easily be glossed over. We're forced to change and constantly adapt our images to exist without threat of punishment. This work reflects the constant change that is forced upon us.
Watergates
The addition of this tunnel to our infrastructure is a testament to our community’s commitment to protect the beautiful Salish Sea. We must also endeavor to eliminate, or greatly reduce our individual carbon footprint, specially where single-use plastics are concerned. This work is constructed from plastic generated over a year by a family of two.
Wine-Dark See
Wine-Dark Seee is a series of narrative backdrops; a non-linear sequence of collaged public domain images combined with text drawn from Homer’s Odyssey, an epic poem describing a circuitous journey home, across stormy seas, after a prolonged series of difficult events.
The Future Needs you NOW You Need the Future
The Future Needs You NOW You Need the Future is a temporary art installation that brings awareness to the impact of climate change on mental health in light of current trends of overconsumption. Artist Janelle Abbott invited community members to send her their well-worn t-shirts in order to recontextualized potential waste into art. The t-shirts were cut into strips, wrapped around wire, then attached to the fencing adjacent to the North Transfer Station in order to spell out this important message that invites everyone to pause and take action for the future of our planet.
Salmon FLOW
Dozfy is a Seattle-based artist who explores stories, histories and connectedness through his public artworks. Reflecting a balance of yin and yang, his art embodies planning and effortlessness, precision and flexibility. Dozfy has a degree in studio art from the University of Texas, and his artistic style is influenced by Chinese calligraphy, Japanese and American art, realism, comic books, Ansel Adams and Jackson Pollock.
As part of the FLOW ship canal project, Dozfy has chosen to spotlight three local salmon species that have shaped history and culture in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years. Sockeye, Chinook and Coho salmon are intrinsically linked to Ballard—roughly 75,000 pass through the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. Ballard itself, home to an industrial working waterfront and strong maritime heritage, also reflects some of the defining characteristics of salmon. Like the keystone species, Ballard and the people who call it home are hardworking, determined, tough and willing to meet challenges head on.
Convergence, Divergence
"My work is inspired by the geometry of quilting and textile patterns as well as the joy of working with yarn and fibers. The design of Convergence, Divergence was inspired by the idea that the water we use converges from many rivers and streams into our homes and then diverges again to drainage, treatment, and the broader sound."
– Christy Caravaglio
Oceans of Emotion
The title of our installation is a response to the pandemic and turbulent political times. As SPU is updating the drainage system through Seattle neighborhoods to reroute wastewater safely, ‘Oceans of Emotion’ aims to free stagnant life force and release collective emotional blockage. The artist team has invited Seattle residents to create miniature artworks responding to the phrase ‘Release and Embrace’ in words and drawings.
Check out this video to learn more about Oceans of Emotion
Content advisory: The installation is made of publicly sourced content. While the artist team encourage participants to express themselves freely, they will not include discriminatory or graphic language, imagery or hate speech.
Soak It Up
Art does not need to be long-term. This is a 'time will tell' project that responds to the stormwater upgrade through the Ship Canal Water Quality Project. The idea is for elements of our environment to be absorbed into the sponges over 6 months. They will transform starting out bright, fresh and new. What goes into our water and environment is up to us. A visual reminder that everyone is always downstream from someone else. Hopefully viewers will soak it up.
Permanent artwork
As a part of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project, five new permanent artworks will be developed and displayed. Explore below for more information about each artist and their inspiration or take a look at our public art fact sheet.
Tunnel alignment
Vaughn Bell creates interactive projects and immersive environments that deal with how we relate to our environment. Bell will be creating a Connective Thread artwork that will tie all the art themes together and which will run the length of the new tunnel. Bell was an Artist-in-Residence at Seattle Public Utilities and created the SPU Drainage and Wastewater Art Master Plan.
Ballard
Jeffrey Veregge is an award-winning Native American comic book artist from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Kingston, Washington. His work uses Coastal Salish and contemporary graphic design techniques. He is dubbed “Salish Geek” by his fans and peers. Veregge has recently installed murals at the Smithsonian, The Burke Museum, Snoqualmie Casino, and the Citizen M Hotel.
Christian French’s, Sing, Calypso, embedded images and a poem into the new 24th Ave NW Pier. The artwork tells the simple tale of a fisherman who was saved from drowning by a magical fish he had spared out of compassion. The artwork can temporarily be seen while the pier is open through the summer.
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Artist team Preston Singletary and David Franklin have been commissioned for the Fremont and Queen Anne locations. Their artwork will tell the traditional native story of Petrel Guards the Water and Raven Steals the Water Paddle through two large-scale canoe paddle sculptures constructed of glass and steel that will flank each side of the ship canal waterway.
RYAN! Feddersen is a mixed-media installation artist who specializes in interactive and immersive artworks that invite audience engagement. She was born and raised in Wenatchee, WA. She was inspired to create interactive and temporary artworks as a way to honor an indigenous perspective on the relationship between artist and community. Her approach emphasizes humor, play, and creative engagement to create opportunities for personal introspection and discovery.
The artwork concept, Overflow is a waterjet-cut art fence which illustrates connections between our water usage, city planning, hardscapes, waterways, and underground systems. By reflecting on the many ways we need water to live healthy and happy lives, we acknowledge that we all personally benefit from access to clean water.
Image coming soon!