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Seattle Street Art: An Expression of Creativity and Resiliency
By Veronica Sutton


Like any big city, Seattle has its share of big-city problems. Unwanted graffiti is one such example. Riding along the freeways and walking the streets, one sees the blight of spray-painted tags, “throw up,” “blockbusters,” and other similar forms of public defacement. Whether criminal vandalism or “misplaced artistic expression,”1 as Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has characterized it, graffiti can elicit a strong reaction with the line between crime and art sometimes blurring. Seattle has long worked to address unwanted graffiti2 and actively encourages sanctioned public art in surprising and awe-inspiring ways.

The Emerald City has one of the richest art scenes in the world3. In 1973, it was one of the first cities in the U.S. to adopt a percent-for-art ordinance4, which allocates 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds for the commission, purchase, and installation of artworks in a variety of public venues. Visitors will find an abundance of public art, including graffiti- and street-art inspired works.

Murals have long been a particularly thriving art form in the city. Prompted by a surge in unwanted graffiti since the pandemic began, Seattle is endeavoring to revitalize its streets. Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), a non-profit member organization, has put out a call for building walls as canvases for colorful murals to “bring more art into downtown and create a richer urban experience.”5 Even Mayor Harrell’s “One Seattle Graffiti Plan”6 to beautify Seattle and address a surge in graffiti includes a “Many Hands Art Initiative,” which seeks to engage with artists, businesses, volunteers, and others to activate spaces with sanctioned art.

While you are in Seattle, and whether the weather cooperates or you experience wet “Seattle Sunshine,” don’t miss the opportunity to walk about and see firsthand how beautiful and creative street art expression can be. All around the city, large outdoor walls, the areas along the light rail tracks, and even traffic signal boxes are transformed into a creative, dazzling and thought-provoking pieces of art. Read on below for some curated listings.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Veronica Sutton is the President of the Puget Sound Chapter.


 

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