Seattle is taking action to prevent one of the biggest threats to the future of our city and the planet - global warming. Through Seattle Climate Action Now, we are committed to leading by example and helping everyone in the city take steps today to reduce climate-changing pollution in their homes, at work and on the road. Get involved in Seattle Climate Action Now by visiting www.seattleCAN.org.
A play powered by actor-powered bicycle generators. A public artwork powered by wind. Biodiesel generators used to power outdoor concerts. Here are some examples of projects and steps our Office and our partners are taking to reduce climate-changing pollution.
Proud sponsor and host of conference on sustainable in the arts
Americans for the Arts—the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America—will hold its annual convention in Seattle, June 18 to 20, 2009. This is the largest gathering in the nation of arts leaders and their partners in business, education and government. The convention, entitled Renewable Resources: Arts in Sustainable Communities, will promote strategies to lead the way for sustainable arts, organizations, communities and careers.
Public Art
Water Calling a series of temporary artworks and short films about water
The Water Calling projects are commissioned by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) 1% for Art funds. The projects reflect SPU's management of the complete cycle of hydrology for Seattle's water resources from drinking water through drainage, and Restore Our Waters, the city's initiative to protect and restore Seattle's urban waterways.
Beckoning Cistern part of Belltown 'green street'
Beckoning Cistern by Buster Simpson was created as part of a community effort to create a "green street" on Vine Street in Belltown. Funneling storm water runoff through sculptural pipes and cistern to a street side planting bed, the artwork demonstrates "green" water management practices and brings public awareness to Seattle Public Utilities' water conservation efforts.
Dragonfly Pavilion highlights creek restoration
The Dragonfly Pavilion and Garden, designed by artist Lorna Jordan, were developed in conjunction with Seattle Public Utilities' (SPU) Longfellow Creek Drainage and Habitat Improvement Project in West Seattle. The project to restore Longfellow Creek included Jordan, artist-in-residence at SPU in 1997 and 1998, on the design team for the project master plan that explored and identified ways to include artworks that illuminate the design and work of SPUs' drainage control and urban creek restoration efforts.
Birdsong Listening Station to utilize wind power
Birdsong Listening Station harnesses the renewable energy source of wind to power this interactive sculpture's listening station. Created by Vancouver, B.C. artist Doug Taylor, this sculpture features three 15-foot sails that rotate on an axis, powering the listening station's audio equipment. Participants will hear the calling song of local finches that feed throughout the center's grounds.
City selecting artists for residencies at city's transfer stations
The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is launching artist residency projects at the North and South Transfer stations. One artist will be selected for each station to investigate the activities occurring at the pair of solid waste facilities operated by Seattle Public Utilities. The stations handle and transport the garbage, recycling and yard waste collected within the city and provide residents with a place to self-haul their garbage and recycling. The artists will create temporary artworks for that can potentially be integrated into new replacement facilities, providing not only visual interest for transfer station employees and for customers, but also bringing awareness to issues of recycling and reducing waste.
The Fin Project built from recycled diving plane fins
The Fin Project by John T. Young is a major environmentally-scaled sculptural installation
on the west shore of Lake Washington along the north loop trail at Warren G. Magnuson Park. The Fin Project is built from the recycled diving plane fins from 22 decommissioned 1960's U.S. Navy attack submarines. The artwork, which resembles a pod of Orca whales, consists of hydrodynamically-designed fins, placed at various angles and heights.
Reflective Refuge at Meadowbrook Pond built from recycled soil
Reflective Refuge at North Seattle's Meadowbrook Detention Pond by artists Lydia Aldredge, Peggy Gaynor and Kate Wade transforms a stormwater detention pond into a sensory environment. The pond is surrounded by a series of sculpted, landscaped earth berms, which the artists created by recycling the soil from the pond's excavation. A refuge from the surrounding city, Reflective Refuge contains a series of environmental features focusing attention on the changing seasons and the sight and sounds of water.
WaterLogs + Leaf/Hull uses reclaimed logs
WaterLogs + Leaf/Hull by Kristin Tollefson at Montlake Community Center blurs the boundaries between land and water, past and present, nature and our imprint on it. Tollefson works with found, surplus, cast-off and industrial materials. The WaterLogs sculpture is made of seven fir poles reclaimed from the bottom of Lake Union.
Artist Marita Dingus creates with discarded materials
An artist of noble intent and resourceful means - Marita Dingus creates stories and sculptures from discarded materials. She is featured in a Seattle Channel public art profile. Several of her pieces are in the city's public art collection, including One Hundred and Twenty Ancestors at Delridge Community Center, Children of the Sea at Douglass-Truth Branch library and Contradictory Vibrations at the Seattle Justice Center.
Arts Partners
The greening of Bumbershoot
For the past 37 years Bumbershoot®: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival has strived to be a socially responsible and environmentally friendly festival. In 2007, Bumbershoot launched a series of innovative and interactive strategies to make Bumbershoot the greenest ever. The reduce its carbon footprint, the festival took more than a few steps, including using bio-diesel generators to power Mainstage performances, requiring vendors to compost pre-consumer waste and recycle grease and screening eco-oriented short films at The 1 Reel Film Festival.
Nature Consortium teaches environmental lessons through the arts
Nature Consortium is a grassroots, community-based organization whose mission is to teach environmental lessons through the creative arts and hands-on conservation projects. Based in West Seattle at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Nature Consortium offers both youth and families opportunities to experience art in and inspired by nature, and to explore the connections between creativity and environmental stewardship.
Transportation
TransitMan a heroic commuter
While serving as artist-in-residence at Sound Transit, artist Christian French was transformed into a rogue superhero with a mission to save the world by riding the bus. French dons a superhero costume and becomes TransitMan. "Commuting is an act of heroism any citizen can perform," says French, who received CityArtist Project funding from the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs in 2006 to produce Superheroism: The Adventures of TransitMan, a collection of photographs and comic narrative illustrations associated with the character.
Conservation
Green methods used to conserve artworks
Charged with stewardship of the city's art collection, the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs performs conservation activities to maintain, restore and repair both permanently-sited and portable artworks. In doing so, we strive to use eco-friendly materials (low-VOC solvents, natural product graffiti removers and cleansers) and methods to reduce impact on the environment.
Online applications to cut paper usage
The Office's shift to an online application system for grants to organizations and artists planned for March 2008 will cut down on paper usage for applicants and our office. The public art program recently converted to an online application and is already experiencing big paper savings.