4Culture News

4Culture is honored to announce the recipients of the 2023 Arc Artist Fellowship!

The King County Council is currently considering Doors Open, a proposal from King County Executive Dow Constantine that would increase funding to arts, heritage, science, and historical preservation non-profit organizations through a 0.1 percent sales tax. If approved by the King County Council, tax collection would begin in April 2024. With over 50 years of grant-making experience, 4Culture is the County’s designated agency to distribute funding and implement the program.

Since Indigenous People’s Day was made a King County holiday last year, 4Culture staff have been seeking out intentional ways to learn more about the Native American tribes that make their home in and around King County. This year, staff members attended events that brought people together in celebration. This is part of our ongoing effort to deepen our relationship with Indigenous communities in King County in ways where we are invited to participate.

The King County Public Art Collection features a wealth of work by Indigenous artists who carry forward the cultures of First Peoples.

A new story pole by Duwamish carver Michael Halady joins a collection of artworks at the King County International Airport that honor the location’s past.

Our King County Heritage Internship Program connects heritage organizations with students and emerging professionals seeking work experience in the heritage field. This year, we partnered with the Museum of Flight on an internship opportunity to work with their collections. Andrew Le is the intern for this year’s program, and he recently received a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington. Andrew started working with the Museum of Flight in February, and he will complete his internship in August. Here, Andrew shares insight into his experience.

Commissions made in partnership with King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division reveal and celebrate crucial water systems.

4Culture is proud to share several exciting updates about our poetry program. With a renewed vision, we will be implementing a new identity, broadened scope, and captivating theme for the 2023-2025 iteration.

There’s a good chance you’ve experienced it yourself: you’re riding a King County Metro bus as it makes its way through the city, looking out the window, watching your fellow passengers, when your gaze turns toward the rows of familiar advertisements flanking the bus’s interior. Amid the various promotions and PSAs, you spot something a little…different. A poem. A few lines of verse inviting you to linger for a moment as you soak in its meaning.

Monday, June 19 is Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States on June 19, 1865. Black communities have celebrated Juneteenth as a day of food, parades, and family activities long before it finally became a federal holiday last year. At 4Culture, we celebrate this holiday as an expression of our mission, vision, and values. As we work continuously to examine and eliminate race-based inequities in our work, Juneteenth gives us an opportunity to uplift Black history and culture in an authentic way.

We are delighted to announce that artists Timothy White Eagle and Laura C. Wright were selected to create artwork, which stimulates curiosity and raises awareness of the largely invisible Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system. The artwork will connect to the King County Wastewater Treatment Division’s West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility located in West Seattle.

Artworks by some of our region’s most renowned artists give meaning and character to public spaces all around the county. George Tsutakawa’s Sandworm, an undulating steel sculpture inspired by a burrowing marine animal, anchors the 5^th Avenue entrance to the King County Administration Building. An abstract painting by William Ivey—once a student of Mark Rothko—exudes shades of blue in a district courtroom. The Palace of Darius by Mary Henry conveys feeling through meticulously distilled forms at the Maleng Regional Justice Center. Inside the Dexter Horton Building, the complex honeycomb of Cris Bruch’s Mantle appears to glow.

May is Preservation Month and Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! In celebration of both, we’re thrilled to highlight news that the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) has honored 4Culture grant recipient Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova with the 2023 SHPO Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement.