4Culture News

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.

We are thrilled to announce that Laura Da’ has been selected as the next Poet Planner for the 2023-2025 4Culture poetry program. Laura will work with 4Culture, King County Metro, and communities across King County to shine a light on diverse poetic traditions and empower people of all ages to write poems—whether they consider themselves to be a poet or are writing a poem for the first time.

Earthworks and oil paintings. Bronzes and mosaic murals. Artist-designed bridges and transit experiences. Today the King County Public Art Collection contains nearly 2,500 works of art in a vast array of forms and materials. Whether made by an emerging artist or an established expert, each of these works has a story. How was it created? What inspired it? What does it say about our cultural history?

4Culture and King County Metro are thrilled to announce the release of a series of limited edition ORCA cards in celebration of the RapidRide Expansion Program.

After a pause in programming, Gallery 4Culture launched its first call for artists since January 2020 to continue a 43-year history of exhibiting innovative, underrepresented artists and art forms in solo and small-group shows. Panelists Amelia Ketzel, Francisco Guerrero, Ashraf Hasham, and Tyna Ontko reviewed applications submitted through the process and selected 10 King County-based artists for the 2023-2024 season.

Maria Frank Abrams (1924-2013) came to Seattle in 1948 as a survivor of the Holocaust, then built an illustrious career as one of the most celebrated artists in the region. Her body of work includes paintings, works on paper, public art, set and costume design, and mosaics, reflecting influences from the University of Washington’s School of Art where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Art summa cum laude in 1951. Later she also earned her Master of Library Science.

How well do you know Josh Heim?
Last month the 4Culture staff said goodbye to Joshua Heim, who started a new and exciting chapter as Executive Director at the Western Arts Alliance, a membership association supporting performing arts throughout the Western states.

Danele Alampay, the 2022 Equity in Historic Preservation Intern, writes about her interest in historic preservation and reflects on her internship project, providing data analysis and research support to the Beyond Integrity Initiative. 

In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, proclaiming that “For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.” ¹

“The bus stop is the place that the bus rider begins and ends their journey. Their experience there should invite them back, over and over again, not just out of utility but out of joy.” –Johnson|Ramirez, RapidRide Expansion Art Plan