4Culture News

Back in 2008, JoEllen Wang was living in Ballard near Interbay, an in-between zone where RVs often parked. She found them charming, nostalgic. To her, in their autonomous freedom to roam, they hinted at the American dream. She started painting little portraits of them.

Michael Hong was attempting to recreate a cucumber dish that his mom had been making for him all his life. The dish seemed simple enough, but even with her recipe, and after many attempts, he just couldn’t get it right.

Amid the daily bustle at the Burien Transit Center, many passengers come and go on the RapidRide H Line, traveling between Burien and Downtown Seattle on one of King County Metro’s busiest routes.

“If you meet an Iranian in the U.S., they’ve either been a political prisoner or are related to somebody who has,” says interdisciplinary artist Audineh Asaf.

4Culture staff will be at several community events in the coming weeks to share information about Doors Open grants, as well as all our grant programs and Public Art calls. We’d love for you to stop by, say hi, and ask us any questions you may have! Here’s where we’ll be: 

As King County Metro transitions to a 100% zero-emissions fleet, they are expanding capacity at their South Campus in Tukwila to make room for approximately 250 battery electric buses. The South Annex Base (SAB) will be Metro’s first new permanent base in generations. Like the electric buses, the facility itself will prioritize sustainability in its design and building principles, including a large solar installation and net zero energy consumption.

In 2021, the King County Council allocated $9.4 million in federal COVID relief funding to 4Culture to distribute to the cultural sector. At the end of last year the final round of this funding was put in motion, with roughly $2.7 million available for King County cultural producers who have experienced COVID-related economic impacts since March 2020. 

A long and winding drape is hanging from the ceiling at Gallery 4Culture right now, made from hundreds of origami pieces in whites and peaches, taupes and creams, each of them intricately folded into the same form: a vulva.

Like many holidays, Juneteenth has been known by various names, such as Freedom Day, Liberation Day, and Black Independence Day. While each of these names highlights different aspects of the significance of this day, today it is most widely known by a portmanteau that blends “June” and “nineteenth” into a single, recognizable term.

John Feodorov was sitting in the Boise airport after giving a lecture at the University of Idaho when a phrase suddenly came to him: I cannot speak my mother’s language.

Whether you’re out at parades and street parties or enjoying a quiet night in, there are so many ways to celebrate Pride Month in King County! Here, 4Culture staff have pulled together some of our favorite ways that the cultural sector is joining in this June: 

During the pandemic, Maria Phillips used to walk along the beach near her home in West Seattle, picking up litter with her kids—often on Mondays when the sand was dotted with objects left behind from the weekend: masks, water bottles, cigarettes, press-on fingernails.

Now that 2024 is well underway, we have two housekeeping items for grant recipients as you manage your award:

Hidden on the north side of Lake Union, next to Ivar’s and along the Burke-Gilman Trail, Waterway 15  celebrates the area’s maritime history and the public’s right to access commonly-held waters.

It’s National Poetry Month and 4Culture is celebrating by launching a new phase of Poetry in Public – the poems! Look for poems on King County Metro buses and Sound Transit light rail starting mid-April and read and listen to selected poems online today.