Creative Consultancies began in 2019 as a pilot initiative to connect artists and cultural planners with local arts agencies in cities across King County. The program continues a long collaborative history between 4Culture and the LAAs to increase opportunities for artists and audiences in suburban and rural King County.

Cities across King County shared their challenges and hopes for what artists could bring to the table. We then invited artists, organizations, and creative planners to respond. Cities and creatives were paired, creating project proposals that have now been evaluated by a panel and awarded funding. The full list of funded collaborations is below—watch for these projects to get underway across King County later this year:

Auburn + Kathleen Frugé Brown
In this second phase of a downtown alley improvement project the artist has facilitated a new partnership between the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the city of Auburn by engaging native carvers and artisans to create a cedar welcome (totem) pole as well as a land acknowledgement plaque, incorporating traditional tribal designs into the environmental design, benches, street mural and lighting elements for the alleyway between the new Arts and Culture Center and the Auburn Avenue Theater. This new partnership represents a step forward for the city and the Muckleshoot Tribe in building a collaborative relationship. “Kathleen Fruge Brown will liaison with Muckleshoot Tribe Cultural Director Willard Bill Jr. and traditional carvers Keith Stevenson and Tyson Simmons to produce a sculpture that will bring an iconic symbol of the Muckleshoot culture into the heart of downtown Auburn.”

Bellevue + Katie Miller
The City of Bellevue’s Cultural and Economic Development division requests support from 4Culture to host a creative consultant to facilitate the development of a Community Group that will help identify opportunities for the art district and integrate BelRed’s creative community into a model of sustainable neighborhood development. The project will begin with two distinct phases facilitated by the consultant, Katie Miller, for nine months between April and December 2020. The project’s third phase, to be initiated in 2021, will focus on building a community-based art district action plan. The long-term nature of this collaborative project is crucial because it offers time to meaningfully investigate the central questions guiding the project, as well as time to network with and engage BelRed’s creative community.

Bothell + Una McAlinden
This proposal seeks a Creative Consultancy grant to develop an Implementation Plan for the Cultural Strategic Plan completed in November 2019 for the City of Bothell. Established in April 2017, the Bothell Arts Commission (BAC) was charged with leveraging the arts to improve quality of life by providing arts access to Bothell residents. Local arts commissions play an important role in civic leadership; however, many encounter a range of challenges and BAC too struggles with these challenges as a new entity. This consultancy will take the arts commission and the city of Bothell from the strategic plan to a first year of implementation and evaluation.

Kent + Lucia Neare
This will be the second year of a community development effort to seek out and engage the various cultures and communities in one of the most diverse cities in the county. The artist will continue to seek out various community leaders, businesses and organizations and connect them with funding programs including 4Culture and the Kent Arts Commission and develop opportunities for exhibitions and performances, community celebrations and activating the downtown core of the city.

Mercer Island + George Lee
The artist will create a new vision and arts plan for the restoration of the Greta Hackett Outdoor Sculpture Gallery located along I-90 and the future light rail station on Mercer Island. The project presents the opportunity to build on GHSG’s strengths to evolve it into an outstanding, contemporary arts destination at the core of a cultural corridor through Aubrey Davis Park. Together with a potential MICA performing arts center housed in the TCP and heavy pedestrian circulation to the adjacent Link station, the gallery and the surrounding area have the potential to become a cultural gateway to Mercer Island, an arts- and culture-centric space for residents and anyone else in King County to easily access and enjoy arts-based experiences.

Redmond + Angie Hinojos Yusuf and Carlos Jimenez 
The City of Redmond will partner with artists Angie Hinojos Yusuf and Carlos Jimenez of Centro Cultural Mexicano to serve as the Creative Consultants who will engage with their constituents to promote and encourage participation in the Census Count as an immediate outcome but also is responsive to Council’s vision for Cultural Inclusion – A Redmond in which all residents can fully and effectively access city services, influence city policy and direction, and feel a sense of belonging and safety. This community engagement process will be used to inform the direction and approach for the design and development of either a social practice or visual art piece.

Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council and Beverly Aarons
A multi-disciplinary artist has been working with the Shoreline historical museum and Arts Council to conduct a series of interviews and oral histories with various ethnic communities in the City of Shoreline and create a theatrical production based on stories of their past and imagined future. The first phase of interviews and research took place in 2019 and this award will support the theatrical production and development in spring of 2020.