Waterfront Seattle

ARTS AND THE WATERFRONT VISION

Arts and culture will play a central role on the waterfront. Responding to the history of the site, its ecology, economy and communities, permanent art commissions will help to create a sense of place that will invite residents and visitors alike to visit the waterfront.

For more information on overall vision for the art program, read our 2012 Art Plan. We also have a PDF that you can download with high-level information about all of the artworks and where they are located.

Friends of Waterfront Seattle

The Future Forward: Artist‑In‑Residence Program explored the notion of the Past, Present and Future through an array of temporary art and multi-media experiences on the waterfront. This project helped to get funding out quickly to artists when the arts and culture sector was impacted by the pandemic. (2020)
An anual online BIPOC dance festival, "Reflections: What the Water Holds," takes place on the rebuilt Pier 62 and was led by Friends of the Waterfront in partnership with the Seattle Public Library, Seattle Art Museum and the Office of Arts & Culture. (See the 2020 event here and 2021 event here)

Downtown Seattle Association

The Shine a Light Pike/Pine Storefront Program will enliven the Pike/Pine corridor by placing artwork in the storefront window displays of two buildings. This program will help activate the streetscape and provide opportunities for artists to connect with residents, workers and visitors, especially during a time when the retail core was affected by the economic impacts of the pandemic. (2021)

INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE

The waterfront holds stories, both of people and place. A series of interpretive panels - both freestanding and integrated onto new infrastructure elements - will describe the natural and cultural histories of this place, and the physical and social forces that have shaped the shoreline and the adjacent cityscape. Advised by a working group that includes representatives of tribal partners and community members, the city and consultant team have developed content that uses both text and imagery to share a wide range of information about the central waterfront and the surrounding region.

In addition, there will be a distinct family of operational and incidental directional signs. Seamless Seattle, the city’s directional signage program, will install area signs at most intersections along the promenade.

Much of the waterfront interpretive and operational signage will be placed on the new infrastructure elements being constructed on the waterfront today. This panel, which explains the environmental remediation efforts that informed the creation of the Pioneer Square Habitat Beach, will be installed on the new handrail at the beach. | Click to enlarge

Arts Map

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Installed Future

Note: There are also two historic fountains that will join other permanent artworks along the waterfront, including the Tsutakawa "Joshua Green Fountain" on the Park Promenade and the Waterfront Fountain, more familiarly known as the FitzGerald Fountain, on Pier 58.

View map legend for artists

1 STEPHEN VITIELLO

2 MTK MATRIARCHS

3 ANN HAMILTON

4 Qwalsius - SHAUN PETERSON

5 NORIE SATO

6 OSCAR TUAZON & COLLABORATORS

7 BUSTER SIMPSON

8 DEREK BRUNO AND GAGE HAMILTON

9 LAURA HADDAD & TOM DRUGAN