A lead artist has been selected and the “master art plan” for the project has been created. March brings opportunities for some early looks at the vision for the AIDS Memorial Pathway project connecting Capitol Hill Station development to Cal Anderson Park.
“Destined to become one of the most significant public art installations in the region, the AMP will use public art to create a physical place for remembrance and reflection; utilize technology to share stories about the epidemic and the diverse community responses to the crisis; and provide a call to action to end HIV/AIDS, stigma, and discrimination,” organizers from the Atlas Obscura Society Seattle write about the coming pathway and a tour they are planning to preview the site with project manager Jason Plourde.
Last August, CHS reported on the selection of social practice artist Horatio Hung-Yan Law to lead the project’s artistic vision. ” I create work for regular people that examines issues of identity, memory, history and the meaning of community. As a public artist who is interested in socially engaged work, I value collaboration and partnership with community members through collecting ideas, cultural materials, and engaging residents in planning and production of public art,” Law said at the time.
CHS reported on the early planning for the memorial amid growing community interest in adding public art to the station development’s plaza amid four new buildings creating more than 400 affordable and market-rate apartment units and 59,000 square feet of commercial and community space.
In addition to meeting a community priority for the station development and the push for a project to mark the AIDS crisis in Seattle, the memorial will also help satisfy a longtime hope to add more recognition for Cal Anderson, Washington’s first openly gay legislator who died from AIDS in 1995 at the age of 47, to his namesake park. While Cal Anderson Park honors the late politician by name, there is no permanent marker in the area acknowledging his history. In 2012, a temporary portrait of Anderson was unveiled on the giant wall that surrounded the Capitol Hill Station construction site.
The coming month will bring another look at the project as the Wing Luke Museum hosts a Asian Counseling and Referral Service presentation with artist Law on Saturday, March 9th.
The pathway is expected to open in late 2020 along with the mixed-use developments that will surround it and Capitol Hill Station.
You can learn more about the AIDS Memorial Pathway and how to support the effort here.
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