Tag Archives: art

Eleven : Eleven — Capitol Hill’s new ‘little campus of autonomous art studios and artists’ work’

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On 11th Ave between Pike and Pine, a new chapter of art and creation with a familiar cast of characters has opened. Eleven : Eleven represents the culmination of years of work by Blue Cone Studios and Forever Safe Spaces: a presentation gallery that its creators say gives the community a venue to showcase art without the limits that have blocked and separated artists in the past.

For Carolyn Hitt, founder of Blue Cone Studios, the need for a space like this on Capitol Hill has been clear for a decade.

“I’ve always known that we needed a presentation space. I’ve always known that we needed to make this little campus of autonomous art studios and artists’ work,” Hitt explains. “We’ve had three incubation spaces, and finally, we have a presentation space.”

The timing felt serendipitous. Hitt recalls discussing the possibility of opening a venue with Julie C, a co-founder and organizer for 11th Ave’s On The Block weekend art and market series, just weeks before the space became available. “Julie and I, prior to us realizing that this was available, and then having the audacity to think that we could do it… we were like, you know what? When it’s our turn, it’s gonna be right.”

What makes Eleven : Eleven important isn’t just that it’s a gallery, Seattle has those, it’s that it is designed to be genuinely accessible. The founders chose to create an all-ages venue in the middle of Pike/Pine, not a bar relying on alcohol sales.

“To have a space that is not a bar, to be able to offer the community all ages venue that it so very much deserves,” Hitt says, adding with conviction: “I say, You lack imagination, because I’m pretty sure we were gonna sort this out.” Continue reading →

Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle marks first year on Capitol Hill

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“Love in Ashes” by HervĂ© LassĂŻnce

(Image: Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle)

A Broadway gallery that connects Capitol Hill to Paris is celebrating its first year in the neighborhood and welcoming the work of an acclaimed French photographer for an important new show.

Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle will debut its exhibition from Hervé Lassïnce Thursday night and will feature the show from the Paris-based photographer through December 20th.

“We’re thrilled to bring Hervé’s work to Seattle,” said Simon Lhopiteau, owner of Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle. “His photographs embody a quiet honesty and human tenderness that transcend cultures and geography. This exhibition connects Seattle’s dynamic creative energy with the spirit of contemporary Paris.” Continue reading →

E Pine Black Lives Matter mural vandalized

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(Images courtesy Converge Media)

A year after the neighborhood’s rainbow crosswalks were sloppily vandalized, paint and markings have marred the Black Lives Matter street mural stretching across E Pine south of Cal Anderson Park.

The Seattle Department of Transportation tells CHS it is looking into the situation:

The BLM mural on Capitol Hill was recently vandalized sometime between Saturday, September 27, and Monday, September 30. SDOT was notified by the mural’s artists, Vivid Matter Collective, on September 30. White paint was spilled across several portions of the mural, affecting multiple letters.

“We’re working closely with Vivid Matter Collective to restore the artwork as soon as possible,” the statement from SDOT says. “The artists were onsite today to assess the damage, and our crews are coordinating cleanup efforts that will include hydro-blasting and pressure washing to remove the paint.”

SDOT says it “remains committed to preserving this important piece of public art and ensuring it continues to be a space of pride and reflection for the community.” Continue reading →

A couple more neighborhood art notes: new Nagle mural, Howe Street Stairs pigeon, and quirky construction signs on Broadway

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The new Nagle Place mural (Image: Hunters Capital)

While patrons look for a new location for the Saint Rat rat gallery near Cal Anderson Park, here are a few more neighborhood art notes:

  • New mural: There is a new mural above Nagle Place on the back of the Broadway Building. Neighborhood real estate and development firm Hunters Capital says the work was painted by the Urban ArtWorks’ Base Crew,” a program for young artists to grow their design skills and connect with the community through art.” Continue reading →

Seattle sues ALURE, LABRAT, and NOMAS — and makes them famous — over alleged illegal tagging

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From the city’s lawsuit against the man police say is the NOMAS tagger

“LABRAT”

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison says her office has filed civil lawsuits against “three prolific taggers responsible for thousands of dollars in damage to private and public property in Seattle.”

The suits are the first under legislation from the city attorney’s office passed by the Seattle City Council this summer opening the way for Davison to pursue civil damages for “criminal graffiti.”

Davison says the ordinance could hit the defendants with a “civil penalty of up to $1,500 per graffiti violation.” Continue reading →

SUMA: Plans for 12th Ave Seattle University Museum of Art — and ‘Tulip on the Green’ — moving forward

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A rendering of SUMA (Image: Olson Kundig)

The planing for SUMA has been busy this summer. Early paperwork for land use and construction permits around the planned Seattle University Museum of Art has been a summer project for architects and planners around the project. The Seattle University Hill Implementation Advisory Committee, a body required by the city for oversight of major institutional planning, will meet Wednesday night on the project.

Seattle University Hill Implementation Advisory Committee (IAC) Meeting #18: Agenda Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM In-person location: Seattle University Advancement and Alumni Building Stuart T. Rolfe Community Room 824 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122 Virtual Option: Webex Link Dial-in and Passcode: 206-207-1700 / 248 233 75775

You can learn more about the session and sign up for public comment here (PDF).

Wednesday agenda calls for a 35-minute session on the project’s permit timeline, a discussion around regulations related to amending the school’s Major Institution Master Plan and the “IAC’s Role in the Process.”

A 70-minute Q&A, public comment, and “committee deliberation” will follow. Continue reading →

‘Let the people have rat’ — Work party restores Cal Anderson Park mural

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A symbol of Capitol HIll’s “Hot Rat Summer” has been restored — partially — on the historic Cal Anderson Gatehouse.

Dedicated neighbors, artists, and two members of the Seattle City Council gathered on the hottest day of the year so far to restore the surprisingly radiant rat mosaic after the city painted over it in what some are calling a bureaucratic blunder and others see as an act of erasure.

“It’s such a beautiful mural that’s taken so many hours,” said Bug, a Vegas transplant new to the city, who showed up solo to help uncover the piece. “Just to cover it up, like, out of spite? It didn’t make sense to me. Especially in a city that’s so filled with art.”

Bug, who said they first saw the mural on Instagram and later learned it had been painted over through Reddit, wasn’t the only one moved to act. Other dedicated mural appreciators were there. “I just came and did it on my own,” Bug said. “This is the second time I showed up to uncover it.”

The mosaic mural was painted on the side of the landmarked Seattle Public Utilities Gatehouse building above Cal Anderson’s reflecting pool. It has became a source of neighborhood pride in the spunky expression of a neighborhood dedicated to having a good time despite any hard times and challenges. That made it all the more surprising when city crews painted over it.

Seattle City Councilmembers Joy Hollingsworth and Alexis Mercedes Rinck joined residents Wednesday to help gently scrub the white paint off the rat. Continue reading →

Seattle doubles down with threat of $1K fines for ‘prolific taggers’ — Meanwhile, ‘Hot Rat Summer’ mosaic to be restored

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(Image: CHS)

Seattle is doubling down on illegal graffiti, adding possible $1,000 fines for tagging in the city.

The Seattle City Council voted 7-1 Tuesday to approve legislation allowing the Seattle City Attorney to bring “civil actions against prolific taggers,” “with the potential to receive some restitution and for graffiti-related property destruction.” Convicted taggers would also remain subject to criminal penalties. Only citywide councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck voted against the bill.

“Council’s vote today sends a clear message: Seattle’s tolerance for illegal graffiti has expired. Stop vandalizing our city or we will hold you accountable,” City Attorney Ann Davison said in a statement on the approval. “There are many prolific illegal taggers and once the ordinance becomes effective, I will be filing lawsuits. Since the fines are imposed for each violation, it should serve as a big wake-up call to those who deface Seattle.” Continue reading →

Neighborhood rallying for restoration after accidental King of the Hill mural cover-up

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A post to the CHS Facebook Group started the search for restoring the King of the Hill mural

The original mural

An unfortunate graffiti clean-up accident temporarily removed a Capitol Hill landmark but neighbors were working this week to making things right again on E Olive Way.

A graffiti removal vendor reportedly accidentally covered up the mural of Aklilu “Abe” Abraham outside E Olive Way’s King of the Hill Market. UPDATE: People familiar with the situation have clarified that the graffiti removal was working with the building’s management, not a city clean-up contract.

CHS checked in with Abraham earlier this year about his recovery from emergency brain surgery — and his deep connection to the neighborhood who supported him and his market.

The graffiti removal crew mistake left the mural of Abraham covered in a layer of brown paint but the neighborhood has moved to quickly have the art restored. A post to the CHS Facebook Group to begin the search for a new artist to replace the work helped connect to what could end up an even better outcome — original artist Ethan Jack Harrington is now in contact to help sort out next steps.

Options could include paint remover that could take off the new layer and allow the original to be restored — or a new King of the Hill work on this curve of 1705 E Olive Way.

The good news is, like Abraham, the mural isn’t going away anytime soon.

 

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Seattle’s mysterious Sea Dragonsss artist reveals story behind Capitol Hill’s time-traveling sculptures

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If you have wandered across Capitol Hill, Columbia City, Seward Park, or even Los Angeles, you may have spotted them — colorful, CD-studded dragon faces grinning from telephone poles, their reflective surfaces glinting in the sunlight. Emerging from the imagination of the pseudonymous Sea DragonSSS, these sculptures carry the mystery of their creator with backstories involving time travel that are as deliberately obscure as the artist himself.

The artist — who goes by Eddie after his signature dragon character — shared with CHS the story behind his decade-long journey from obscure noise musician to guerrilla sculptor, his installation mishaps, and his ambitious plans to bring his time traveling dragon universe to life through animation.

FROM FAILED MUSICIAN TO STREET ARTIST: THE UNLIKELY ORIGINS OF SEA DRAGONSSS

Long before dragons adorned Seattle’s streets, Sea DragonSSS was a struggling experimental artist.

“I started as a musician. Was playing music in the 90s, mostly noise, not very popular stuff. Got some grants along the way to put out CDs. I also was a filmmaker too. CDs and DVDs of my work, none of them sold. Well, I shouldn’t say none of them, but not very many of them.”

Faced with boxes of unsold discs, he saw an opportunity. Continue reading →