Massive art donation comes with a $25M gift for 12th Ave — plans for a new Seattle University Museum of Art

(Image: Seattle University)

Dick Hedreen (Image: Yosef Kalinko/Seattle University)

A 12th Ave Seattle University parking lot could become a new art museum and the center of the school’s art holdings as property developer Dick Hedreen has announced he is gifting his family’s 200-piece, $300 million collection of paintings, pottery, photography, etchings, and sculptures to the Jesuit university on the southern edge of Capitol Hill.

The rare handover comes with a $25 million donation to begin the development of the Seattle University Museum of Art, “a teaching museum that will showcase centuries of art history and be a true learning extension of the classroom,” Seattle U says. Continue reading

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist | Carolyn Hitt is reconciling timelines, sharp lines, geometric shapes, and bright colors on 11th Ave

(Images: Ananya Mishra)

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.

By Ananya Mishra

One of the interpretations of the multiverse theory is that there could be alternate timelines, or multiple universes, that exist in parallel. Carolyn Hitt, an integral part of the Capitol Hill artist community, thinks very deeply about this concept. It has shaped her perception of humanity and its connection to everything. Continue reading

Seattle free to try to crack down on graffiti after appeal in East Precinct chalk protest case

Seattle’s lawless days as a graffiti free for all are over after a federal appeals court ruling in a Capitol Hill free speech case.

The <strong”>United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has overturned a 2023 ruling that the city’s vandalism laws were unconstitutional in a case over arrests made in 2021 over chalk and charcoal messages scrawled outside Capitol Hill’s East Precinct.

The messages are a frequent and continuing protest method near the 12th and Pine facility and outside Seattle Police Department facilities across the city.

The previous ruling forced the city to back off prosecution for graffiti or tagging while City Attorney Ann Davison’s office appealed the case. Continue reading

On the List | Pre-Valentine’s edition Capitol Hill Art Walk includes a ‘Plotter Party’ with ‘robots that draw’

Maybe you can ask the robot to draw a crow (Image: CHS Illustration)

You love art. Your sweetie loves art. Next week is Valentine’s Day. Thursday night is the February edition of the Capitol Hill Art Walk. It all adds up.

Go check out the neighborhood creations and buy your sweetie — or yourself — some art to love at studios, galleries, cafes, and more across the Hill.

This month’s highlights include “audiovisual entertainment featuring projections and djing” at the Six of Pikes studio and gallery in the basement at 11th and Pike.

Meanwhile, E Union’s Passable is planning a “Plotter Party” with an “art, tech, and design open house and art show where plotter enthusiasts will share plotter-generated work, and several plotting machines will be running for live-action fun.”

“Think of a robot that draws,” Passable says, if you aren’t familiar with the artful power of a plotter.

You can find information on these events and more of the February art walk lineup at capitolhillartwalk.com.

 

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Start the new year right with Thursday’s first Capitol Hill Art Walk of 2024

Steve Jensen’s gallery is located at 1424 10th Ave (Image: CHS)

Here is a good resolution for 2024: See more art. Thursday night’s January edition of the Capitol Hill Art Walk is a good start.

Though the listings at capitolhillartwalk.com are a little lighter than usual, there are still lots of area venues participating in this month’s walk. The monthly art walk takes place every second Thursday at studios, galleries, shops, and cafes across the Hill.
Continue reading

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist | BT is recovering their art and teaching at Vivid Matter Collective and Blue Cone Studios

(Images: Ananya Mishra)

(Image: @artbreakerbt)

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.

By Ananya Mishra

“I was technically a professional artist since I was 14 or 15. I was getting paid for doing portraits and designing t-shirts… someone also stole my painting while I was in high school. [It was] super bittersweet.”

If you have walked past the Black Lives Matter street mural, then you have already seen BT’s (they / she) artwork. They are responsible for the “A” in “Matter” and worked with other Black and Brown artists to complete the entire mural in under 24 hours. Many of these artists met each other the day of the project. Now, they’re part of an artist collective co-founded by BT called Vivid Matter Collective.

BT’s paintings are surreal and depict a range of topics. Some of their work will show the good and bad sides of the human experience, while others are a nod to favorite childhood movies. Continue reading

With a Capitol Hill sidewalk as his studio, Michael Stasinos paints change in Seattle

While some artists choose to have a studio, Michael Stasinos has chosen the city of Seattle – and many vantage points across Capitol Hill — to be his studio.

If you’ve ever walked around Broadway, Pine, Pike, or Boren and seen a painter painting, you might have seen Stasinos at work.

“​​What I’m creating, I think, is an illusion of a moment of time,” Stasinos said. “But it’s made up of so many thousands of moments of time, of observation and documenting that observation.”

Stasinos views his work as a form of storytelling by portraying the lived realities of the people and the city. By documenting how the city has evolved over time, he considers himself to be a visual anthropologist.

When choosing a location, Stasinos look for a place that is ironic, interesting, or a challenge. However, he believes that no matter where you are, there’s something interesting to paint and often finds himself painting until he finds the personality of that space.

“If you stick me at one spot on Capitol Hill, if I just turn my head in different directions, I believe I have at least four if not 20 paintings that I could make.” Continue reading

With First Hill’s Museum of Museums shuttered, new owner sought for its signature neon light sculpture

(Image: Museum of Museums)

A sad Seattle arts loss this year could be brightened with a new home for a creation that has lit up First Hill nights outside the Museum of Museums.

Artist Dylan Neuwirth’s ALL MY FRIENDS neon sculpture that has stood in front of the now-shuttered arts venue is currently up for auction on eBay. Starting bid? $30,000.

CHS reported here this summer as founder Greg Lundgren said heavy infrastructure costs to maintain and improve the former mid-century styled medical building were too much to continue the 2021-opened museum.

As part of the shutdown, Lundgren is now trying to find a new home for Neuwirth’s creation. Continue reading

Gage Academy hosts its final Drawing Jam before move off Capitol Hill

(Image: Gage Academy)

By next summer, the Gage Academy of Art will have left Capitol Hill. CHS reported here on the planned move for the school after decades on the St. Mark’s campus as the church prepares for planned housing development on its 10th Ave E property.

This weekend might be a fitting time to stop in to say goodbye as Gage hosts its final Drawing Jame on Capitol Hill:

The annual event is a celebration of the school and brings “artists and art-lovers of all ages together to enjoy the simple act of putting hand to paper, using different locales, subjects and events to engage the public in observational drawing.”

The arts academy has its future lined out with an agreement to move next year into a South Lake Amazon office building where the 35-year-old school will become the ground-floor presence below floors of Amazon workers above.

 

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Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. Become a subscriber at $1/$5/$10 a month.

 

 

 

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist | Gabe Virgen and Rain Ceramics are making ‘cry pots’ on 10th Ave

(Images: Ananya Mishra)

Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.

By Ananya Mishra

“I’m here where I am now because of clay and clay is just dirt. It’s crazy to think about that.”

Gabe Virgen works 12 to 13 hours a day at his Capitol Hill business, Rain Ceramics. He is able to successfully live off of his passion by selling his ceramics, teaching pottery classes, and maintaining a studio for independent artists to work out of. As a solo entrepreneur, he is responsible for every aspect of the business, whether that’s reclaiming (recycling) clay, managing social media accounts, or cleaning up at the end of the day.

When he was younger, Gabe envisioned that he would work a salaried job with benefits. His parents immigrated to Olympia from Mexico in the 90s and often faced financial difficulties while he was growing up. Continue reading