(Image: @foraysenur)
A new community mural honoring late University of Washington graduate and activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi is slated for installation on the grounds of Cherry Street Village in the Central District.
Permits with the city have been approved for a structure along the northern edge of the property at 720 25th Ave, near E Cherry.
Designed in partnership with Architects Without Borders – Seattle, the installation consists of three stacked panels of marine-grade plywood measuring roughly 12 feet wide by 8 feet tall.
The mural honors Eygi, a 26-year-old Seattle activist and UW psychology and Middle Eastern languages graduate who was killed in September 2024 by Israeli forces while demonstrating against settlement expansion in the West Bank. Prior to her death, Eygi had taken part in pro-Palestinian campus protests and negotiations at UW.
Designed by artist James Hesketh, the artwork depicts Eygi wearing a keffiyeh set against an olive tree, poppies, and tulips. More than 100 community members, friends, and family contributed to painting the panels paint-by-numbers style during a gathering at Cherry Street Village that marked what would have been her 28th birthday.
A segment representing Eygi was added to The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural this fall (Image: @jameshesketh_)
The Eygi mural project is being funded through donations and volunteer work and will add to the Central District’s collection of community murals including The People’s Wall at 19th and Spruce that received official city landmarks protections this summer.
Cherry Street Village is a social justice collective, community hub, and intentional living space co-directed by activist Samia El-Moslimany. Operating out of a property home to The Islamic School of Seattle into the 2010s, the village formed to host grassroots organizing, cultural events, mutual aid, and activist workshops. Today, it serves as a neighborhood gathering site for civil rights and solidarity efforts.
The new mural structure will stand one to two feet above the ground, supported by side posts and horizontal framing anchored into cast-in-place concrete piers. A small, cantilevered rooflet will sit atop the frame to shield the painted surface from Pacific Northwest weather.
Organizers have planned to unveil the permanent installation for neighborhood residents and passersby this fall.
Follow @foraysenur for updates.
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