(Image: CHS)
Five new murals are now looking out over Pike/Pine, painted by a crew of street art veterans and underground culture builders putting their imprint directly onto Capitol Hill’s everyday walls.
Led by On the Block and the Seattle Artist Coalition for Equitable Development, the “Paint the Block” initiative pulls from “renowned street legends with local longevity and deep neighborhood roots” to turn neighborhood walls into community infrastructure.
The five works span high-traffic corners and quieter stretches. Along the wooden exterior of the Wildrose at 1021 E Pike, Takiyah “TDUB” Ward painted For Shelley, The Wildest Rose honoring the late co-owner of the ‘Rose and urging the neighborhood to “Stay Creative.”
At 1200 E Pine, Myron Curry wrapped the parking bay of NW Liquor in bold scenes of drinks and street life, aiming to “inspire and empower communities through impactful cultural art.”
On a brick wall at 1016 E Pike, project curator Carolyn Hitt joined Maurice “REESBO” Kennedy on Time Traveling, which Kennedy celebrated as a chance to tell their stories in their “own stomping grounds — Capitol Hill.”
A few blocks west at 1426 Boylston Ave, Gerardo “Periko” Peña added a mural of an oversized blue cat Mina lounging among bright red blossoms.
Across from Cal Anderson behind 1535 11th Ave, a massive double piece brings Sam Sneke back to where he says he first “cut my teeth doing graffiti on Capitol Hill” three decades ago, pairing his Welcome to Capitol Hill with Pine Legacy B by SPECSWIZARD, BeSo 206, and Brandon “ArtbreakerBT” Thomas, all sealed under clear coats brushed on by hip-hop veteran Silas Blak.
Organizers say placing this work front and center sparks foot traffic and safety from the ground up.
“The Seattle underground and behind the scenes is vibrant,” Hitt said. “More resources to these vital culture pockets would go a long way to nurture extraordinary talents that are currently struggling to create under the crushing weight of our economic times.”
Funded by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture’s HopeCorps under District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, the effort is fiscally sponsored by Northwest Film Forum.
Hollingsworth secured $250,000 in JumpStart funds last fall to “support murals in and around Cal Anderson Park” through the HopeCorps program and another $25,000 to fund the painting of the park’s bathroom.
In this year’s budget debate, 19 Capitol Hill and Central District organizations and businesses have joined a call to move $8 million in budget from hiring more cops to spending more on artists.
The mural project also expands on years of DIY work on 11th Ave, growing out of monthly street markets and Eleven:Eleven, the all-ages “little campus of autonomous art studios” opened by On the Block founder Hitt.
Up next, Phase Two of the project will roll out an interactive mobile heritage map on the Capitol Hill Arts District site, followed by artist-led walking tours woven into regular Second Thursday Capitol Hill Art Walks and Second Saturday On the Block markets.
Subscribe to CHS to help hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support