A wave of Black art rises in Seattle’s Central District

“Having a visual presence and a place here is … very important to keeping the spirit of what was once here alive,” said Leilani Lewis, public art consultant for the Jackson Project, during a recent one Tour of the arts. At the end of a (public) pedestrian corridor that cuts through the property, we are greeted by a towering figure: a sculpture called “Winds of Change: We Are Still Here” by local artists Marita Dingus and Preston Hampton. A female figure made from a twisted bouquet of stainless steel plates spreads her arms, frowns and closes her eyes in concentration.

“The name of this particular goddess is Oya,” says Lewis, after the Yoruba Orisha, or deity of storms. She is a protector, but also a carrier of change, wrestling with forces greater than herself, Lewis notes. “A not-so-veiled indication of the change [in] the church, ”she says.

That change is happening right now: about a dozen blocks north, on 23rd Avenue and East Union Street, another large-scale development – Midtown Square – installs 8 works of art by local artists that (in some cases) literally envelop the building Facade. Nearby, affordable housing development Africatown Plaza – which has yet to break the ground – is commissioning 20 artists for a permanent art collection “focused on healing, restoring and celebrating black and pan-African communities in the Central District,” the website said development . And on the western edge of the CD, near 12th Avenue and East Yesler Way, the developer behind another major project has just commissioned a number of artwork from a group of respected artists who are local, black, indigenous, or colored people represent the current and historical communities of the neighborhood.

This is no coincidence, but the result of years of advocacy from neighborhood groups like the Historic Central Area Arts & Culture District, Africatown, and others who have put developers under pressure to preserve the neighborhood’s black culture.

“The community has repeatedly communicated that ‘we’re still there’. I think that message is heard and responded to, ”said Vivian Phillips, the longtime Seattle cultural leader who, as co-founder of the Historic Central Area Arts & Cultural District, played an instrumental role in some of this lobbying.

Also responsible for the emergence of new art: Central District-specific design guidelines, in particular a set of instructions stating that new developments in designated zones (“cultural anchors” such as 23rd and Jackson and 23rd and Union) should incorporate public art that is based on the history references, heritage and culture of the community and neighborhood.

These recommendations – part of a strategy by city and neighborhood advocates to respond to eviction issues and more closely reflect evolving history and community priorities – went into effect in 2018, along with a new public design review panel specifically for the Central District, the ensures that the guidelines are implemented.

While not exactly an ace in the hole, these guidelines give this city-appointed board some power, as developers cannot get the necessary permits from the city’s Department of Construction and Inspection without the board’s approval. Put simply, if a major project doesn’t have a neighborhood-specific art plan with community buy-in, the chances are slim that it will be built.