Midtown Square: The Public Art Display!

 

“Midtown Square at 23rd and Union is a major destination for outstanding public art.

 

The overall theme of all the panels is “Reverence and Discovery.” Although not planned, all the art work is unified by similar colors such as purple, yellow, orange, pink, black.

Barry Johnson specifically explains why he chose the unusual colors for the abstract panels on Union Street near 23rd street:

“This work on the outside of the building is about overcoming a documented history of red-lining in the Central District. I used lines and movement at the forefront of the design as a way to demonstrate how we’ve moved beyond the confinement that was placed around us. The lines are also a head nod to pathways that slaves would use to escape. The bold change in colors are about injecting new perspectives into the city. Black and Brown people have not been given opportunities to offer our views on Architectural Design across the city. Seattle is mostly composed of greens, tans, reds and orange for building colors, so I wanted to do something that was completely different and challenge every colorway used on a building in the city.”

Hanging below Barry Johnson’s brightly colored panels, Yegizaw Michael creates a Central District timeline with similar colors alternating with patterns in hanging strips of wood.

On this same façade Adam Jabari Jefferson chose to create black and white photo-based murals with in large vertical strips: “Been Here” “Neighborly Day” “Land Earth Legacy.” As he writes

“The images explore connectivity to both land (the Central District) and community. As the CD demographics continue to shift, these portraits are a declaration by the dispersed social networks that composed the neighborhood, by necessity, for generations. We are still here. Digital photography and mixed media comprise the series to portray iconic and dignified people.”

 

James W. Washington, Jr.

Not far away is the restored James W. Washington, Jr sculpture “Fountain of Triumph.”

 

 

Barry Johnson also created the bronze portrait statue of James W. Washington Jr.. Johnson’s sculpture of Washington holding a small carving of a bird, one of his characteristic expressions. He faces the restored Washington sculpture, “Fountain of Triumph” which was originally installed on 23rd and Union.

 

Washington explained:

“As the salmon starts back on its physical trend to complete the cycle where life began, so it is with Blacks of the racial trend on the American scene who have struggled like the salmon to reach his or her pinnacle of life and the free spirit again . . . This is the goal of the African-American women and men: To pass on to their offspring the energy in their body and recycle their physical remains in Mother Earth to be used again.”

 

 

 

Near to Johnson’s statue of James W. Washington Jr., is the metal sculpture by Juan Alonzo of four leafy hollyhocks that climb up the wall. Alonzo honors a native plant of the community with the poem “In once neglected soil /I will thrive Because I am deeply rooted here/ I was able to grow tall and strong.”

 

 

As we walk along 24th avenue we come to an entrance into the central square with a mural by Perry Rhoden that leads us into it.

 

She tells us what she was thinking about as she painted it:

 

“The doorway into the Square from 24th Avenue is similar to the first impression you experience when walking into someone’s home for the first or one-thousandth time. The energy of the home fills your body with peace, warmth, and belonging. This is the feeling I want the community to experience when they enter the Square.

The large abstract lines sweep from the base of the mural and move the viewer’s attention deeper into the corridor. The lines vary in width and color to create dimension and pattern. I focus on bright and bold colors. Placement of the lines will cause the viewer to question whether the woman is inhaling or exhaling ultimately drawing viewers into the square.

I want to create this mural as a visual reminder to breathe. Breathing centers me to the present when I am reminded of how gentrification has changed the Central District. Breathing is what empowers us to accomplish even the most unfathomable tasks. Breathing calms the central nervous system. And, we have the ability to breathe new life into the future of this corner.”

 

Following Perry’s mural, we enter the Central Square where the huge mural by Takiyah Ward stretches across the entire facing wall. It is a tour de force by an artist who like Perry Rhoden, was part of the team that created the Black Lives Matter mural on Pine Street during the Occupy movement (you can still see it there).

 

Takiyah Ward describes her striking mural in the central courtyard of Midtown Square as follows:

I consider this mural a visual timeline of the history of the land. The story is told from right to left, North to South, past to present. And it begins with the land. Next, you notice a portrait of Chief Seattle as representation of the Indigenous people being the first people of this land. From there we travel through time to the present, highlighting the people, places and events that I felt played impactful roles on the trajectory of the Central District. As someone born and raised in Seattle, I have my own history here. I did much research to build a thread that to me made sense and highlighted the colorful history of the CD.

 

 

The figures are ingrained in the mountain range background, a local Mt Rushmore if you will. The midground, or hills, are decorated with places or centers of community that are pivotal to the peoples lives. Finally the foreground or low hills are covered in visual depictions of events that represent an illustrious history of art, culture, activism, and accomplishment. My goal with this mural was to spark conversation and curiosity. To be a beacon of reverence for our past, cement our history and ensure it’s never forgotten.

 

 

Traversing another passage leading from the main square to 23rd street, we see glass lanterns above our heads. Henry Jackson-Spieker in collaboration with KT Hancock lanterns ornamented them with portraits and icons referring to historic figures such as artists James W. Washington. Jr., Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight and the photographer Al Smith, along with musicians and other cultural contributors.

And finally, as we turn north along the façade on 23rd street, we see the vivid portraits by the artist Myron Curry.

 

Here is his description:

I’m born and raised in the Central District so I am familiar with a few of the iconic community members from our past. I am also very proud to be a part of a project that highlights our culture in such a vibrant way. My grandfather is 91 and has lived in the Central District for the majority of his lifetime. He was very instrumental in my extensive research and discovering so much more about the history of the Central District.

 

I definitely wanted to highlight the thriving arts and music scene as well as the pioneers of equitable rights and entrepreneurship. Edwin Pratt, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, Jimmy Hendrix and Ernestine Anderson were perfect for the development of historic arts and music within our community. De Charlene was an obvious choice for pioneering so much change in equality, black woman entrepreneurship and more. I also wanted to include the youth, which is our future and how we need to nurture them.

 

My creation to visually represent this was loving hands holding a baby. I hope this sheds some light on how I chose who to represent within my murals.”

 

Gallery Onyx

Gallery Onyx Midtown will be anchoring the ArteNoir space,adding a second venue to its Pacific Place anchor. Headed by Ernest Thomas, the first exhibition will be based on their portfolio of art by Pacific Northwest, Truth B Told showcasing 276 pieces of artwork by 74 artists of African descent. Gallery Onyx believes in inclusivity on a grand scale! But the plan is to also begin a new direction with one person exhibitions.

 

So the vision to create sustainable community through art comes alive at Midtown Square in multiple ways. Yet there is also a poignancy to this magnificent project that includes so many different cultural expressions as a way to reassert the African American presence in this historic location.

 

 

 

Arté Noir is a distinct contrast to the former businesses of the Central District. It is a new and stunning expression of contemporary Black culture today. But it embraces history even as it transforms it.

 

 

Across the street from Midtown Square, the Liberty Bank Building is another success in revitalizing the Central District with its many works of public art and thriving black businesses. Here is the stunning entrance with Al Doggett’s amazing mural.

 

Realized by Africatown-Central District Preservation and Development Association, who are committed to community-led development, the same group is developing one quarter of the Midtown Square block.

 

The site is under construction.  At the dedication Africatown leaders declared:

 

“Africatown Plaza will continue a legacy of community building on the site of the former Umoja PEACE Center, the grassroots, Black-led community organization where the Africatown Seattle movement began over a decade ago.”

 

Most of the participants in this project grew up here. They know what they have lost. They recognize that this new iteration is not the same as what they remember. But they do believe in community, and in that idea there is hope that this part of the city of Seattle can keep its soul.