'Artivism' Coming to Beacon Hill

Seattle is widely known as a city of art. The grunge atmosphere, the downtown music scene, and the numerous outstanding art museums strewn throughout the city are all evidence of this. Another aspect to art in Seattle is often overlooked- murals painted on brick walls in alleyways and restaurant fronts overlooking the bustling city streets.

In Beacon Hill, a new outlook is being applied to mural painting. The organization called "We Are More Than a Zip Code" is aiming to tackle the issue of gentrification through what they call 'Artivism', and they're starting with Beacon Hill.

Picture Credit: www.beacon-arts.org

What?

The mural will be painted to show stories and images that are important to the Beacon Hill community. It will be painted on the east end of Dragon Auto Repair and face Stephen's Place Triangle Park, across from the Beacon Hill Library, a public and largely visible area. In addition to the mural, a documentary will be filmed following the process and the voices of the project.  

A mural on Beacon Hill

Why?

The project aims to highlight the struggles found in minority groups in Seattle and King County. Included in these struggles is the rising issue of gentrification,which the project also hopes to shine light on. Specifically, the goal of the project is to uplift the Beacon Hill community as it is historically known as a focal point of these issues. The voices of the project wants to provide a tribute to Seattle and the diverse people that reside there.

A current mural on Beacon Hill

Who?

The Beacon Mural Project began with two young women. UW student and community organizer Monica Mendoza-Castrejon and organizer Tanesha Tekola came together to discuss how to solve the growing issue of gentrification in Seattle through 'Artivism' (activism through art). Both these women have grown up in the King County area and have had personal experiences with gentrification. They are teaming up with Beacon Arts to make this mural happen.

A mural on Beacon Hill

How?

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has awarded Beacon Arts $20,200 in a Small and Simple matching fund grant to create the mural for Beacon Hill. Some of this money will be put toward outreach to the community to learn what images and stories the community feels are important to include in this piece of art. 

A mural on Beacon Hill

When?

May 16th: At noon, join the project at Jefferson Community Center to learn more about the plans and to share ideas.

August 15th: A gathering at the Garden House designed to share designs for the mural and for final public comment.

September 12th: When Beacon Arts hopes to unveil the mural at the Beacon Art Walkabout.

For more information on the project visit:
Beacon Arts

To learn more about murals visit:

• A brief history on murals
• A long history on murals
• A whole site about murals
• A blog about murals (in Seattle!)
• Seattle Mural Project

Curious to see how a mural is made? This video will show you how it's done.