Liberty Bank Building: when worlds converge

My art planets must be aligned this weekend: two pieces of Seattle history are converging, and I’ve made art inspired by both!

When the Liberty Bank Building apartments open for Saturday afternoon’s grand opening party, you’ll get the chance to see the collage portraits I made of the bank’s founders. Those pieces are permanently installed in the Residents’ Lounge… and I just found out Miriam Pratt will be one of the people living here!

We met a few months ago at the exhibit opening of “Living the Dream, Dreaming the Life” which honored Miriam’s father Edwin Pratt. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination., and honors his civil rights activism. At Shoreline City Hall, you can see artwork inspired by images from the Pratt family archives (now held by the Black Heritage Society of Washington) .

In a Seattle Medium interview , Miriam said her new home at Liberty Bank is just a few blocks away from where her parents lived before they moved to Shoreline. Talk about coming full-circle… this move sounds positively cinematic in its resolution.

Come help her (and us artists) celebrate!

Liberty Bank Building: Shovel-ready for art

First, the groundbreaking...

All images courtesy of LibertyBankBuilding.org

... and then we really get serious about making the art for the new Liberty Bank Building.  

This location used to be the site of the first black-owned bank west of the Mississippi.  

Now the land's being redeveloped into affordable apartments -- with art and design elements created by artists of African descent. I'm honored to contribute ten collage portraits for the future residents' permanent art collection.

As construction begins there, I'll be starting on the collages in my studio. It's a big project that will take a while, but I have A Plan, you'll see.