As part of the community-driven Melrose Promenade project, our rock star crews installed two colorful new crosswalks last week at Melrose Ave (across Pike St and Pine St).
The idea to bring some color to this crossing was put forth by the community and brought to life by local artist Sara Snedeker. The project was powered by the City’s Neighborhood Matching Fund and the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund, now known as Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks & Streets is a participatory budgeting initiative in which Seattle residents democratically decide how to spend a portion of the City’s budget on small-scale park and street improvements. A total of $3 million has been allocated in the 2018 budget and residents can participate in the district where they live, work, go to school, receive services, or volunteer.
Meet the artist, Sara Snedeker.
Images by Ken Kinniwick (left) & Rex Hohlbein (right) | http://bit.ly/2rufSzy
Sara is a local social practice artist who has been creating vibrant murals in and around the greater Seattle area for the last 15 years! Her creative process evokes playfulness and deeper connections with others through art. She has a knack for creating large-scale interactive art projects that are dynamic and engaging.
Sara believes that public art and collaborative installations serve as a platform to engage communities, businesses, and teams more deeply. During the last 4 years, she has been creating significantly more collaborative mural installations. She has facilitated and witnessed nearly 2,500 people pick up a brush to paint. Roughly 70% of the participants admitted that they could not paint and were not creative. However, with her warm and encouraging spirit, 100% of them painted and remembered that they too have the capacity to create. Sara believes creative expression, given the right facilitation and container, is available to all of us.
Inspired collaboration.
It’s been eight years since the Melrose Promenade project started as an idea. Since then, it’s grown into an inspired collaboration, complete with a community vision and conceptual plan. We’re currently working to build off the promenade vision to connect people and places while also improving safety.
Last month, we had a great project open house, where we got to chat with residents and business owners about how we can work together to bring these ideas to life. Learn more and get engaged on our Melrose Promenade page.
Interested in bringing a colorful crosswalk to your community? Check out our Community Crosswalks page for more information on guidelines, cost, and funding opportunities.
PS – What’s another word for community? We may have hit peak usage in this post 😉
More glamor shots!
