Liberty Bank Building Art Evokes Black History

by Doug Trumm

(This article was originally posted on The Urbanist and has been reprinted with permission)

Community members gathered at Centerstone in the Central District Wednesday eveningto get a first glimpse at the art planned for the Liberty Bank Building, which will bring115 affordable homes tothe site of the region's first Black-owned bank at 2320 E Union St. The immense artistic talent of the Central Districtwas on full display at the art open house, and early indications are that the Liberty Bank Building will be a beautiful structure permeated with creative works.

The art was still at a preliminary phase with building's lead developer, Capitol Hill Housing, eyeing a fall 2018 opening and planning groundbreaking ceremony on June 19th. Co-curators Esther Ervin and Al Doggett introduced the many Black artists contributing to the project, many of whom had been active in the Central District community for decades. The contributors include the following:

• Al Doggett
• Aramis O. Hamer
• Ashby Reed
• Esther Ervin
• Inye Wokoma
• Lisa Brown
• Lisa Myers Bulmash
• Minnie Collins
• Troy Miles

Now if you're an apartment dweller like me, you may be wondering why couldn't as much care had gone into curating the art that went in your building. The City of Seattle mandates that 1% of the budget of new apartment building is spent on art. For my building, that has translated into some haphazard prints of clich neighborhood landmarks and a heavy-handed hodgepodge of bicycle-themed works all to check a box that X amount was spend. In contrast, the art in Liberty Bank Building willbe a tour de force of local Black artists all seeking to strike a harmonious chord to create a unifiedvision for the building. The Liberty Bank art won't be checking a box; it will be underscoring history and affirming African Americans future in a gentrifying neighborhood. It appears it will have deep meaning for the community andthe 115 households lucky enough to live in the building.

He opened Al Doggett Studio in Seattle in 1967, producing art projects for the advertising and graphic arts industries. He built one of Seattle's top studios, specializing in illustration, graphic design and photographic retouching. While overseeing the studio's variety of accounts and guiding a staff of five artists he managed to continue to produce his fine art work.

Aside from his work for Seattle's advertising industry Al provided art studio services to his Central District community by producing flyers, logos, brochures and business cards for Black owned businesses. During the 1970's he designed several posters for Black Arts/West theatre. The past ten years he designed posters and flyers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and rally.

Doggett and Ervin are also working with the architects to design accents on the building exterior.