by Vee Hua 華婷婷
A new $100 million levy, entitled "Doors Open," was unanimously passed by King County Council last week and will provide funding to arts, heritage, science, and historical preservation education and experiences. The passage of the levy follows after a decades-long attempt to increase support for the cultural sector in King County, and the program will be implemented by 4Culture, a semipublic County organization with a long history of grantmaking.
The program is bolstered by a 0.1% sales tax — a penny for every $10 spent within the county — and collection will begin in April 2024 and continue for seven years. Funding will take place in 2025.
Doors Open funding will in part expand 4Culture's existing grants programs, including:
Expanded 4Culture programs the levy will support include:
Each program in Doors Open will also include Equity Investments, which are designed to build a diverse cultural sector reflective of the King County community and have increased the organization's funding to BIPOC organizations and individuals outside of Seattle since it was implemented in 2020. In a press release, 4Culture wrote, "Equity Investments are additional funds for grant recipients located outside of Seattle and/or located in a 2020 Census tract with a King County Communities of Opportunity index percentile of 60% or greater."
For more details, visit 4Culture's website.
Last week, South Seattle Emerald reported a potential development of a child's playground at Denny Blaine Park, which incited public outcry to save the park, a longtime nude beach and meeting place for Seattle's LGBTQIA+ community. The @savedennyblaine Instagram account launched a petition and called for concerned citizens to send in their public comments and attend an in-person community meeting held on Dec. 6 at the Martin Luther King FAME Recreation Center.
The park, which had been slated for final design in winter 2024, has been halted. Following the public meeting, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation thanked the community for their input and released a statement saying, "After hearing from many community members who participated in the community process on the proposed play area project at Denny Blaine Park, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) has decided not to move forward with the play area project at Denny Blaine. While this area of our city still lacks accessible play equipment for kids and families, we understand the feedback that this particular park is not the best location, and we will evaluate other location alternatives."
"Many members of the public spoke to the importance of this space and use as a beach, and the cohesion it has brought within the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, community spoke of the unintended consequences adding a play area to this beach site would possibly bring. This is why we have a robust community engagement process, ensuring all people — including those who have been historically marginalized — have their voices heard and perspectives considered," the statement continued. "SPR is planning to meet with leaders in the LGBTQIA+ community to better understand the importance of this beach to the community and the hopes for future uses."
Nantes, France, has been a twin city to Seattle, Washington, since 1980. To celebrate their connection, a call for art invites artists, landscape architects, and architects living in Seattle to create a permanent work of art, landscape, or architecture at Grand Blottereau Park in Nantes City. The final work of art, to be created in 2024 and 2025, will incorporate "native plants and vegetation used in the traditional life of the indigenous peoples of Washington State, particularly the Coast Salish people."
The chosen artist or artist team will receive financing, as well as technical and logistical support from Nantes City and Metropolis. The Seattle Garden will join the park's other international landscapes, which already include a Mediterranean rock garden, a banana plantation, a Korean garden, an American garden inspired by the bayou, and a French garden.
Applications are due Jan. 21, 2024, and the initial site visit will take place in May 2024. The final project will be completed in Spring 2025.
Full details can be found via a press release on Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association's website.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: El Centro de la Raza is one of the 2023 recipients of 4Culture's Building for Equity program. (Photo: Jaidev Vella)
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