We host an artist residency on site and other community-based residencies throughout the year. They highlight the arts, social justice and civic engagement celebrating local creative talent in inclusive ways. Each residency is unique and may include an exhibit, programs or performances. We are unable to accept unsolicited applicants for the Artist in Residence program.
We host an artist residency on site and other community-based residencies throughout the year. They highlight the arts, social justice and civic engagement celebrating local creative talent in inclusive ways. Each residency is unique and may include an exhibit, programs or performances. We are unable to accept unsolicited applicants for the Artist in Residence program.
Monyee Chau
Seattle artist Monyee Chau is our 2023 Artist in Residence. Monyee’s project will be centered on research, zine making and community engagement/social practice and story collecting. They plan to research and create a zine about Southern Guangdong Chinese laborers and immigrants during the 1800’s and their journey across the Pacific Ocean. They will also create a zine about library patrons and workers.
Community Portrait Day
Monyee will be engaging with patrons and taking a snapshot of a day in the Library. They will be drawing quick portraits and collecting stories of all the Library patrons to put together in a celebratory zine of the Library and the communities that convene there.
Reflections was a unique dance festival featuring contemporary dancers and cultural practitioners, all artists of color, co-presented in 2020 and 2021 by The Seattle Public Library and Friends of Waterfront Seattle.
Reflections
Seattle artist Romson Bustillo was our 2019 Artist in Residence. His project “Proximity Modifier Project IV” used images and printmaking to explore how individuals, communities and organizations like libraries share space together.
Romson Bustillo
In connection with our year-long series about criminal justice in 2017, we collaborated with Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration for young people in King County. We co-presented artwork by their Youth Leadership Board in an exhibit called “Someday We’ll All be Free.”
Criminal Justice