Tacoma: New Temporary Art Pieces Appear Throughout McKinley Hill Neighborhood
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~ Tacoma, Washington - The McKinley Hill neighborhood is welcoming visitors and residents with new temporary art pieces that reflect the community's culture and heritage. These installations are part of the McKinley Neighborhood Plan, which was developed through a process of deep "co-creation" with the community.

The latest addition to the temporary art pieces is "Welcome to McKinley Hill," designed and fabricated by local artist Liz Morrow. This piece can be found along McKinley Avenue, along with four other anticipated installations. The most recent installation, "Zine Library," was designed and created by Tacoma artist Katrina Van Strein and installed earlier this month outside of Lux Coffee.

District 4 Council Member Sandesh Sadalge expressed his excitement for these installations, stating that they are just the first step in celebrating McKinley's culture and heritage. He also mentioned that these installations were made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The NEA awarded the City of Tacoma a $100,000 "Our Town" grant to support creative placemaking in the McKinley Neighborhood. This grant allowed for a partnership between the City's Arts and Cultural Vitality Division, Neighborhood Planning Program, and Spaceworks Tacoma to provide training for local emerging artists. Ten artists participated in this program and had opportunities to compete for funding for both temporary and permanent artwork.

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Creative placemaking was identified as a top priority in the McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan, which reflects over 1,500 engagements with the community through meetings, focus groups, surveys, events, and online engagement.

In addition to temporary installations, there are also plans for permanent public art pieces in McKinley Hill. These include a decorative fence installation by Liz Morrow and public seating designed by artists from the Puyallup Tribe at the McKinley Overlook on East 32nd Street. Construction on this project began this year and is expected to be completed in 2025.

Other permanent art pieces, such as a firefighter mural by Tacoma artist Rick Bisol and banners by Delaney Saul, are also anticipated to be installed in the coming months. The NEA grant will also support a permanent art piece in the McKinley Hill Business District in 2025.

Community members can learn more about the McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan at cityoftacoma.org/McKinleyNP. Any questions can be directed to Anneka Olson at aolson@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 331-3742. The City of Tacoma is proud to work with local artists and community members to bring the power of placemaking to life in McKinley Hill.

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