Artist picked for street crossing art project

OLYMPIA -- The Olympia City Council approved a local artist, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, to complete a street art crossing artwork installation on Eastside Street. 

This installation is a part of a master plan for placing unique public art at eight major gateways throughout the city. The goal of this project, according to city council members, is to help define and bring together different areas of the community by artwork that ultimately unites people.

In addition to overall artistic excellence, the city council paid attention to the applicant's ability to think and work with durable materials, create an artwork which is responsive to the community and narrates a story while demonstrating the capacity to complete the project on time and within a set budget. 

Wilbur-Sigo, the artist to complete the Eastside Street Art Crossing, is a Native American artist based in Shelton, Wash. She descends from a family of carvers and her artistic life began at the age of three when she was surrounded by an artistic community which includes elders such as her great-grandfather, Andrew Peterson, her aunt Bertha Visser, and her grandfather, Bert Wilbur. She also worked with well-known master carvers such as Andy and Ruth Wilbur-Peterson and Loren White.

She is an active member of her tribe, who volunteers her time and artwork for several community events including the tribal museum board. She also teaches Coast Salish art classes regularly to children and adults of all ages for many of the local tribes. In her career, Wilbur-Sigo won multiple awards and brought continuous prestige to her community, her artwork profile accounts for multiple public art projects at the Port of Seattle, The Seattle Convention Center, and King County’s Brightwater Treatment Public Park Project. The timeline to complete this project would be closer to eight months. 

“We do want to take our time, and because this project is tied to construction we can take our time to make sure there is a good relationship with Andrea and the neighborhood as she develops the design,” said Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program Manager and Staff Liaison.