Olympia approves 10 art pieces for the Traffic Box art project

The Olympia City Council on Tuesday approved the ten art designs which will be installed on traffic boxes around the city.

Stephanie Johnson of the Parks, Arts, and Recreation department said they received 71 designs from local artists for this year's Traffic Box Wrap art project which was voted on in February through Engage Olympia, with respondents given three votes each and the Arts Commission reviewed the top 10 art pieces on March 9.

At the city council meeting, Arts Commission Vice Chair Kathryn Dorgan presented the top 10 art pieces:

• Hidden Colors of Forest by Suzana Bulatovic of Olympia – 221 votes

Hidden Colors of Forest by Suzana Bulatovic

• Homecoming by Sarah Folden of Tumwater -187 votes

Homecoming by Sarah Folden

• Olympia's Goldenhour by Missy Maxwell of Olympia – 160 votes

Olympia's Goldenhour by Missy Maxwell

• Devotion by Robyn Chance of Olympia – 145 votes

Devotion by Robyn Chance

• Heron Sunset by Nancy Broach of Olympia – 113 votes

Heron Sunset by Nancy Broach

• Wild by Sara Gettys of Olympia – 109 votes

Wild by Sara Gettys

• Frolicking by Fran Potasnik of Olympia – 103 votes

Frolicking by Fran Potasnik

• Floral Peacock by Darcy Goedecke of Lacey – 103 votes

Floral Peacock by Darcy Goedecke

• Spirits of Trees by Rene Westbrook of Lacey – 102 votes

Spirits of Trees by Rene Westbrook

• Backyard Pandemic Poppies by Maggie Post of Tumwater – 95 votes

Backyard Pandemic Poppies by Maggie Post

The councilmembers unanimously approved the selected designs for the Olympia Traffic Box for fabrication and installation.

Artist in residence

Also, on Tuesday, the city council approved Bobby Williams as the city’s Artist in Residence.

The Artist in Residence is a pilot project developed by the Arts Commission to make the arts accessible to the underserved population. The project began in February 2020, when the Arts Commission discussed the art project with the city's homeless response coordinators. The Arts Commission researched similar programs in other communities and laid the groundwork for developing the policy and program structure.

According to Dorgan, they examined Artist in Residence programs in other communities focusing on the city council's vision of the program "that allows residents to create art and recognize the value of art in enhancing people's lives."

Dorgan also reached out to the National Endowment for the Arts, where she talked with Victoria Hutton, who advised her that Artist in Residence projects should allow the people being served to enhance and enrich their lives and build community between the participants.

Dorgan said the Arts Commission began working with people who seemed most interested in the opportunity. Based on the community response, folks are interested in music and dance. "We put out the call for Artist in Residence earlier this year, and following application review. We hosted interviews at Drexel house."

She said that among the candidates, Williams could articulate best how he would set the framework for the drumming group to continue past the residency to become a part of the culture at Drexel House.

Williams was an executive director of the Bridge Music project. He grew up participating in drumming circles, according to Dorgan.