Art is Everywhere Highlights Plethora of Expression

Where does one go when art exists everywhere?

On September 21, 2024, I attended Pacific Place’s Art is Everywhere event. Located on Pine Street and 7th Avenue, Pacific Place featured a multitude of different art forms for its attendees.

Full of fun and fellowship for creative spirits, the event served as a relaxed and enriched forum for individuals to be exposed to a plethora of new and diverse art forms, while further propelling them within the art community. With the event free and open to the public, Art is Everywhere offered art appreciators and onlookers an inclusive space to be immersed in a world where different art forms play a tremendous role in the community.

An all-women jazz trio, Still Blue, performed classic hits like Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” The band’s performances offered a tranquil and soothing atmosphere. This aided and allowed attendees to further immerse themselves into the artistic scene around them.   

Other performers present included a living statue resembling painter Bob Ross while dressed in all white. Carrying their paint pallet and gazing long and hard at their canvas, the living statue challenged an internal struggle familiar to all artists: What do I do next? Whether it’s writer’s block or artist’s block, creators constantly struggle with going further and higher.

Ceramics class sign from Camp Opal / The Evergreen Echo

Throughout Pacific Place, many vendors had workshops and activities going on within the confinement of their stores. Camp Opal, owned by Lisa Bowan, held a ceramics workshop for patrons. In addition to the workshop, Camp Opal currently holds a multitude of distinct pop-ups around our vast city.

Timothy De Clue Collection offered interior design demos to get his customers into the festive spirit for the autumn season. The displays within his store focus on maximizing and preserving space by stacking and weaving his luxurious decor. His displays offer inspiration for those with an eye for interior design.  

Halloween display from Timothy De Clue Collection / The Evergreen Echo

Pumarosa centers around developing candles with different scents located within the Pacific Northwest, and holds candle making classes for interested parties. Jon Cárdenas, from Pumarosa, declared that “sounds and scents store the best memories,” which shows how art, regardless of the medium, can have a healing and therapeutic impact on one’s own identity.   

In addition to the vendors of Pacific Place, Art is Everywhere had local artists from the Squirrely art studio and gift workshop in attendance. With an interactive art project for attendees to participate in, people got to put their painting skills to the test. Providing art panels, attendees were heavily encouraged to mix their paints, leave a piece of themselves, and let their creative spirits thrive. The project allowed everyone to make their marks on the community regardless of prior experience or credentials.

The tables were flooded with both children and adults throughout the event. Art is a constant and influential tool to bring people together in a time when the world needs it the most. When completed, the panels are set to be installed as murals on the bus stop of Olive Way and 6th Avenue. Having taken part in the project myself, I look forward to viewing the installation of said mural.

Art often resonates in individuals differently. When asked what art means to her, artist Haley Nigrelle replied, “Art to me means self-expression and self-care because there have been a lot of times where art has helped me with new experiences.” She continued to express how art makes up for and repairs the human connection that we often lack through our busy day-to-day lives. There are times when humans lack self-expression, but art is a persistent and vital tool, no matter how it is utilized.

Art comes in many different mediums, bodies, and passions. Art is Everywhere offered people new ways to allow them to experience creation and its many forms on their own terms without it turning into an overwhelming and strenuous process. Instead of making one rise to the challenge, art meets a person where they are, not where they will be.

Whether you are an artist, an art critic, or art appreciator, Pacific Place’s Art is Everywhere offered an enthralling experience centered around inclusivity and community. Art may be everywhere whether you look for it or not! A key component I learned while spending my time at Pacific Place is that because art is always everywhere, art is and should be accessible for everyone.

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If you missed Pacific Place’s Art is Everywhere, Pacific Place and its vendors are always preparing for what’s coming next. On September 27 and 28, 2024, Pacific Place and Belltown Art Walk will host the Pacific Place Art Experience. People are welcome to “bring family and friends and enjoy music, meet local artists, and watch live painting in the center.” Also, free and open to the public, Pacific Place Art Experience hopes to bring out the artist in everyone.

What will you create next?