Discover Burien’s Public Art on the September Walk-n-Talk, Sunday, September 1

“I had a pleasant time on this walk and discovered art in Burien that I hadn’t known about since living in the area beginning in 1992. Where are we heading on the next walk?”

Rick

Frequent Walk-n-Talker

Sunday September 1, 2024

As fall comes around the corner, we will enjoy the 12th Annual Burien Public Art Walk-n-Talk on Sunday, September 1, 2024, as we begin the FOURTEENTH YEAR (!) of our monthly Walk-n-Talks.

This month’s walk is a great way to discover some of the 65 pieces of Public Art that Burien has scattered throughout the City. We have sculptures, murals, decorated signal boxes, architectural and park details that are the result of artists’ collaborations with the City and other organizations. We’ll focus on the art in the City core as we stroll the streets and alleys.

Date: Sunday, September 1, 2024
Time: Meet-up at 2:00. Walking starts at 2:15.
Who: Walkers of every level and ability (dogs and cats are welcome, too.)
Place: Meet out in front of the Wells Fargo Bank, at the corner of Ambaum Blvd. SW and SW 152nd. St.
Walking Route: We will start at “Gordon, Dixie and Clem”, and walk through town from there, including through the “Art Alley” between SW 152nd and 153rd Streets, from 6th Ave. to 4th Ave. We’ll also add the art spaces at The Maverick Apartments and Merrill Gardens, which are curated in partnership with the City of Burien. (You can read more about the art spaces on the B-Town Blog HERE.)
Distance: About 1.75 miles, round trip, mostly flat with sidewalks.

Burien Public Art Web Site

The City of Burien has completed a web site where you can view photos, maps, descriptions and the artist’s name for each piece of public art. Click HERE to explore the Burien Public Art web site.

How to Look at Public Art: A Six-Year-Old Explains (KQED Art School)

Marcel Proust

French novelist, Critic, and Essayist

How to Look at Public Art: A Six-Year-Old Explains
(KQED Art School)

What is Public Art in Burien?

It stands tall on a pedestal at your side, adds pattern and color to a painted wall and is embedded in the floor at your feet. Art is creative expression made visible through metal, glass, paint, paper, concrete… any material available to the artist.

Explore this community in a different way. Art is everywhere… sculptures, murals, carvings… but also artist-designed floors, windows, water features and more. Think about what “ART” means to you as you wander through Burien. Do you see pattern in a stack of tires, or texture in the natural landscape? How is your life enriched by the art around you?

According to Americans for the Arts: American cities and towns aspire to be places where people want to live and want to visit. Having a particular community identity, especially in terms of what our towns look like, is becoming even more important in a world where every place tends to look like everyplace else. Places with strong public art expressions break the trend of blandness and sameness, and give communities a stronger sense of place and identity.

The people responsible for planning public art projects are the Burien Arts Commission, a volunteer board of nine Burien residents who are appointed by the City Council. The Arts Commission is responsible for developing public art projects, for recommending funding allocations of the yearly Arts and Culture Grants and supporting the arts in other areas of the city such as events and residency program in the schools.

In 2020, the arts commission and city staff started a project to develop a long-term Public Art Plan. This five to ten-year plan will help guide how the public art funding is used, what type of art will be installed in Burien, and where the art will be installed.

You are also encouraged to explore existing permanent public artworks, installed throughout Burien, as well as rotating exhibits in the storefront galleries in Burien’s downtown. Use the City of Burien’s new public art map to plan your next creative walking tour!