At Shunpike, the Storefronts & Artist Residencies program “transforms empty commercial spaces into vibrant hubs for creativity and community engagement,” hosting over 50 artists annually to breathe new life into these otherwise vacant spaces downtown.

One of these 50 artists is Adrian Pacheco of WITH SPACE Studio, operating out of the historic landmarked 1401 4th Avenue building designed by Robert Chambers Reamer. The Art Deco-style building, sitting empty after a bank moved out earlier this year, now features windows decorated with Pacheco’s geometric, duotone graphics.

There’s a good chance that Adrian’s name sounds familiar to you, especially if you’ve been a Seattle Design Festival partner, volunteered, or attended. Although he moves behind the scenes in the Mainstage tent – planning and organizing the weekend’s programming for months in advance, recording audio, creating motion graphics, and capturing video for Festival Replay – Adrian sits at the heart of Seattle Design Festival’s spirit of community-powered design celebration.

Pacheco’s own work “explores the dynamic interplay between the physical world and the digital one—creating AR-paintings, prints, and spatially aware experiences anchored to downtown Seattle streets and other public spaces.”

At 1401 4th Ave, five total artists spanning sound, visual, and digital practices “bring a range of conceptual and technical approaches to the space—from textile-based storytelling and photographic installation to immersive sound works and augmented reality. These interdisciplinary practices engage with identity, memory, systems, and speculative futures, using the downtown studio as both a site of production and public interaction” (Shunpike).

Support design in our community by visiting the studio on Friday, December 26 as a part of Seattle Downtown Art Walk! Additional open hours can be found here.

Photos courtesy of Shunpike