The wall of artwork in Sanctuary: Design for Belonging is an intentional space dedicated to uplifting contemporary artists and designers responding to the challenges of record-breaking migration and forced displacement. We believe bringing art into public space is a transformational catalyst for long-term social change that impacts our lives more than we can imagine. Culture is at the heart of our human experience. Culture impacts our self identity, how we relate to one another, and informs how and if we engage in civic life. Once you see something, you can never unsee it, and because of this unique power within visual communication, art is tremendously effective at shifting culture. In the words of artist and organizer Favianna Rodriguez, art becomes the cultural undercurrents to make waves of political change.
This series of posters were created between 2004 and 2018 by 26 artists from around the world responding to sanctuary, immigration, migration, and forced displacement. More than aesthetics, this body of work raises awareness, illuminates communities who have been systematically erased by the dominant culture, questions governmental policy, and provides a compass pointing towards alternative pathways forward. While some of the artwork serves the immediate, short-term needs of social movement work, together these artists and designers work to interrupt and shift our visual landscape.
The global humanitarian crisis of displaced peoples demands creative innovators to deploy their skills to build empathy, propose alternatives, and invent new solutions. What better group of people to respond to the over 60 million forcibly displaced people around the world today than artists and designers.
FEATURING ARTWORK BY:
Ann Lewis | Ashley Lukashevsky | Chris Lee | Dylan Miner | Ernesto Yerena | Favianna Rodriguez | Felipe Baeza | Jess X. Snow | Josh MacPhee | Kate Deciccio | Kristine Virsis | Mary Tremonte | Mazatl | Meredith Stern | Micah Bazant | Misha Zadeh | Molly Crabapple | Nicolas Lampert | Oscar Magallanes | Pete Railand | Raoul Deal | Raychelle | Rommy Sobrado-Torrico | Shepard Fairey | Thea Gahr | Victoria García | Yakira Teitel
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Debra Webb | Director, Design in Public
Lisa Richmond | Executive Director, AIA Seattle and Design in Public
Cassie Blair | Professional Program Manager, AIA Seattle
Megan Harmon | Exhibit Coordinator
Mayumi Tsutakawa | Exhibit Researcher
Cleo Barnett | Exhibit Graphic Art Curator
Leah Vendl | Exhibit Designer
AND THANK YOU TO OUR EXHIBIT SPONSORS:
