Art, Farming and Sustainability: The Alaskan Way Hanging Gardens

Photo Credit: Sustainable Seattle

Sungold tomatoes, amaranth, salad burnet, broccoli and eggplant... did my tummy just grumble? No, this isn't a farmer’s market shopping list. These are just some of the vegetables found in plastic semitransparent milk jugs, attached together with twine, hanging five feet above a concrete sidewalk to a row of trees at the Seattle Waterfront, between Alaskan Way and Wall Street to be exact.

Last month, we posted on our Facebook page about this unexpected urban garden, named Alaskan Way Hanging Gardens. These sweet little plants, even equipped with a drip irrigation system, on a busy downtown street warmed our urban agriculture hearts. We just had to find out how this project came to be. Turns out, it took two city departments, one artist/urban gardener/chocolatier, and a couple sustainability minded concepts to build this garden that is actually, art.

Dream a Sound Future Final Event a Huge Success

On 10/10/10 Sustainable Seattle held its Dream a Sound Future Final Event at the Seattle Center Pavilion. The event was made possible by generous gifts from a long list of collaborators including Frog Box, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, SCALLOPS, Feet First, Washington Lawyers for Sustainability and a special thanks to Mike O'Brien City Council member who gave the keynote speech to launch the day.

The event had twice as many entries as was our original goal and the variety and talent of the entries were astonishing. We had musical performances including original songs, raps, and music videos shot entirely in the city of Seattle.

We had artistic visions of the future with a variety of mediums from oil on canvas, crayons, pen and ink, to collages, clay, and wood. The entries were pictures and words all around a concept of a more sustainable world with practical applications, dreams, and aspirations. We had performance art, essays and audio recordings, a break dance crew and to tie it all together we had a wonderful MC, Ania who was the program lead for the entire event.

One of the most interesting aspects of the event was an entry that was an audio recording and performance piece. The audio was of two women talking in a coffee shop about the past, our present, and talking about some of the things that we didn't know that has fundamentally changed the society in which they lived. It was an optimistic and sometimes haunting recording talking about the unlimited potential of human beings to bring about positive change if we only have the courage to start taking those initial steps.

We are already looking forward to next year's competition and if you want further information you can email us at dream at sustainable seattle.org. We look forward to making the next Dream event even more successful and far reaching than the first. Thank you to all participants and sponsors and let's get started on our next iteration!

Seattle Jewish Film Festival goes WAY green

From Sustainable Sean...

The Sustainable Seattle office where I spend most of my time these days happens to be located right next door to the office of the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and the Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF). So I was really excited to see that SJFF was going green this year. WAY green! In fact it the major theme of this year's festival. The festival not only features films that feature an environmental theme, such as Lemon Tree, it offers many resources to help filmgoers go green as well, like The Jewish Climate Challenge. Want to know more about the films and resources? Follow the link above or you can find the full SJFF program here.

Event | January 29 | Art, Design & Sustainability: A Dialogue

Following last summer’s event, Art and the Environment: A Dialogue, SAM and the Cascade Land Conservancy present the next panel discussion exploring the intersection of art, culture and the environment. How can artists and design professionals support today's cities and make them more functional, culturally rich and sustainable? What are the near-term priorities in sustainable design? What steps can be taken to support designers and businesses furthering sustainable design principles? Join us as we consider these and other questions.

Moderator: Lucia Athens,
Senior Sustainable Future Strategist, CollinsWoerman

Panelists:
Tom Kundig, Principal, Olson Sundburg Kundig Allen Architects;
Rebecca Luke, Style expert and co-founder of Sustainable Style Foundation;
Roy McMakin, Northwest artist

Bringing together some of the most compelling thinkers on a given cultural subject, Pivotal Perspectives is a timely and innovative forum that addresses pressing issues in art and society.

Free and open to the public; limited seating is available.

Registration required by January 21, 2009 if planning to attend. To reserve your space, please email boxoffice@seattleartmuseum.org or call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121.