Celebrating 30 Years of Public Art - Art in Public Places

This gallery requires JavaScript and Flash Player.

2005 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Washington’s State Art Collection, a collection of over 4600 artworks located in public spaces from Tonasket to Kelso and from Bellingham to Walla Walla. Celebrating 30 Years of Public Art, a virtual exhibition, highlights one artwork commissioned in each year of those first thirty years.

Artworks featured in Celebrating 30 Years of Public Art exemplify Washington’s commitment to a thriving environment for creative expression and appreciation. These artworks, purchased or commissioned with state funds for new building construction, can be experienced in public schools, on college and university campuses and in state agency buildings, where they inspire conversation, civic engagement, learning and sometimes simply define a physical space.

The State Art Collection ranges from jewelry to large-scale sculpture, from paintings to interactive works made of light, from artworks created by artists of national note to those created by emerging artists, all with media, scale and scope that celebrate the diverse communities of Washington state.