A new mural now brightens the 8th Avenue NW underpass at Holman Road, marking the completion of a community art project that brought together youth artists, neighborhood volunteers, and local organizations over several weeks this spring.
The project, organized in part by the Crown Hill Village Association and led by Urban ArtWorks’ Base Crew youth artists, transformed both sides of the Crown Hill underpass through a process that included community outreach, design sessions, and public paint days. The mural was developed using ideas shared by neighbors about what they wanted to see represented in the space.
The mural was the result of a months-long community effort that began with public outreach earlier this year. Neighbors were invited to share ideas for the artwork before Urban ArtWorks’ Base Crew youth artists transformed that feedback into a final design. The project then moved into a series of community paint days, where hundreds of volunteers joined the youth artists to help bring the mural to life over several weeks this spring.
The artwork draws on themes suggested during the community engagement process, incorporating Pacific Northwest landscapes alongside neighborhood-inspired elements and imaginative details spread across both sides of the underpass.
One wall focuses on waterways and local wildlife, including salmon and beavers, alongside a crowned cat that Urban ArtWorks says was inspired by the neighborhood’s well-known feline residents.
The mural’s opposite side shifts to forest imagery, insects, flowers, and brightly painted doorways. Urban ArtWorks says the doorways reference the structure of the underpass while also reflecting the individual creativity of the youth artists.
Urban ArtWorks says hundreds of volunteers and community members participated in the community paint days, working alongside youth artists to help complete the mural.
“Seeing all the ideas from the community, seeing the wide range of ideas, and then talking to the youth about it, and then seeing that sort of turn into what is the mural now… it’s been a great evolution,” said Crown Hill community member Thuy.
Base Crew member Zayneb said the experience of working on such a large mural changed depending on the perspective.
“Working on the mural really close, it looks weird and distorted, but then when you cross the street it looks really beautiful when you step back, and I think that makes it really rewarding,” Zayneb said.
Urban ArtWorks said the project received partial funding through a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. The organization also recognized the Crown Hill Village Association, neighborhood partners, and volunteers who contributed throughout the project.
Photos: Urban ArtWorks