Art x NW: A new Pioneer Square hotel filled with local art

The shift to professionally curated art collections is apparently thanks in large part to Millennial and Gen Z travelers, who “crave authentic, upscale, and culture-based experiences,” according to one of many recent stories on this hospitality trend. For a hotel trying to entice these discerning guests, the hook often translates into “branding itself through the use of artwork.” 

Even a grizzled Gen X traveler like myself feels a thrill when I encounter a local artist’s work in a hotel lobby. It immediately cuts through the generic atmosphere and imbues the space with an inviting sense of regionality. And it’s exciting to consider how many people — beyond the “usual suspects” — will see the work.

In Pioneer Square, a new hotel is pushing the hotel-as-gallery concept even further. Populus Seattle, which opened in late May, has repurposed the historic Westland Building (built in 1907) into a lushly planted, carbon-positive, 120-room hotel. And it is dripping in local art — all curated by local art-production house ARTXIV and created next door in the RailSpur development during an art residency last July. (At that point the hotel was slated to be called Hotel Westland.)

What seemed like an exciting prospect this past summer is now a remarkable reality. When I stopped into the hotel a couple weekends ago, I was charmed to find the previous works-in-progress settling into their swanky new home.

Just above the check-in desk is Joe Feddersen’s “Canoe Journey,” blending symbology old and new; next to that is Kimberly Trowbridge’s “Light in the Cedars,” a stunning green ode to Northwest forests; “Izzys Bouquet,” by Baso Fibonacci, floats near the coffee cafe; and Juliet Shen’s log-laden “Vivaldi” warms up a hallway.

In total, some 35 artists were commissioned to make 47 original works for the hotel’s common areas (295 limited edition prints of these works are hung in the rooms).​​ And that’s just the beginning. “All of the works are available for sale,” ARTXIV’s Dominic Nieri told me, explaining that as the pieces sell they will be replaced by new works created by more regional artists in a soon-to-be-finished creative incubator housed in the neighboring building.

Using this model, “the Populus art collection never stops evolving,” Nieri noted in a press release. And a new arts ecosystem kicks into gear.

You can explore the current works at Hotel Populus during First Thursday Art Walk (June 5, tonight!), when several venues in the RailSpur complex (including Europa Gallery) will welcome the public for art and live music. Or stop by Populus Seattle any time to see the works — after all, “community engagement” with local residents is a new hotel trend too.

If you’re heading to the Pioneer Square Art Walk in search of more work by Seattle artists, you’re going to have a busy itinerary.

At Greg Kucera Gallery, Anthony White presents Somethin’ Somethin’ (through June 28; artist talk June 7 at noon), a new collection of his pop-culture tableaus. As with every White show, I recommend leaning in toward the jumbled clutter of imagery (birds, VHS tapes, water bottles, QR codes, candy) to see evidence of White’s painstakingly manual process: piping tiny lines of extruded polylactic acid (a biodegradable polymer) in place of paint. 

Next door at Foster/White Gallery, Rachel Maxi displays colorful abstract works in Temporal Reflections (June 5 - 21; artist talk June 7 at 2 p.m.). Made with wood, beeswax, oil paint and metal, these blocky visions suggest landscapes viewed through a kaleidoscope. Maxi says they’re about emotional memory, or “how a place made us feel when we first encountered it, and the connections we bring to that experience.”

At J. Rinehart Gallery, multimedia artist Romson Regarde Bustillo is showing To Remember or Forget (through June 25; artist talk June 14 at 1 p.m.), featuring hand-blown glass vessels and mixed-media collage. And at ArtX Contemporary, find contemplative abstract paintings by William Song in Draco Arising (June 5 - July 26).

If you crave more face time, stop by Stonington Gallery for Masks of the Pacific Northwest Coast (June 5 - 28), where you can make eye contact with shamans, sea wolves and eagles. Or check out Chatwin Arts, where the show [Un]seen Women (June 5 - 28; artist discussion June 7 at noon) features paintings by Sam Dewey and photographs by Adair Rutledge — all of which feature women looking right backatcha.

And one more excellent source of work by Seattle artists: Inscape Arts is hosting its Summer Open Studios event on Sunday (June 8, 1 - 7 p.m.), featuring five floors of open artist studios. 

Last week we kicked off Season 4 of our ongoing Black Arts Legacies project, which has now featured more than 50 Seattle artists past and present. Newly added to the mighty archive of influential painters, musicians, sculptors, theatermakers, poets and DJs is hip-hop dancer and choreographer Kisha Vaughan.

Watch our video profile by Tifa Tomb (who’s up for a Northwest Emmy this weekend for her 2024 BAL profile of Debora Moore!), and read about Vaughan’s unconventional path to dance in the written story by Jas Keimig. And stay tuned for more artist reveals every week in June.

We’ll end with a few arts news nuggets, as this week is awash in institutional updates.

< Cornish College of the Arts is no longer an independent school, having officially become part of Seattle University on June 2. Now operating as one of SU’s seven colleges, it will be known as Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University … but definitely needs a nickname that’s quicker to say. CoCoaSU, anyone?

< Bellevue College broke ground on a new $54M arts facility last month. Designed by Seattle’s Mithun architects, the 56,618-square-foot building will include workshop space for sculpture, ceramics, woodworking and welding, and studios for drawing, painting, photography and screenprinting, plus a gallery and digital makerspace. It’s expected to open in late 2027.

< Henry Art Gallery, on the University of Washington campus, now welcomes all comers with free admission. The new policy kicks in this month, with the aim to “lower barriers and create a welcoming space where all people feel seen, heard, and valued — something more vital now than ever.” (New on view: the UW School of Art + Art History + Design Thesis Exhibition, through June 15.)

< Seattle International Film Festival announced layoffs representing 21% of administrative staff. SIFF says the sudden “downsizing” is the result of various financial challenges, including the loss of NEA funding many local arts organizations are facing.

< Speaking of federal interference in arts and culture, local public media organizations including KEXP, KUOW and our own Cascade PBS are sounding the alarm this week after President Trump made a rescission request to revoke already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which distributes money to local PBS, NPR and other public media stations).

Congress has 45 days to vote on the requested rescission; Cascade PBS is at risk of losing $3.6 million in federal dollars annually. If you’d like to ensure we can continue our robust programming, here’s how to help.