Carina A. del Rosario- August 20

Filipino Pillar Artist

Carina A. del Rosario is a cultural worker who uses visual art, writing and teaching to build community. Her art has been exhibited at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, ArtXchange Gallery (now Art X Contemporary), M. Rosetta Hunter Gallery, City of Seattle’s ARTS at King Street, Mayor’s Art Gallery and City Hall Galleries, among many other venues.  In addition to her own creative projects, she teaches youth to explore new subject matter, and connect with their own interests, experiences and communities through art.  

Rainer Waldman Adkins- August 20

Jewish Pillar Artist

Raised in Seattle, Adkins holds a BFA (Cleveland Institute of Art) and MFA (University of Washington). His art has always been oriented towards finding wonder, solidarity and symbiosis in each culture and experience. Rainier has roots in the Central District, spending much of his youth there with beloved elders, deeply involved in activism going back to the 1940s. His early community-based murals were painted with youth at Powell Barnett Park, TT Minor School and at 23rd and Union. His workshops on visual arts storytelling, folk and wisdom traditions bring an artistic and Jewish lens to identity, gender, deep ecology and social repair in multi-cultural environments.

Myron Curry- August 27

African American Collaborative Pillar

Curry’s mission is to create impactful cultural art that not only beautifies the community but also serves as a source of inspiration and empowerment. He believes that art has the power to bring people together and to spark important conversations about social and cultural issues. Through his work ,he strives to give a voice to marginalized groups and to tell stories that might not otherwise be heard. In addition to creating visually striking works of art, he is deeply passionate about community engagement and strives to involve local residents in every aspect of the mural-making process

Kevin Paul- August 27

Coast Salish Collaborative Pillar

Paul is a Swinomish Artist, Master Carver, since 1989. Creation and restoration. Kevin "Wa lee hub" Paul, (born in 1960), enrolled tribal member, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community; resident of Swinomish and La Conner, Washington. Kevin is a master carver of contemporary and traditional Coast Salish carvings. Using old growth Western Red Car and second growth yellow cedar. Kevin's commissions include works for personal and public collections; as well as, gallery shows and business locations at: The Lux Art Centre (2020). Museum of Northwest Art, The Barn Show (2020), Beaver Tales Coffee (2022); Lincoln Theatre Art Gallery (2010), and Samish Nation Gallery (2010). A retrospective, Skagit County Historical Museum (2013) and many other venues.

Jamie Colececchi - September 10

Italian Collaborative Pillar Artist

Colacecchi, a whimsical fiber and mixed media artist deeply who is rooted in the cherished traditions of her family. Beyond artistic pursuits, she is an educator and demonstrator; igniting curiosity at fairs, festivals, farms and schools with her trusty spinning wheel or a bag of clay by her side. Colacecchi believes in engaging the senses: the textures of paint and glaze, the warmth of yarn, the smells of a shared meal. She creates pieces that are meant to be worn, sipped from and touched, making her work a song of love, creativity and the sheer delight of bringing people together in shared moments of joy and connection.

Teruko Nimura - September 10

Japanese Collaborative Pillar Artist

Teruko Nimura (b. 1978, based in University Place, Washington) creates drawings, sculptures, site specific installations, pottery, public artworks and multi-layered community engagement projects that invite discovery and introspection through experiential connection. Her Japanese and Filipino cultural heritage is a foundational lens for her explorations of collective memory and trauma, identity, motherhood, and the climate crisis.

Gabrielle Wildheart - September 17

Reforesting the Central District Artist

Wildheart is an award-winning public artist who paints large-scale murals for urban spaces. Her practice is rooted in social awareness, public engagement, and equitable representation. Through community partnerships, she brings creative empowerment to underserved spaces. Previous clients include Seattle Art Museum, Bellevue Art Museum, and the Hague City Government (NL). Wildheart received classical training in portraiture from the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, and an MFA from the University of the Arts, London. She currently exhibits nationally and works from her studio on Vashon Island, WA.

Ria Pacita-Torres - September 17

Filipino Collaborative Pillar Artist

At their core as an artist, Pacita experiences art as a powerful and necessary tool in the struggle for genuine change because of its power to give rise, form, and shape to collectives and communities, especially amongst those feeling lost in diaspora and forced migration. Pacita is a second generation Filipino-American originating from the Central District and graduating from Garfield High School in 2021. Always enthusiastic to learn and create more, their work includes, creating paintings, charcoal drawings, clay ceramics, film photography, linoleum stamps, screen printing, jewelry, and rug-making. Pacita has been featured in two galleries, an artist talk, and in interviews. They have been commissioned for book graphics, paintings, and designs by non-profits, local businesses, individuals, and more.

Rachel Kessler - September 17

Jewish Collaborative Pillar Artist

Rachel Kessler is an innovative community artist, multi-disciplinary collaborator and educator who explores landscape and community. She co-founded the collective Wa Na Wari, a residential reclamation and story-telling project centering contemporary Black art and media in Seattle’s Central District. Her work is deeply rooted in place: she lives and works on Yesler Way, the Seattle street her ancestors immigrated to, worked on, built synagogues and schools on and died on. Mining her own personal identity and family history, she launched a community cartography project called “Profanity Hill: A Tour of Yesler Way,” connecting 20,000 years of geography, historic first-hand accounts, music and mapping and story-telling.