A hundred colorful koi kites are fluttering in the breeze at Founders Court, steel lounge chairs in different shades of blue line the Theatre Commons steps, and a tree stump clad in shingle-like panels resembling MoPOP's metallic exterior stands at Artists at Play Plaza.
The Seattle Center Sculpture Walk returned this year with six installations by five commissioned artists spread across the 74-acre Lower Queen Anne campus at 305 Harrison St.
The program is a collaboration between Seattle Center and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, funded by Seattle Center's 1% for Arts program, Climate Pledge Arena, and the Seattle Kraken, according to the Seattle Center event listing published July 19.
Here is what you will find on the grounds.
The installations
Teruko Nimura, "Koi No Taki Nobori" — Founders Court
Nimura, a University Place artist with Japanese and Filipino heritage, installed 100 handmade koi kites in a sweeping arch formation through the Founders Court breezeway.
The title translates to "carp climbing a waterfall," a Japanese proverb about perseverance rooted in a legend that koi leaping over a waterfall transform into dragons.
"Each fish is hand crafted and considered an integral part of the overall harmony of the shape, reinforcing the importance of the individual in collective efforts," Nimura wrote in her artist statement for the installation.
Nimura previously created a koinobori-based work called "Upstream Together" for the South Sound Sustainability Expo at UW Tacoma in April 2025, using koi kites made from reusable shopping bags.
Will Jewett, "Find Your Angle" — Theatre Commons
Jewett, who works out of a Georgetown studio, placed a series of powder-coated steel lounge chairs along the Theatre Commons steps near the Bagley Wright Theater.
Each chair leans at a slightly different angle and wears its own shade of blue. The piece measures 10 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4.5 feet tall. Jewett grew up in Texas, learned to weld on his family farm, and studied mechanical engineering before turning to sculpture.
His practice centers on making playground-like structures for adults, according to the Franconia Sculpture Park.
Morgan Madison, "Cambia" — Artists at Play Plaza
Madison, a Seattle-based kiln-formed glass artist, built a tree stump sculpture scaled to reference mature Pacific Northwest evergreens. The surface uses shingle-like panels resembling MoPOP's metallic exterior, with distinct tree rings and an emerging shoot. Madison completed a major public art commission for Sea-Tac Airport's North Main Terminal in December 2025.
Megan Prince, two works — Poetry Garden and Fisher Pavilion Rooftop
Prince, a Seattle mixed-media artist on the public artist rosters for both the Washington State Arts Commission and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, has two pieces in the walk. "Shifting Ribbons: Red Ratchet Strap Remnant Relationship 5" in the Poetry Garden transforms ratchet straps into flowing forms with poetry inscribed directly into the materials.
On the Fisher Pavilion Rooftop, "You walk through the rain and you don't get wet: Remembering Center Memories" reassembles discarded vinyl banners from Seattle Center's cultural history into sculptural form. Both were commissioned for the World Cup Soccer Fan Celebration; Prince's website lists them through October 2026, two months before the walk's stated end date.
Christy Caravaglio, "Play of Color" — Artists at Play Plaza
Caravaglio, a fiber artist based in Kent who has been weaving yarn into public fences since 2018, created a piece using acrylic yarn woven into welded wire fencing. The work was also commissioned for the World Cup Soccer Fan Celebration.
How to visit
The Sculpture Walk is free, open all day, every day, and requires no tickets or registration. Seattle Center is at 305 Harrison St. in Lower Queen Anne, accessible by the Seattle Center Monorail from Westlake Station or by bus routes along Queen Anne Avenue and Mercer Street. Visitors heading to the Bite of Seattle food festival Friday, July 25 through Sunday, July 27 can catch the installations on the same trip.
No individual commission amounts have been publicly disclosed.
