The work of Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu jumps off walls and surfaces around Seattle with electric vitality. The Tongan-born artist's hand moves freely between traditional Tongan traditions and razor-sharp contemporary style, crafting pieces that make you stop in your tracks and lean in closer.
When Valu arrived in Seattle at age 14, he carried with him the vivid sensory world of Tonga. "The scent of the flowers, the music, all these tactile things that make it what it is," he says. It was his mother's practice of drawing stories for him as a child that formed the foundation of his visual language, one in which narratives and legends take shape through clean lines and saturated colors.
"Art was what I leaned on when I felt out of place," Valu says when describing his journey from teenage doodler to emerging public artist, spanning years of thoughtful evolution. After a decade of working with students for the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity at University of Washington, he embraced his artistic calling full-time in 2019, bringing a sophisticated understanding of cultural dialogue to every project.
Beyond a visual appeal, Valu's creations carry thoughtful intent. His 160-foot long Georgetown mural, made in collaboration with Haida artist Tommy Segundo, centers on the Duwamish River, creating what Valu describes as a cyclical return to residence, and visual celebration of Indigenous connection to place. Titled Return on Investments, the mural was permanently installed at King County International Airport/Boeing Field in 2024. Visible from Airport Way South, it is seen by thousands of commuters each month as they travel alongside the north end of the airport.
The title underscores what's owed to the land's original caretakers—particularly the Duwamish people. Despite their central role in Seattle's history and in the signing of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, the Duwamish remain without federal recognition today. Through vibrant imagery showing the river's original meandering form alongside Thunderbird symbolism, the mural visualizes a different kind of return: environmental restoration and cultural acknowledgment of the Indigenous presence that continues despite systematic erasure.
Creating art in public—like murals and public installations—comes with its share of risks and variables that aren’t found within the safe confines of a gallery; for artists of color, publicly visible and accessible work often carries the risk of becoming targets. In 2020, Valu's work, among that of other artists, became the target of a suspected racist attack when a series of temporary murals installed at the future Federal Way light rail station were slashed or stolen. Many of the violated works depicted people of color, such as the mural by Chamoru artist Gillian Dueñas, which featured a Pacific Islander woman whose hair flowed into tropical fish, haloed by the phrase "Water is Life"—a celebration of ancestral ocean navigation. Rather than retreating, Valu transformed this moment into renewed purpose: "This act only affirmed for me how important this work is in the continued dialogue and advocacy for communities like the one I come from," he said in a statement to the Northwest Asian Weekly.
For Seattle art enthusiasts, experiencing Valu's work means walking between worlds. In a city that often forgets its layered histories, Valu’s art is a testimony to the fact that belonging can be remembered, defended, and created anew. Through his vision, the sensory world of his island home, its flowers, music, stories, and traditions, he is transforming Seattle's urban landscape into something more visually vibrant, truthful, and possibly more connected. ◼︎
ON VIEW
(Coming soon) Seattle Waterfront (2025): Alaskan Way between Virginia Street and Broad Street. The protected bike lane features his "deconstructed Tongan traditional house" design, reimagining ancestral architecture within modern urban infrastructure along the pedestrian-friendly waterfront. The project includes decorative concrete barriers that serve as safety features and cultural storytelling elements, creating what Valu describes as "belonging here and belonging back home".
West Seattle (2022): The Lukia e Tenifa mural is located at the corner of 18th Ave. SW and SW Myrtle St. in Puget Ridge.
Auburn (2021): (City Hall Plaza, 25 W. Main St.) His permanent installation, HaiKU-MAter SaFEKEeping, at the Department of Community Development.
Ballard Locks (2022): (3015 NW 54th St.) Kumi Hala public installation, part of the FLOW art along the Ship Canal.
Georgetown (2024): King County International Airport (7277 Perimeter Road S.) Return on Investments, the 160-foot mural along the fence adjacent to the Georgetown Steam Plant Museum access road.
Experience more at tokavalu.com.
Leilani Lewis is a Seattle-based writer, art critic, and essayist. She’s also an award-winning organizational leader and consultant who knows how to build and when to disrupt. Her work dives into beauty, resistance, and radical mischief, always chasing truth and sparking connection.