ART SAVES ME:

Urban ArtWorks

Teaching the joy of creating
public art to Seattle

by Mia Imani

“All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.” – James Baldwin

I got asked by PD.A to write about an arts organization that does important work in the community and region that birthed us, a task that I immediately felt up to do, even beholden to do. Until today, I hadn’t created space to write a proper love note honoring folks who hold up the world as it spins and occasionally crashes; the people to whom I give my hands in faith as I close my eyes and allow them to take me on a journey, as a child does when you twirl them around. Urban ArtWorks creates a scaffolding of safety that allows young creatives to build foundations of expression and exploration.

For over 25 years, Urban ArtWorks has cultivated a community of youth, teaching artists, and community members joined together to create public art. They spark connections, introducing aspiring artists to like-minded peers and mentors who help uplift and honor their voices. They think beyond a linear approach to the art world; you don’t have to be classically trained to create a living and share knowledge. The mural apprentice program offers a community of peers working with a teaching artist with their own practice. 

While I was excavating the ways art functions in my life, I suffered food poisoning. Maybe it was coming to terms with the parts of me that never digested the realities I had to swallow to exist and express myself in a space with limited resources. Medicine is not only what we take to dispel disease but an opportunity to hold and heal one’s younger self — to accept the past, allow the present, and surrender to the future. 

Although my high school had art classes, fourteen-year-old me saw no trajectory for pursuing a career in art. I closed off the idea of chasing a dream that would fulfill the curse of the starving artist, knowing that a fairy godartist would not come to teach me the ropes in time for my SATs. It was difficult enough finding ways to de-compartmentalize my existence as a Black girl in Bellevue. Urban ArtWorks did exist at that time; what if I had known sooner? Would I have started walking in my truth earlier? 

Art is a catalyst for community, collapsing differences, creating a shared language for our inner  worlds. Urban ArtWorks facilitates this through communal mural work, offering a way to map the feeling tones of a community while letting them authentically tell their stories. UA cultivates the ecosystem of care I so craved at a younger age, a space to be and become without pressure to produce; the process is as important as the result. The message is: You are not an imposter. You deserve to cultivate your craft alongside others who want to widen their concept of what’s possible in the world.

Everyone deserves access to art, and UA constantly works to expand its infrastructure to hold more dreams. It's about breaking barriers. Art is a human right, not an elite form of leisure. Art empowers and holds change for artists and the communities they serve. So give your voice a safe space to play, challenge yourself to think beyond the limits society places on you. 

There isn’t just one way to become an artist. You don’t have to pretend to know the answers. UA provides people to guide you, people who have walked their unique paths to forge a way for you. I know I wasn’t strong enough to explore when I was young. But you are. Remove that second skin that’s vacuum-sealed on top of you. Cut through the noise of expectations, doubts, and fears. You will surprise yourself.