If you find yourself walking on Western Avenue, be sure to make your way to MadArt Seattle where you’ll find Rae and her raised fist and black cat backpack.
The mural’s subject—depicted full of life, hope, and power—is the young daughter of artist Barry Johnson. His work is the inaugural piece for the studio’s newest program: The Mural Project.
“The development of the mural project was directly in response to two things: the global pandemic that required us to close our doors for an unexpected and extended period of time and more importantly—in light of the strengthened national effort for racial justice—the recognition that we needed to and wanted to create more opportunities for artists, specifically underrepresented BIPOC artists, in our community,” said Emily Kelly, director of MadArt Seattle.
“This project provides us with an opportunity to engage and support artists that are working on a two-dimensional surface, expanding our breadth of programming and opening up the possibility of working with artists who have varied forms of making.”
Three questions with artist Barry Johnson
Why did you choose your daughter as your subject for this mural?
I chose my daughter Eva because given how much happened last year, I wanted to start the year on a positive note and point out how the youth truly are the future. She was happy to have been a part of the project and she helped to paint some of the canvas.
