Public Art in Kirkland
Kirkland is a distinguished art and cultural destination that features celebrated galleries, art and cultural organizations, individual artist and events. It’s not by accident that those who live, work, and play here have become art enthusiasts in some way. Public art greets and intrigues you throughout the City, performances happen year round and art galleries showcase traditional and new art forms. Visit the City’s tourism website to explore Kirkland’s diverse art scene.
The Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission (KCAC) is a volunteer board that works to help arts, culture and heritage grow and thrive in the City of Kirkland. Along with supporting art and cultural initiatives throughout the year the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission advises the City Council on art acquisition and promotes strategic arts planning in Kirkland. The KCAC is charged with managing and curating the City's public art collection, including a 1 Percent for Art mandate for City projects over a certain threshold. In addition, the Cultural Arts Commission has partnered with neighborhood associations and private developers to expand the public art offerings, and curates art for the City using grant funding from 4Culture.
Current Projects: 2026
Utility Box Art Call - NE 124th Street
Art Deserts Art Call
Completed Projects: 2025
For more in-depth information on 2025 projects, read the 2025 Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission Annual Report(PDF, 1MB)
Kirkland Outdoor Sculpture Gallery Call for 2025-2026
The 2025-2026 theme is "Reflection," an exploration of how art invites us to pause, look inward, and see our surroundings through a new lens.The selected works echo Kirkland’s spirit of openness and diversity, encouraging visitors to reflect on their own experiences, relationships, and connections to the community. Through varied materials and perspectives, each sculpture is both a mirror and a window, capturing not only light and landscape, but also the many ways we see ourselves within the shared space of our city.
Stores to Shores Greenway Signage Art Call
On January 23, 2024, the City issued an advertisement seeking Request for Proposals from artists or artist teams to create the concept of mounted biking and walking themed features to the standard city street signs along the Kirkland Neighborhood Greenway Store to Shores project route, from Slater Avenue NE / NE 112th Place to Waverly Way / 2nd Street W. In response to the call to artists, 5 submissions were received. The artist selected was Martha Spak who manufactured the art in two colors: Carnival and Jolly Green, were installed on top of city street signs along the Kirkland Neighborhood Greenway Store to Shores project route at 10 locations.
Utility Box Art Wrap Art Call - Central Way & 3rd Street
The City installed one utility box wrap art in 2025 located in Downtown Kirkland on the corner of Central Way and 3rd Street. The artist, Shima Star, is a Seattle-based interdisciplinary artist whose work engages with her personal narrative, social commentary, and transnational experience through color, form, and pattern. The utility box design includes her “DNA” series, which embraces the complexity and vibrancy of human identity. “DNA” explores the experience of diaspora, meditating on the conscious movement of marginalized communities searching for acceptance and a sense of home.
Reimagining the Kalakala Art Project
During 2024 and early 2025, the City advanced the Reimagining the Kalakala Art Project through a structured planning and artist selection process led by Eunice Waymon Art Services (EWAS). The work included site assessments of the salvaged Kalakala ferry remnants, coordination with engineering and fabrication partners regarding structural feasibility and accessibility considerations, and a public art selection process that drew 15 artist applicants from which five finalists were selected to develop proposals. After extensive planning, artist selection, and community engagement efforts related to the Reimagining the Kalakala Art Project, the City ultimately did not move forward with implementation of the proposed installation. The City remains appreciative of the work completed by Eunice Waymon Art Services, participating artists, community members, and project partners who contributed to the exploration of potential future uses for the historic Kalakala remnants.
City of Kirkland Art Analysis GIS Map
The KCAC worked closely with City staff to develop an interactive GIS-based public art inventory and analysis tool designed to map and better understand the distribution of City-owned public art throughout Kirkland. As part of this effort, the Commission began identifying areas with limited or no public art access—informally referred to as “art deserts”—to help guide future conversations about equity, visibility, and geographic balance in public art placement citywide. The project supports the KCAC’s broader goal of expanding access to arts and culture by using data and spatial analysis to identify opportunities for future investment and community engagement. The GIS map serves as both an internal planning resource and a public-facing educational tool.
Ongoing Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission (KCAC) projects include:
Park Lane Outdoor Sculpture Gallery
Take a stroll down Park Lane and immerse yourself in the stories, voices, and shared experiences that bring our vibrant, inclusive community to life! The Kirkland Outdoor Sculpture Gallery is a cherished cornerstone of Kirkland's downtown art scene that showcases a rotating two-year exhibition featuring six sculptures by established and emerging artists from across the U.S.
Neighborhood Greenways Project
The North and South Rose Hill Greenways Project is currently underway and is being facilitated by the North and South Rose Hill Greenways Project Art Committee. The North and South Rose Hill Greenways are City’s first two neighborhood greenways. Greenways are transportation corridors where walking and bicycling are the primary modes of travel, and driving is the alternative form. These first two walking and bicycling meccas are slated for South Rose Hill's Northeast 75th Street corridor and North Rose Hill's 128th Avenue Northeast corridor.
In October of 2020, community members were invited to provide feedback about potential public art on the North and South Rose Hill Greenways through a brief survey. The greenways art committee – made up of City staff, members of the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission and artist Kristi M. Park of BioDesign Studio – produced the video below to provide the public with some additional context during the administration of the survey. Please feel free to watch the video for additional information about this ongoing project!
For some basic information on Greenways, visit: Neighborhood Greenways One Sheet(PDF, 423KB).