In the third week of March as businesses and shops closed in an effort to minimize the impact of COVID-19, Sean and I took Tiff for a walk through Ballard neighborhood. We turned on Ballard Ave and we saw a street we didn’t recognize. Ballard Ave is usually bustling with noise and people, whether at the weekend Farmer’s Markets or in and out of bars and restaurants. The Ballard we saw on March 22 was desolate, bare, deserted and lined with boarded up windows and doors. It was heartbreaking.
A friend had let me know (shoutout Erin!) that some artists were showing up and painting art on some of the boards so I had to go check it out. We went back for a walk last weekend and saw a different Ballard Ave. Instead of bare, tan cork boards, I saw a street lined with colorful, inspirational, uplifting artwork. When I asked around what brought this about, I learned that the Ballard Alliance saw all of the restaurants being boarded up, reached out to shop owners and paired them up with a local artists. It was moving to see that the neighborhood did not settle with boarded up streets, but instead took it as ane chance to send a message to Seattle and to the world that we were going to be ok.
I’ve been dabbling around with the video features of my camera and decided to give it a try to help showcase some of this beautiful work (bare with me it’s a little shaky). Check out the video and some photos below.
If you also have a story you want to tell and are looking for a partner to help capture it, please reach out and I’d love to help. Wishing you all the same brightness that this artwork is bringing to Ballard Ave. Stay healthy and safe out there. <3
