Saying Goodbye to A.O. Hamer’s One-Of-A-Kind Mural

photo courtesy of the artist

Sometimes good things must come to an end. After a year-and-a-half run, A.O. Hamer’s temporary site-specific mural has come down. We’re sad to see it go, and we appreciate the imaginative portal to Seattle Center that it provided for visitors from all over the world. The artist’s vibrant installation appeared adjacent to KEXP in April of 2016 and was intended to create a visual pathway to KEXP and Seattle Center. Over 130 feet long, the colorful mural featured images of LPs, cassettes, and CDs in an homage to Seattle’s diverse communities as well as the history and evolution of the music industry.

Director Anthony Howe created this mini-doc about the eye-catching art piece. In the short film, A.O. Hamer takes us on a tour of the mural's unique iconography which includes gold chains, galaxies, and community-sourced cassette tapes and CDs. Of the iconic violet goddess at the center of the mural, Hamer says:

"I really wanted to highlight the Black woman. You can see in her eyes and her features and her lips and her everything that she is 100% of African descent."

The artist will be giving away pieces of the mural during a celebration ceremony at Golden Gardens today, Thursday, October 5th, from 6:00 - 9:00 PM. More info on her website at www.aohamer.com/mural. Funding for the project was provided by the Seattle Center 1% for Art and Seattle Center funds.