The Bellingham City Council has approved spending $235,000 for three art projects to make downtown more attractive, safe and appealing.
Mayor Kim Lund proposed the new downtown beautification grant program in spring 2024. The grants are funded by the city’s lodging tax, which can only be used to promote tourism and the economy in Bellingham.
After issuing a request for proposals in October, city council voted Monday, Dec. 9 to fund three new projects from Make.Shift; the Pickford Film Center and Bellingham Symphony Orchestra; and Children of the Setting Sun Productions. In the first round of funding this summer, the city awarded public art nonprofit Paper Whale $250,000 for three large projects.
Make.Shift and KZAX, Bellingham’s non-commercial, low power radio station, are hosting an event in August 2025 to celebrate the history of community radio and will receive $50,000 from the city for workshops, educational demonstrations and statement art pieces in the alley adjacent to the Make.Shift venue on Flora Street.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, the Pickford Film Center is partnering with the orchestra to show silent films enhanced by live symphony music on Aug. 22, 2025. The unique outdoor event is expected to draw people from around the region as well as local fans, so the city will support it with a $25,080 grant.
The biggest proposal to be approved came from Children of the Setting Sun Productions, an Indigenous storytelling nonprofit that is moving into the former Mindport Exhibits building.
Darby Galligan, the senior planner of planning and community development, said Children of the Setting Sun offered a “phenomenal resume” of high-profile projects around the world. The nonprofit requested $250,000 to activate the alley adjacent to the Mindport space with interactive public art including a Coast Salish mural, projection mapping and youth workshops.
Instead of funding the full request, the city granted Children of the Setting Sun $160,000 because Paper Whale had already targeted that alley for an activation, and a grant from the spring cycle will cover the cost of site preparation, cleaning and lighting necessary to install art there.
The city received 27 submissions designed to enhance downtown’s vibrancy, showcase local talent and create “Instagram-worthy” opportunities. The Tourism Commission’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and the Arts Commission reviewed the proposals in late November and early December and sent their recommendations on to the city council, which voted unanimously to fund the three finalists.
Galligan told the city council on Monday that the jury was “blown away” by the submissions from local businesses and artists and “had quite a challenging time making their recommendations.”
“I’m so excited about these projects,” council member Hollie Huthman said. “I’m also really excited that our community has been so interested in figuring out fun, creative ways to utilize LTAC funding and make some really cool stuff happen for our city.”
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
