Art by Zee

West Seattle’s Totem Pole recently received some off-site sprucing up before being returned to its home at The Rotary Viewpoint Park at 35th Ave SW and SW Alaska Street and to celebrate the West Seattle Rotary Club and Seattle Parks invite you to a rededication ceremony for the totem on Tuesday, August 10, at 5 pm.

Original carver Robin Young and Duwamish Tribal Chairperson Cecile Hansen will be on hand for the ceremony. Once a weed-choked home for discarded cans and trash, the Rotary Club accepted the challenge of West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Executive and Rotarian Norm Beers to do something to clean it up and over the years transformed it into one of the city’s nicest viewpoints, the centerpiece of which is the eighteen foot totem pole to symbolize the history of Puget Sound’s earliest inhabitants and includes powerful symbols like the Thunderbird, the Whale, the Beaver and the Raven.

Last year the Totem was stolen before eventually being found (along with another stolen totem pole) down in Oregon.

For a close-up look at the restoration process, check out this story from the West Seattle Blog.

Now through the 7th, Vermillion presents a show of collage works by Mark Mueller who grabs from the layers and layers of posters hanging in the neighborhood and repurposes their pieces into new pieces that transform their original meanings while still preserving their status as cultural artifacts.

The show’s reception is Thursday, August 5 from 6 – 9 pm; that same night from 8 pm through midnight, stick around or head over to Vermillion for Frances Farmer Organ Karaoke during which they’ll be celebrating those born under the sign of Leo by allowing them to engage in terrible, terrible behavior.

What do skateboarding, street art and the Middle East have in common? They’re all elements of Yallah! Artivism for Peace, a group show at evo on August 6 that serves as the launch and fundraising party for The Bedouins, a new non-profit with the goal of using skateboarding and street art as a tool for fostering peace between Arab and Israeli youth.

The show features skate decks, paintings, photos, video and music aimed at raising awareness and developing some funds for peace projects. The free show takes place August 6 from 6 to 10 pm at evo’s – 122 NW 36th St in Seattle.