Safely Enjoy Olympia's Public Art Collection

Civic investment in public art can strengthen a city’s identity and sense of place and contribute to economic growth

Metal Sculpture, Location: Olympia Farmers Market, 700 Capitol Way N

Plants represented here are used by people as food or medicine, emphasizing the vital links between commerce and lifecycles. The pumpkin, leek, sea kale, strawberry, peas, kohlrabi and tomato are domesticated plants found at the Market. The wild rose, bunchberry and tiger lilies are local wild plants used for food and medicine by Native Americans and early settlers.

*Photo Courtesy City of Olympia

Civic investment in public art can strengthen a city’s identity and sense of place and contribute to economic growth. The City of Olympia designates that one dollar per person and one percent of major City construction projects be set aside for public art. Projects range from small local artist projects to major installations and design teams. You’ll find public art all over Olympia - in our neighborhoods, parks, public buildings, and streets!

Olympia's public art is inspiring, thought-provoking, functional, and inclusive. The city's goal is a public art program that is woven into the community and our daily lives.

Public Art Maps

Olympia has an amazing public art collection of over 120 pieces, as well as a rotating exhibition of loaned sculptures at Percival Landing, artistic wraps on many of our traffic control boxes and a variety of murals throughout the City.

The city has also created several interactive online maps with images and descriptions of each piece so you can explore Olympia's art anytime, including the Percival Plinth Project, Olympia Murals Map, Arts Walk Cover Map and Traffic Box Wraps.

What's New

In honor of Black History Month, check out the amazing murals celebrating iconic figures of black history at 816 Adams St SE. And recently, the West Bay Art Crossing project was completed. Watcher (heron), part of Guardians by Lin McJunkin and Milo White, joined Fighter (salmon), as the first of the eight Art Crossings planned along major arterials in neighborhoods around downtown Olympia!

*Photo Courtesy Media Island International

*Photo Courtesy City of Olympia 

LEARN MORE ABOUT PUBLIC ART IN OLYMPIA