In 2003 a small volunteer group of sculptors, artists, students and community members, formed a plan to stage an outdoor sculpture exhibition at the Harbor Steps, an urban park in Downtown Seattle. It's first summer exhibition titled, On The Edge, was an immediate success and in subsequent years grew to include the steps of the Seattle Art Museum, as well as, the steps of Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony.
In 2005, On The Edge sold the naming rights of the exhibit to the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) for the following 3 years.
The new name, West Edge Sculpture Exhibition was purchased to promote Seattle's West Edge neighborhood. In 2008, DSA agreed to extend it's funding for another year, unfortunately, 2008 turned out to be the exhibition's last year.
In it's brief 5 year history, the free exhibition staged over 100 original sculptures of varying media and was seen by well over a million people. As part of the exhibition, each year, sculpture events were staged, which included artist lectures at the Seattle Art Museum and Benaroya Hall, artist led tours of the exhibition, and children's sculpture activities on Labor Day.
The organization became a movement, that united Seattle sculptors who often work alone in their studios, unaware of their peers. The exhibition also fostered an open dialog about the importance of sculpture in the community.
The original website for the exhibition was lost at the end of the 2008 show.
This website exists to honor the artists, organizers and sponsors of the exhibition.The following pages will list the names and website links to all the sculptors. The following pages will also list the names of the organizers and sponsors for each year's exhibit.
Existing images of some of the sculptures are shown in thumbnail form. Click on the image for a larger version.
You are encouraged to continue your research on this subject by contacting the participating artists directly through the provided information. The original website url was: www.westedgesculpture.com (now unavailable).
A search of that url will reveal many related news articles and reviews, as well as links to many of the participating sculptors websites.
West Edge Sculpture Invitational 2004 -2008
An Historical Site Paying Tribute to Seattle's Most Successful Sculpture Exhibition
