by Hannah Saunders
Anti-surveillance activists and community members are banding together once more under an open letter to the Seattle City Council, titled “Arts Not Ops,” to encourage elected officials to invest in arts and culture instead of CCTV cameras and cops. The group highlighted Seattle’s historic murder-free June, which they believe is due to the Office of Arts and Culture’s $3.6 million investment in neighborhood activation for the World Cup.
“By paying local artists to bring life to our streets, parks, and business districts, the city fostered deep community engagement,” according to the letter. “These activations increased positive foot traffic, built relationships among neighbors, and created a vibrant cultural presence everywhere from downtown to the South End.”
Following the month of June, Seattle experienced a wave of gun violence and deaths, including the international headline-grabbing Bite of Seattle shooting, which killed three people. The open letter highlighted how local nonprofit organizations have led to a reduction in homicides, according to a 2018 study published by the Brennan Center.
“This summer proved a critical reality: art and cultural placemaking is public safety infrastructure,” according to the letter. “By resourcing existing creative networks, we are funding culturally relevant interventions that actively break cycles of violence. Artists and cultural workers are trusted messengers in their communities; when we fund their work, we are funding the social cohesion and collective care that true public safety requires.”
The letter addresses Mayor Katie Wilson’s push for increased funding for the Seattle Police Department (SPD), and noted how increased officer presence does not reduce violent crime. SPD funding for this year under the City’s total operating budget is $488.6 million. Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 proposed budget includes a $68 million increase, or $556 million; this comes amidst an ongoing budget deficit.
“We respectfully submit that such a massive expansion of the SPD budget is the wrong approach, particularly when the department is not suffering from a lack of resources, but rather from a bottleneck created by its own union’s policies,” the letter stated. “Throwing more money at a structurally constrained system is not a sustainable safety strategy.”
What does the group want to see with funding? Redirecting $8 million of the suggested SPD budget increase to the Office of Arts and Culture, and dedicating this money to grant making in public art activations and creative placemaking in 2027.
“This is not just arts funding; it is a direct investment in a proven public safety strategy. By beginning to value artists and cultural workers for the essential public safety infrastructure they provide, we can proactively build the healthy, vibrant, and safe neighborhoods that Seattle deserves without relying on constrained and overly expensive policing models,” according to the letter.
Read “Art Not Ops,” in full here.
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