Youth invited to collaborate with graffiti artist 179

Free event for young people age 11-18

179 is a Latina activist and artist. 

Teens and pre-teens—come create art in McCaw Hall with Seattle graffiti artist Angelina Villalobos on Saturday morning, May 19. No artistic experience is necessary to participate in this art-making experience, and participants will also have the opportunity to get a backstage tour on the Aida set, which includes artwork by the street and studio artist RETNA.

Seattle Opera is thrilled to be providing this free event in partnership with Villalobos a celebrated Northwest artist, as well as Urban Artworks, a Seattle nonprofit which empowers at-risk youth. 

At the May 19 event, Villalobos will guide participants in the creation of 7-by-8-foot art pieces. Youth who identify as People of Color or LGBTQIA+, as well as young people living with disabilities, are encouraged to sign up for the limited number of spots.

To sign up:

Contact Courtney Clark (courtney.clark@seattleopera.org) with the following information:
- Participant name
- Email address
- Desired time slot (see more below).

Session I: 
9:00am –11:00am (Collaborate with Villalobos)
11:15am -11:45pm (Backstage Tour of Aida set)

Session II:
10:00 am – 11:45 am (Collaborate with Villalobos)
11:45 am – 12:30 pm (Backstage Tour of Aida set)

Session III: 11:00am -11:45am (Backstage Tour of Aida set)
12:00pm - 2:00 pm (Collaborate with Villalobos)         

- You must also include a permission form/release signed by a parent/guardian.

The signed permission form/release can be returned via email (courtney.clark@seattleopera.org), fax (206-389-7651) or at the time of the event. Only students who provide a signed release/permission form can participate in the event.

Mural by Angelina Villalobos, 179. 

Seattleites may recognize Villalobos' colorful murals, located throughout the city (including the elephant mural next door to Seattle Opera's offices in South Lake Union!).

"I’m a Seattle-born art activist who's passionate about connecting art with action," Villalobos says. "My work strives to engage viewers to partake in their environment through observation and participation. I believe community engagement is vital to successful art-planning, and that art should be accessible to all."

Villalobos, who goes by the pseudonym 179, grew up within Americanized Mexican Catholic culture. Today, she often mixes the iconography of Catholicism with pop culture to folklore. This union, influenced by being raised in the Pacific Northwest in the the 90’s, is an intimate exemplification of her personal pursuit of understanding the world around her. Angelina creates a fairy-tale land filtered through the eyes of an anime and comic book lover.

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