Amazon Understory

Amazon’s Understory Artist in Residence program took place from 2023 to 2025, exploring the intersection of art, technology, and nature while fostering community engagement. Each residency and activation allowed local creatives to spend over two months in the space, honing their craft while engaging with the community and displaying and/or selling their work. These activations included immersive art installations, artist-led workshops, rotating exhibitions, and public programming.

At this ever-changing space of connection and collectivity beneath the Seattle Spheres, artists directly engaged with visitors in the creative process to showcase how the practice of art breaks down barriers and builds community. Learn more about the resident artists below.

Katie Todaro (2023)
Katie Todaro’s activation, “The Fabric of our Community” invited people to make their mark on various canvases, which were then transformed into lifesize cut-outs of the human form. With contributions from both locals and visitors, the art project reflects Seattle’s diversity and creative spirit through hundreds of unique doodles, drawings, and quotes. During her residency, Todaro completed 5 installations with 10 layered canvases, and welcomed 6,644 total attendees (an average of 316 attendees per day).

Alexandra Nason (2023)
During her residency, Alexandra Nason developed an experimental art project entitled “Welcome to the Hive,” resulting in a honeycomb-inspired art piece celebrating the “pollination” of new ideas, the “buzz” of community, and the beauty that’s born when we let our creativity “bloom.”  The final “beehive” is a reflection of the innovative spirit of Seattle and the joy of creating art in community with others. Nason completed 12 honeycomb installations and welcomed 25,693 total attendees (an average of 338 attendees per day) to the space.

Jane Richlovsky (2023)
Our most tech-forward activation for Understory, “Megapixels” highlighted intersections among the mechanical, the hand-made, and the organic, inviting visitors to create their own patterns from colorful “pixels” which were photographed for use in a crowd-sourced film. As more patterns were created and more photographs were taken, Richlovsky’s animated films were cast upon a widescreen in the space to give participants further appreciation for both handmade and digital art.

“The juxtaposition plays with the differences and highlights the similarities between handmade and digital; tactile and virtual; stillness and motion.” – Jane Richlovsky

Barry Johnson and Moses Sun (2023-24)
Through their public activation, “Diaspora Landscapes,” Barry Johnson and Moses Sun invited visitors to share stories, memories, and artistic expressions related to the human experience. From doodles and drawings to family stories or cultural traditions, these contributions informed the artists’ multimedia case-study underscoring the importance of nurturing art and art-making for collective empathy, understanding, and wellbeing. Additionally, the artists hosted several on-site workdays, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience the intricate process of bringing large-scale installations to life.

Mokedo (2024)
A community art project entitled “Our Apophenia” by Mollie Bryan (Mokedo) encouraged visitors to express their gratitude while in the space, then see their expressions come together in a dynamic tapestry of collective connectivity. Each week, the installation was brought to life through projections of captivating video and digital art that Mokedo captured around the Pacific Northwest.

Angelina Villalobos (2024)

For Seattle artist Angelina Villalobos, the circle represents interconnectedness and balance — themes she explored during her residency through interactive art activities centered on color. Visitors responded to daily prompts to create vibrant “mood circles,” watercolor gradients, and collaged color transitions, all inspired by their personal memories and sensations. These creations were documented and displayed throughout Understory, transforming individual experiences into a collective tapestry of emotion and storytelling.

John Smither and Elise Wulff (2024)
Elise Wulff and John Smither collaborated on a life-size cardboard tree sculpture embedded with video panels, inviting visitors to make their mark by crafting pieces of bark from cardboard and paint. Contributors’ creations were photographed and woven into dynamic video overlays, turning the tree into an evolving mixed-media artwork covered in both physical and digital bark. This ever-changing sculpture encouraged participants to return and see how their additions helped grow the installation over time.

Paul Nunn and Alleson Buchanan (2024-2025)
Blending neon, painting, and interactive installations, Paul Nunn and Alleson Buchanan created a multisensory experience that engaged thousands of visitors through community murals, a “Manifestation Station” apothecary cabinet, and the playful “You Are a Portal” wall. Weekly prompts invited people to share thoughts, dreams, and doodles, fostering a welcoming space for curiosity and connection. By the end of their residency, more than 2,000 community contributions had become part of this layered, immersive project.

Stevie Shao and Perry Paints (2025)
Stevie Shao and Perry Paints drew inspiration from public engagement every few weeks to create new large- and small-scale artworks, meanwhile developing custom coloring sheets based on their evolving pieces. Visitors contributed ideas at themed easels—sharing favorite animals, plants, and songs—which directly influenced the artists’ creations. Over the course of their residency, Stevie and Perry transformed Understory into a playful, collaborative studio space that reached more than 10,000 viewers on their digital platforms.

Julie Alpert (2025)
Inspired by the lush plant life of the Amazon Spheres, Julie Alpert suspended hand-painted, double-sided paper “linens” throughout Understory, evoking the feeling of a garden laundry line. Visitors were invited to color and cut out leaf and plant shapes, adding them to a growing mobile gallery wall that changed daily. By the close of her residency, Julie’s living collage featured over 1,800 community-made pieces, celebrating the joy of urban nature and collective creativity.