PLAY! Summer 2026
Wooooo! Another Summer at SAM for the books and this year we focused on PLAY! With the city honed in on the World Cup and an artist made mini golf course added to the park, play felt like an easy tie to bring it all together. I’m going to go further into the details of the program and what I learned about Play below, but please enjoy this collection of photos from the Summer which tell their own story.
Photos by Chloe Collyer
What did I learn about Play?
Hula hoops, bubbles, and board games: Give people low commitment toys and they will use them
Fun hats (props) make people more approachable and can be used as employee identifiers
Beat the heat: fans, fun hats, and misters help to stay cool and are opportunities of whimsy, marketing, and movement.
Dance makes a big impact on community in unexpected ways (please read this dance review of the work for now, but not for long)
Sci-fi role playing games are so much fun (thanks Paizo games)
Mahjong is a game for evil masterminds
Authentically support the culture of communities and they will enthusiastically show
Major Donors want to have summer fun too!
Play is educational, meaningful, and powerful
Play seemed to capture the attention of visitors too as our attendance showed an increase this year even though we shortened the the program by a week. I’m pretty sure it had to do with our selection of partners and our intentional cultural programming focus for the festival day.
My most grateful part of the summer was working with artist Jo Cosme on an installation for the pavilion. Cosme’s work touches on the native Puerto Rican experience about issues affecting the island. I had initially approached them interested in their inflatables and they produced new work like the flower that people lounged under in bliss. The Latinx line up of artists and food was curated in partnership Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery and Jo Cosme: Mi Patria, El Pachi, Correo Aereo, Sazón Seattle, Reyes Gonzalez, and Buena Vibra. We received lots of feedback from the community thanking us for our focus on Puerto Rican and Chicano artists. It also was personal practice in being a vessel for others—putting side my particular vision and act on behalf of the community’s need.
Jo Cosme installation
In wrapping up my ideas about the Summer, I want give some shout outs. To my intern Camryn Soo. Thank you for making my job so much easier. I had so much fun making whimsy in the park with you. Your choice of hats was so clutch in the visual identity of the summer and I hope our paths cross many times more. Thank you to John, Bobby, Patti, Annie, Erin, Roberto, Anthony, and Joe for all the physical and emotional support you gave. Thank you MarComms for a “Cool Art Summer” and always being down to yapp. Thank you Nani, Cristina, Yazmin, Jessica, Ramzy, Erika, Anna, Emily, Eric, Leah, Jazmine, Payton, Chelsea, Emily, Chao, Kylie, Naomi, Natalie, Amelia, Nick, Devin, Symone, Keith, Sarah, Ted, Kat, Katherine, Nicole, and Jason. Thank you to the Public Engagement team: Lucy, Amyia, and Em for the support this last year and half— I have adored working with you all and have never laughed so much in my life. Finally, thank you SAM and Heaven for the opportunity to play in the park.
<3 Zander
