Arts & Culture

 Opens a New Window. Meet Our Poet Laureate

Laura Da'

The City of Redmond is proud to announce the 2022 Poet Laureate, Laura Da'. 

Our new Poet Laureate, a poet and a public-school teacher, Da’ studied creative writing at the University of Washington and the Institute of American Indian Arts. A lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Da’ is the recipient of fellowships from the Native Arts and Culture Foundation, Richard Hugo House, and the Jack Straw Writers Program. She is the author of Tributaries, winner of the American Book Award, and Instruments of the True Measure, winner of the Washington State Book Award. Da’ is Eastern Shawnee. She lives near Renton with her husband and son.

Established in 2008 by ordinance 2444, the Poet Laureate program produces a variety of programming and community engagement opportunities offered to Redmond residents and visitors. The Redmond Poet Laureate Program builds a more literate and understanding community through poetry and the literary arts by broadening awareness of poetry and expressing the spirit of Redmond culture through poetry. 

View the video of Redmond's Poet Laureate Laura Da reciting Bird's Eye View

Past Poet Laureates

Learn about Past Poet Laureates

The Artist-in-Residence program stimulates cultural vibrancy in the parks of Downtown Redmond and challenges residents to become an active participant in civic life and cultural advocacy.

Meet our 2020-2021 Artist-In-Residence

Xaviera Vandermay

Our new Artist-in-Residence Xaviera Vandermay is Director and Principal Choreographer of 3rd Shift Dance, a professional contemporary jazz dance company based in Seattle, WA and currently in residence at YAW Theater with summer projects including a music video project with Whitney Mongé  and back-up dancing for a reunited Flymoon Royalty. 

More information about her work can be found on the 3rd Shift Dance Facebook page.

City of Redmond offers a collection of fine art classes, dedicated to providing high-quality, fine art instruction, through our Redmond Arts Studio program. Please visit our activities page for more information.

Explore the City of Redmond's Art Collection

Discover downtown Redmond's public art collection by following the Redmond Public Art Walking Map (PDF). Printed copies of this map are available at our community centers.

Even more public art exists beyond this map! We maintain a public art mobile app for Redmond's permanently-installed outdoor art collection. The STQRY app is available for free on iOS and Android operating systems.