Art for awareness: What these orca fins are about
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
If you’ve stopped inside Future Primitive Brewing‘s Alki Beach Bar in the last couple days, you might have noticed the wall newly adorned with an orca fin on a blue backdrop. The piece, created by artist Val Unger, is one of 75 life-size dorsal fins on display around the Northwest for Orca Action Month. (The only other one in this area can be spotted at Duwamish River Community Hub in South Park.
The community art project features 75 different artists, each creating a dorsal fin to represent an endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale. Fins have been created out of materials including plywood, cardboard, metal, and glass. Led by the nonprofit Orca Behavior Institute, the installation was created to remind people that the Southern Resident orcas have now been on the endangered species list for more than 20 years.
“We want these dorsal fins to inspire people to learn more about these whales as individuals and families, and ultimately to take action to protect them,” said OBI’s Monika Wieland Shields, the organization’s co-founder and director.
The Orca Behavior Institute was founded in 2015, when a small group of local scientists focused on the importance of tracking the changes in “behavior and habitat usage of Southern Resident and Bigg’s killer whales of the Salish Sea,” according to their website. They primarily focus their data-collection efforts on behavioral observations, acoustic communication, and habitat usage.
OBI is encouraging people who care about orcas to create their own life-size fins and/or hunt down preexisting fin locations in the area using their interactive map. The hope is for these fins to “spark conversations, inspire storytelling and education, and encourage people to learn more about the plight of these whales and what they can do to make a difference.”
The local fins are at 2536 Alki SW (Future Primitive) and 8600 14th Ave. S. (DR Community Hub).
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