Murals transform Seattle's boarded up businesses: 'Hope is not cancelled'
![caption: Artist B Line Dot works on a mural on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, along First Avenue South in Seattle. The completed mural reads, "Keep Dreaming."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/85b6aedb26efced76f3f517d82e86bf6.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
Across Seattle, in neighborhoods like Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, Ballard and Belltown, colorful murals are appearing on boarded up restaurants and businesses.
"Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does," reads a mural painted by Erin Oostra along First Avenue South in Pioneer Square.
"Hope is not cancelled," reads another, painted by artist Jay Michael. Across the street, pedestrians are reminded that "This is temporary."
As Seattle businesses, coffee shops and restaurants shut down amid the pandemic, drab plywood replaced their many entrances and windows.
Now, artists have transformed that plywood into murals bearing messages of hope and resilience.
Below are some of the recent murals that have appeared in Seattle.
![caption: A mural of a health care worker painted by artist Jay Mason is shown through the window of a passing King County Metro bus on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, along South Main Street in Seattle.](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/2543f050c89d5721f9640381dc263be6.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: Marty Jackson, left, and Gracie Ann, right, sit in the doorway of a boarded up business in front of a mural painted by artist Jay Michael that reads, 'Hope is Not Cancelled,' on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, along First Avenue South in Seattle.](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/f712dde030d88ae2b056df2d48d2c95d.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: Artist B Line Dot works on a mural on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, along First Avenue South in Seattle. When complete, the mural will read, "Keep Dreaming."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/f9e97a93c7849de424294fb97728876c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: A jogger reflected in the window of a closed business runs along Ballard Avenue in front of painted murals on Sunday, May 3, 2020, near the intersection of 20th Avenue Northwest in Seattle. The murals, from left, were painted by artists Carolyn Wassmer, Sean Mullin and Gynn Rosenberg.](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/9e3796441a00e8cca01dbd5fe888b12e.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: A cyclist looks toward a mural painted by Scott McCall, covering the boarded up facade of Pho Big Bowl, along NW Market Street on Monday, April 20, 2020, in Seattle. The quote from Martin Luther King Jr. reads, "only when it is dark enough can you see the stars."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/01877037da95a6a76d19f7ca07c53747.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: Sara Thompson paints a mural on Sunday, May 3, 2020, at the intersection of East Pike Street and Belmont Avenue in Seattle. When complete, the mural will read "United we stand, divided we fall."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/e0568fd96351e1372e9dfb71e7ea2a0e.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: Artist Mari Shibuya works on a mural on Monday, April 20, 2020, at the intersection of East Pine Street and 10th Avenue in Seattle. The mural reads, "New systems will grow if we tend to them together."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/c86f7f68210820771d59bf70508e9b5e.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: A person photographs a painted mural on the boarded up facade of Percy's & Co. on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, along Ballard Avenue in Seattle.](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/b3fed97a4a1d98bc59b7d4467ec6d0a1.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: Artist Sam Trout paints a mural on Monday, April 20, 2020, at the intersection of Broadway East and East Harrison Street in Seattle. When complete, the mural will show two astronauts with the words, "I'll see you when we land."](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/abb8933f66018da023d86f614fc4f90b.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)
![caption: A mural painted by Erin Oostra is shown on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, along First Avenue South in Seattle. "Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does," reads the mural.](https://kuow-prod.imgix.net/store/12387283451385f5e946727f32a2a4a6.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&fit=clip&crop=faces&auto=format&w=924&h=634)