"Urban Peace Circle," located in Sam Smith Park, was commissioned by Stop the Violence; designed, built and installed by Gerard Tsutakawa, and dedicated in 1994 as a memorial to youth killed by random gun violence. It is part of the Seattle Arts Commission collection. Stop the Violence, a group of citizens that included James Kelly Kay Godfroy, Peter Clark, Jane Nishita, and Lucinda Harder started a city-wide gun buyback program. They collected over 1000 firearms that were melted down. Part of that program was to create a lasting memorial to those taken by the shootings. Creation of the sculpture engaged volunteers, the City, the Parks department, the Highway Dept and the Jackson Street neighbor community center, the Seattle Police Dept, and Seattle Art Commission. The gun buy back and this artwork were made possible by donations to the program. Artist Gerard Tsutakawa says: "The theme of the sculpture is chaos and resolution, the circle being looking to the future and resolution."
Homestead CLT is grateful to Gerard Tsutakawa and the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation for this artwork and photograph for use on the Village Gardens Townhomes website. Village Gardens is located next to Sam Smith Park.