Alex Proba’s “Clouds of Belonging” Brightens the Seattle Skyline at King Street Station

If you’ve rubbed your eyes looking at the larger-than-life, colorful, dreamlike Clouds of Belonging while walking to a game or to ARTS at King Street Station—your eyes are not playing tricks on you! This large-scale temporary public artwork by StudioPROBA, the creative practice led by artist and designer Alex Proba, has transformed King Street Station Plaza into a vibrant, immersive gathering space.

The installation is composed of large cloud-like forms that introduce softness, color, and light into the surrounding urban landscape. Rather than a singular object to view from the outside, Clouds of Belonging is a walkable experience—visitors can travel beneath and around the structures, creating their own path through a series of gentle curves and open spaces. What is often a pass-through plaza becomes a destination, encouraging people to slow down, explore, and share the space with one another.

Straddling Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District, the work responds directly to the layered cultural histories and daily rhythms of this highly traveled site. Spanning roughly 2,000–3,000 square feet, Clouds of Belonging invites visitors to move through, pause within, and simply enjoy a bright, sculptural environment designed for connection.

“I wanted to create a space that reflects that constant flow, where people can slow down, move freely, and feel connected to one another. Inspired by the shifting skies and landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, the work translates those natural rhythms into color, form, and light. As the city welcomes the world for the FIFA World Cup, it becomes a moment of unity, where people from different cultures and places gather under the same sky. My hope is that visitors leave with a sense of openness, connection, and a reminder that even brief shared moments can transform how we experience a place and each other—and hopefully full of JOY.”

Alex Proba

Inspired by the Pacific Northwest’s dynamic skies, surrounding mountain ranges, and the waterways that shape the region, the artwork draws from natural forms and translates them into abstract, emotional expressions of place. Each element functions as a vessel of color and light, referencing the shifting atmosphere above Puget Sound and the fluidity of the landscapes that define Seattle. StudioProba worked with local fabricators Skywater Studios to bring this vision to life.

At night, integrated lighting turns the sculpture into a constellation of softly glowing forms visible from nearby streets, sidewalks, and train platforms. This illumination extends its presence beyond daylight hours, creating a welcoming landmark for travelers and a meeting place for residents.

The flow of space—open, curved, and non-linear—mirrors the project’s central idea: that belonging is something we build together, in community and in motion.

As a temporary installation, Clouds of Belonging embraces its own impermanence. Like the cloud formations that inspired it, the work will rise, shape its environment for a moment in time, and eventually disappear—leaving behind the memories, conversations, and connections it fostered.

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StudioPROBA is a Portland and Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary creative studio led by Alex Proba. Working across graphic design, art, interiors, and large-scale public installations, the studio builds a body of work defined by a commitment to color, joy, and emotional resonance.

Proba’s practice treats color as a material with its own structural logic, shaping how people move, feel, and connect within a space. From paintings and sculptures to immersive environments, her work is rooted in the belief that art can transform not only how a space looks, but how it feels.

StudioPROBA has established a cross-disciplinary presence spanning cultural institutions, public commissions, and commercial projects, bringing the same level of rigor and visual intelligence to projects at every scale.