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The Edmonds Arts Festival proudly presents the 2025 poster art design painted by Mona Smiley-Fairbanks!
Edmonds is a true gem of the Pacific Northwest, with breathtaking views, sandy shores, and a lively waterfront. But what lies beyond the shimmering surf? Some might say the town’s most captivating beauty is hidden in the world below the waves.
Underwater Edmonds is alive with movement and color — schools of fish dart and weave, scuttling crabs hide in the seagrass and sea stars add bursts of bright color. Playful harbor seals roll and frolic, while a shy Pacific Octopus peeks curiously from its hiding place. Towering forests of bull kelp sway gracefully in the current, their long stems stretching towards the sunlit surface, casting a golden glow through the waves.
This is the world that has captured the imagination of Mona T. Smiley-Fairbanks, the Edmonds Arts Festival’s 2025 Featured Artist, in her piece called “Tidal Captain.”
Mona inspires and engages audiences with her paintings, shining a light on threatened and endangered species of the Pacific Northwest. This year, her poster art highlights bull kelp and their vital role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. While bull kelp is declining in some areas, Edmonds remains one of the few places where these underwater forests still thrive. Through her art, Mona hopes to foster a deep emotional connection to the beauty, wonder, and fragile balance of marine life, inspiring people to protect the sea and all that depends on it.
Mona is this year’s featured artist and her paintings will be on display and for sale in the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation Gallery at the Anderson Center.
Each year the Edmonds Arts Festival chooses an artist to create an original work of art for the Festival Poster. The Edmonds Festival and Foundation collection of posters goes back to 1984. Starting in 2022, art from past Festivals have been available in the Virtual Store. This year’s poster will be available at the Festival store at the event!
MONA T. SMILEY-FAIRBANKS
Artist | Edmonds, Washington
Born and raised in North Seattle, Mona has always been an adventurous spirit with a deep appreciation for the beauty of native flora and fauna. Early in her career, she worked as a graphic designer at Nordstrom, but after a decade, she chose to focus on raising her family in Edmonds. This shift led her to explore new artistic avenues, expanding her creative expression through painting, sculpture, printmaking, and fiber art.
Mona is passionate about enriching the Edmonds art community. She brought color and life to the city with large-scale outdoor installations, including bright, oversized sea stars adorning the Frances Anderson Center fence and a striking mural of rockfish in downtown Edmonds. As a longtime participant in the Edmonds Art Studio Tour, she welcomes visitors into her creative space. Also, for the past 25 years, Mona has worked closely with the Edmonds and Shoreline school districts, securing grants, collaborating with teachers on core curriculums, and encouraging children to connect with their local environment.
“The ocean is full of life — fish, whales, coral, and so many amazing animals. But when people throw trash or spill oil, the ocean gets hurt.
The ocean is strong, but it needs our help. If we take care of it, the ocean will sparkle with colors again. “
2025 Edmonds Arts Festival Student Art Exhibit Poster
This year’s Student Poster artist is Elise Chan, a 3rd grader at Challenge Elementary (at Terrace Park Elementary). It is titled: "Resilience" and drawn in colored pencil and watercolor.
Artist’s Statement
I wanted my artwork to show two big contrast scenes at the same time — one beautiful and full of life, and the other sad and polluted — and also the human effort to help the ocean that can make things better.
When I was coloring the bright part of the ocean, I felt happy and used the cheerful colors. But for the dark-side polluted water, I used real dirty water on purpose. That’s a little secret hidden in my art.
About the Artist
Elise Chan is 9 years old and a third grader at Challenge Elementary. She is participating in the Edmonds Arts Festival for the third time — with “A Tree in the Summer Sunset” (2023, School Pick), “My Favorite Place” (2024, One of Top Honors), and “Resilience” (2025). She loves drawing, and when she’s not creating art, she enjoys getting lost in books and writing stories of her own. She started a Save the Animals club at school and loves being part of it.
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