Seattle Unveils First City-Hosted Swami Vivekananda Statue in the United States

The City of Seattle has become the first city government in the United States to host a life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda at Westlake Square in downtown Seattle. The life-size bronze statue was jointly unveiled on April 11 by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and India’s Consul General in Seattle, Prakash Gupta.

According to a statement from the Indian Consulate in Seattle, the monument marks the first installation of Swami Vivekananda hosted by a city government anywhere in the United States. The statue is located at Westlake Square, a prominent public space in the heart of downtown Seattle that sees more than 400,000 daily visits and millions of visitors each month. The site is within walking distance of key landmarks including the Amazon headquarters spheres, the Seattle Convention Center, and the Seattle Center Monorail.

The unveiling ceremony drew several dignitaries from across the Greater Seattle area, including Mayor Katie Wilson, Kent Mayor Dana Ralph, Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, Tukwila Mayor Tom McLeod, Normandy Park Mayor Eric Zimmerman, and Kirkland Mayor Kelly Curtis. Community leaders from the Indian American diaspora, along with members of city councils from Bellevue, Bothell, Dupont, and Redmond, were also in attendance.

In her remarks, Mayor Wilson underscored that the installation of the Swami Vivekananda Monument reflects Seattle’s inclusive spirit and strengthens cultural ties between India and the diverse metropolitan tech hub in the Pacific Northwest, the statement said.

The Swami Vivekananda Monument is a gift from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations to the City of Seattle in recognition of the city’s multicultural character and spirit of inclusivity. The unveiling coincided with the celebration of ICCR Day.

“The installation of SVM is part of India’s broader cultural diplomacy initiative, facilitated through ICCR and aims to strengthen people-to-people ties between India and the US Pacific Northwest,” added the statement.

Swami Vivekananda (1863 to 1902) was a renowned philosopher and spiritual leader who introduced Vedanta and Yoga to the West, the statement noted. The Seattle installation was sculpted by Indian artist Naresh Kumar Kumawat, whose works include more than 600 installations across over 80 countries and are widely recognized as cultural representations of India worldwide.

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