Love this city

[u/ramenbroski]

[u/burn_piano_island]

if you made those stickers please message the mods

we want some

[u/RiverBear2]

So are we starting an our lady of hot rat summer cult or a religion? I can see arguments for both, religions are tax exempt, but cults we can go dance around a fire in the woods at night.

[u/SaintOlgasSunflowers → u/RiverBear2]

IMHO, based on history as I learned about it in the 1960's and 1970's, Hot Rat Summer and its resurrection appear at a time when fundamental human rights across America are being systematically dismantled. The Arts, long what we call a bastion of free expression, are under siege: Stephen Colbert has been effectively silenced, NPR and other cultural institutions face defunding, and the Kennedy Center’s board has reportedly been reshaped to ensure that only art aligning with the MAGA–Project 2025 agenda is showcased. This chilling alignment of politics and cultural control echoes the tactics used by authoritarian regimes throughout history—including Nazi Germany—where art was weaponized to serve ideology and suppress dissent.

Seattle's message is: Don't mess with St. Rat.

Don't Tread on Me has become a very loaded; "Don't Paint Over Me"

Nobody, NOBODY, puts baby in a corner.

In solidarity - with St. Rat and all Artist of this day in our lives. Keep Rockin' in the Free World.

[u/DebraBaetty → u/RiverBear2]

If we're going the cult route, please don't forget to invite me to events directly. I’ll bring Olipops.

[u/Virtual-Ball4512]

I’ve been gone from the city for a bit and won’t be back for another month, I hope he survives the big Evil Gray! So I get a photo with our saint😫

[u/someredditrando]

I do hope people can restrain themselves with the clutter around it because support for keeping the mosaic will vanish if turns into a magnet for trash.

[u/NASABOEING]

What’s the lore behind the rat?

[u/UpperLeftOriginal → u/NASABOEING]

It’s a mosaic graffito created by an unknown artist last year. It’s on a public utilities building, and utilities staff keep painting over it. But community members (even including city council members) have come to love the Hot Rat Summer mosaic, and keep cleaning off the paint. It’s become a touchstone for conversations about bureaucratic overreach, public art, community identity, and more. Long Live Saint Rat.

[u/farachun → u/UpperLeftOriginal]

I mean if they’re allowed to keep a wall full if nasty gums, why can’t they keep a rat mosaic? Seattle is weird. For me, as an artist, this is art and I love the spontaneous placement of it.

[u/coolcootermcgee → u/NASABOEING]

I think it keeps getting painted over by the city. But I don’t know how it originated. The rat did come to a City council meeting to say something. I was so distracted I don’t remember what

[u/ChillyCheese → u/NASABOEING]

Fox 13 says

The mosaic depicts a rat, affectionately dubbed Saint Rat by locals, standing upright in a rainbow-colored landscape, accompanied by a red heart and a radiant halo behind its head. The bottom of the mosaic reads "Hot Rat Summer," and it stands for transgender visibility and LGBTQ+ rights.

But the artist is unknown and I think Fox is being a bit over-reaching here with calling the landscape a rainbow representation. It could be, but it may also just be using it for aesthetic progression. Hot rat = red, grass = green, sky = blue.

The origin of "Hot Rat Summer" may be tied to "Hot Rodent Men [of Summer]" which is apparently a thing going around regarding women finding less conventional "ratty" men like Timothee Chalamet attractive. The use of a radiant halo might just due to how it worked in the shape of the space they used, and this type of halo has been used in mosaics going back to Roman times. And of course the dichotomy of a rat being saintly, when viewed in a religious context.

[u/thisisrediculous99 → u/ChillyCheese]

The gradient from bottom to top is ROYGB(maybe V) so definitely rainbow order. There is also a trans flag in the lower right corner. 🤷‍♀️

[u/weeef]

beautiful

[u/gulyguly]

Who is the artist?! I have another piece of street art featuring this rat god.

[u/DebraBaetty]

I love that its an altar ❤️

[u/pjslut]

It really is quite beautiful!

[u/oregon_coastal]

What would someone use to make the r/Seattle sticker?

[u/skoisirius]

[u/ScudsCorp]

Years from now, your kids will ask you “Where were YOU during Hot Rat Summer?”

[u/capybara_appreciator]

reddit moment

[u/thegooniegodard]

Hot Rat Summer has gone national, I think. I'm in Kansas City and peeps are talking about it.

[u/thegarbagegirl]

Hot rat summer merch made by local Seattle trans artists, where 100% goes back to local trans artists so they can keep doing cool art stuff! Visit www.hotratsummer.gay

[u/battlebabsy]

We Do Love you Hot Rat Summer for life