Impatient Optimist is a sculpture by Janet Echelman, installed in Seattle, Washington.

[1] Installed in 2015, Impatient Optimist was commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their global campus in downtown Seattle that opened in 2011.

[3] The piece is designed to represent the importance of individuals and connect all of the regional campuses of the foundation across the globe.

The structure of the piece is inspired by what Echelman and her team were able to visually represent as "the shape of a day".

Utilizing pre-programmed lighting sequences, at night, the sculpture echoes the sunrise in each of the foundation's global offices in real time.