Tag Archives: Arts and Culture

Arts & Culture

FICTION: From the Final Field Notes of a Future Cultural Worker

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by Julie-C

The plan is working. Or maybe it’s backfiring. In either case, I have solidified a seat on the newest Citizen Participation Requisite Group (CPRG) of post-Secession Seattle.

This particular CPRG is being convened by a joint effort through the Post-Secession Office of Aesthetic Curation (PSOAC), aided by the Cultural Commodities Bureau (CCB) that operates under the Office of Economic Dominance (OED). Civic bureaucracy, am I right? Shit, I’m practically a walking glossary of municipal acronyms these days, so the systemic matrices aren’t new to me. This recent shift of my own positioning inside it, though, is interesting.

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Arts & Culture

PHOTO ESSAY: Franklin High School Club Responds to Vandalism With BLM Art

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by Susan Fried

On the afternoon of Feb. 26, as unpredictable weather loomed overhead, the students in Franklin High School’s (FHS) Art of Resistance & Resilience Club hung their latest project outside, a group of handmade signs celebrating Black lives and social justice. They attached the project to the fence next to the school’s mural honoring the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panthers, which was vandalized late last year.

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Arts & Culture

9th Annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival Will Be the Biggest Yet

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by Mark Van Streefkerk

This year’s Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) will take place online, and feature more short- and feature-length films, documentaries, and animated films than ever before in the festival’s history. Streaming with the help of partner Northwest Film Forum from March 4 to 14, SAAFF will virtually screen 123 films by or about Asian Americans in the U.S., grouped into 15 programs, and will hold one drive-in movie event.

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Arts & Culture

Rad Pacific Northwest Women and Femmes, Part 1

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by Larissa McCartney

In 2020, I attempted to participate in the Instagram #100Days challenge where artists and creatives pick one theme and medium to practice for 100 days. My goal was to digitally illustrate 100 badass women and femmes of the Pacific Northwest, from all walks of life and different professions, who inspired me for a number of different reasons. I didn’t quite make it to 100, but in the end that didn’t matter! Nominations from friends, co-workers, and people on Instagram helped curate a long list of incredible individuals who contribute to and represent the PNW, influencing this great place we call home. Below are a selection of a few of these phenomenal local people along with my illustrations.

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Arts & Culture

Artist Roger Shimomura’s 100 ‘Little White Lies’

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by Susan Kunimatsu

(This article previously appeared on the International Examiner and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

Like most of us, Roger Shimomura has spent the last 10 months in isolation; in his case, his home and studio in Lawrence, Kansas. For Shimomura, the pandemic has been an intellectually fertile, artistically prolific period. The result, 100 ”Little White Lies” is now on view at Greg Kucera Gallery. The 100 untitled paintings, each a 12 by 12-inch square, are numbered in the order in which they were created starting in late 2019. Hung in a single row that wraps around two galleries, they do not form a narrative. They are a stream of consciousness, a visual record of the ideas that occupied the artist during this strange year.

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Arts & Culture

Rising Star Estrella Gonzales-Sanders Featured in New Debbie Allen Netflix Documentary

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by Jasmine M. Pulido

Estrella Gonzales-Sanders’ parents may have been prophetic when they named her Estrella, the Spanish word for “star.” The young Renton resident has already danced in front of notable stars like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Barry Gordy, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. Now, she has landed a small feature in Debbie Allen’s newly released Netflix documentary, Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. And at age 12, Estrella’s own rise to stardom has only just begun.

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Community

A Backstage Look at Intiman’s Technical Theatre and Social Justice AA Degree at Seattle Central College

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by Beverly Aarons

Fury-fueled crowds of chanting protestors, clever and insightful picket signs, and collective action to transform or eradicate unjust laws and cultural practices — this is how many see social justice. But when Intiman Theatre began to look for a new home and contemplated how they could advance their mission, they imagined how social justice could be advanced by backstage storytellers — costume designers, lighting designers, sound riggers, set builders, and other technical theatre artists. The answer was a two-year Associate of Arts degree in Technical Theatre for Social Justice (AA-TTSJ) and a partnership with Seattle Central College (SCC). But what does that mean, exactly? Who can participate? And what does social justice in technical theatre really look like? During our telephone interview, Intiman’s Educational Director, Dr. M. Crystal Yingling, gave a sneak peek into the program.

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Community

New Managing Director Justin Pritchett Has Big Plans for the Ark Lodge

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by Mark Van Streefkerk

When COVID-19 forced Columbia City’s Ark Lodge Cinemas to shutter their doors in March, the sudden loss in revenue dealt a staggering blow to the South End’s few independent movie theaters. Owner David McRae quickly launched several fundraising strategies, and now new managing director Justin Pritchett brings Popcorn Weekends to the Ark. Pulling from his expertise in movie theater food and beverage operations, Pritchett has big plans for keeping the Ark afloat, now and long after the pandemic.

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Arts & Culture

ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop Leads Effort to Certify Southeast Creative District

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by Beverly Aarons

Entrepreneurs, artists, and cultural workers are the heart of Seattle’s South End, but lack of visibility and underinvestment have historically harmed the community. ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop (A.C.E.W.) and a band of community stakeholders aim to change that by creating Seattle’s first state-certified Creative District. Since 2018, the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) has certified eight Creative Districts, but not one is in Seattle — yet. If things go as planned, the new Creative District will encompass the area between Franklin High School and Rainier Beach High School. In a telephone interview, Afua Kouyate, a Seattle native and the executive director of A.C.E.W., shared details about the Creative District and the work she’s done in the southeast Seattle community since 1985.

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Voices

Washington’s Undiscovered Feminists

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by Jasmine M. Pulido

I’m not sure if I’m a feminist.

I like to think I am. But what I am finding is that there are too many words in the social justice lexicon where the definition is different depending on who you are talking to. “Feminism” is a word that continues to change as our culture becomes more aware of its own social constructs. Its meaning bends as more diverse voices are allowed to weigh in on the subject.

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