Three art pieces came to the Seattle Center and are here until the cherry blossoms bloom this April. The Seattle Center, in collaboration with The Office of Arts and Culture, commissioned three public pieces for a short-term display on their campus: two sculptures and one hung banner. 

Returning this month is Noir City, a film festival dedicated to all things seedy, nefarious, and tantalizing in the world of crime. As the weather stays frightful, it is a great time to watch hardboiled detectives, cruel gangsters, and the women who love them in glorious black and white celluloid with a few hundred fellow genre admirers. This year's edition of Noir City highlights films "where winsome women turn wicked.”

I feel fear. I know what it is like to have every aspect of your identity under threat. To realize every day you live that the world you know was specifically designed against your best interest—against the interest of most with the exception of the few in power. Hate is not sustainable, but it’s easier to turn fear into hate rather than love. It’s challenging to see this all take place and not be overwhelmed with fear. 

To keep a level head, it is important to be prepared. We don’t know what the future has in store, but there are basic things that you can do to increase the safety of your loved ones.

With the historic November election still visible in our rear view mirrors, Seattle voters will be taking to their ballots again in just a few weeks’ time for the February 11, 2025, special election. Among their bubbles will be a voter initiative regarding social housing—this time to fund it. The initiative will appear on the ballot as Prop 1A, but will compete against a City Council alternative called Prop 1B, currently being backed by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

A year marked by breathtaking Puget Sound aurora borealis visits may be behind us, but the work of Ballard-based multimedia artist Ginny Ruffner immortalizes the phenomenon with Project Aurora—a newly permanent exhibit at the National Nordic Museum. The medium of LED lights guided by programmed microprocessors towers over the entrance lobby of the museum thanks to support from the Kongsgaard Goldman Family.

“There’s Trolls in them thar hills!”

The Trolls of which I speak are, of course, the much talked about sculptures brought to the Pacific Northwest (and beyond) through a unique collaboration between Danish recycle artist and activist Thomas Dambo, Scan Design Foundation, and several Coast Salish tribes—especially members from Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie.

Who doesn’t enjoy the feeling of buying something for yourself or someone you love? Finding the perfect “thing” can be fun, and even life-changing. But if you aren’t careful, the feel-good chemicals generated when shopping—adrenaline and dopamine—can make the activity addicting.

Keen-eyed (read Chronically Online) Seattle Artists know that something has been up lately at 18th & Union, the beloved Central District arts space.

I sat down with marketing director, Jazz Flora, for an exclusive inside scoop:

And Seattle happens to be home to one of the most coveted LGBTQ+ places: the city’s first, and only, lesbian bar—The Wildrose. Located in Capitol Hill, Wildrose opened on New Year’s Eve in 1984 and still remains open today. I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the owners, Martha Manning. We delved into topics ranging from troubles staying open during COVID to what the Wildrose means to lesbians today.

The SAM VSO Union consists of a group of 54 Visitor Service Officers, or VSOs. On Black Friday, they started their strike. Strikes are typically one of the last options a union will exercise to make clear to their employer and the general public that their working conditions are unacceptable and their concerns up until this point have been largely ignored. Before the formation of the SAM VSO Union, there were a series of escalations in organized action against Seattle Art Museum (SAM) leadership and policies.

Shoes & Pants Productions and Theatre Off Jackson presents the return of their LGBTQ+ holiday show, Scott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas! Co-written by the talented Freddy Molitch and Shott Shoemaker, this variety show promises to bring a little cheer to those of us who feel outcasted by the Xmas season. With a self-proclaimed group of “queerdos,” you can surely expect a warm and inclusive welcome as Scott Shoemaker explores various holiday traditions with a new—and sometimes naughty—eye.

Whether banning or restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and adults, banning or restricting transgender people from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity, or stopping trans athletes from joining sports teams, transgender youth and adults are facing an uphill battle to equal rights. Now, post-election, the possibility of facing more anti-trans legislation under the Trump administration has become a very real threat to transgender individuals all over the country. 

Meghan Trainor’s work has always had spiritual connections. With a practice firmly rooted in her own ancestral Irish Catholic imagery and iconography in her early art-making days, Trainor found new inspiration via Mexican folk art when she was exposed to the work of Frida Kahlo and later from a nearby shop when she worked at Pike Place Market in the 1990s. Importantly, a 1980s show at Seattle Art Museum about African spiritual objects left a significant impression.

Shelly’s Leg (1973-1977) was Seattle’s first openly gay bar and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. The popular nightclub got its start in a rather unique way. Shelly Bauman, the founder of Shelly’s Leg, lost her left leg in a parade accident in the early ‘70s. She used the money from her settlement to open the nightclub in 1973. Bauman chose to create something that was groundbreaking for its time. Her decision to open the club was about more than just business; it was about creating a community.

Geek Girl Con has been a mainstay of Seattle conventions since 2011, and aims to create a safe and inclusive space to elevate voices and perspectives which are often ignored and left out, especially within traditional “geek” spaces. It is often regarded as Seattle’s biggest “small” convention with over 50,000 attendees per year. 

Seattle’s premiere improv comedy theaters have creaked the mansion doors wide open this Halloween season with blood-curdling new (and returning) shows, combining horror and comedy!

Democrat Melissa Chaudhry has made it to the general election for Washington congressional district 9’s seat in the US House of Representatives. She’s challenging the nearly 28-year incumbent Democrat Adam Smith who has denied the genocide in Gaza. His largest donor by far is the pro-Israel AIPAC, the biggest source of Republican money influencing Democratic primaries. Chaudhry runs a grassroots campaign. Smith just voted to send $26 billion to Israel—$14.1 billion of which is for U.S-made weapons.

“The public has a right to art, art is for everybody.” -Keith Haring

Art and history seamlessly coincide in the Keith Haring exhibit at the MOPOP. Haring (1958-1990) is most renowned for his colorful art and unique shapes, which he often used as a vessel to bring light to social issues that were taboo or not widely spoken of during his time.

A grid is a series of intersections: real or imagined lines that demarcate and converge to create a pattern. Grids are used in our systems of computing, to balance the distribution of electrical power, in many of our cities’ street layouts, and have long been utilized as a tool of craftsmanship and artistic expression (Agnes Martin’s 1960s works, quilts, such as those by Agatha Bennet, and multiple works by Sol Lewitt in the 1960s and 1970s are just some examples).

The Grid, at Seattle Central’s Rosetta M. Hunter gallery, features women whose works tap into the allure of the grid in distinctive ways.

It's time again for the Seattle Queer Film Festival (SQFF)! In its 29th year, the festival has dozens of films that explore multiple facets of the LGBTQ+ experience. The festival offers both an in-person theater experience October 10th-13th and a virtual experience October 14th-20th with events and Q&As throughout.