Zach Youngs 9/20/24 Zach Youngs 9/20/24

Reconciling Art with Its Creator: Dederer Muses in Monsters

There are people who exist within human society who wear the mask of respectability, but are in actuality monsters. Most of these people will never face their reckoning, but those who live their lives and work as public figures will eventually have a light shown on their behavior. In 2017, the social media movement #MeToo sought to oust the monsters from the shadows in every industry, but especially the monsters of the arts.

Gray Harrison 9/16/24 Gray Harrison 9/16/24

Chop Suey's Flammable Sundays Foster Community with House Music

The dance floor was brimming with people grooving to the beat, but making sure to give each other enough space to move around easily. As Tokita shifted smoothly between lilting, airy disco and harder, grittier techno, people in the crowd took turns coming up on stage to swing a red lamp that hung above the DJ table in what appeared to be a longstanding tradition. People’s faces were lit up in the red glow of the stage lights. A glittering disco ball swung overhead. Beyond these details, there was minimal decoration. The emphasis was on the music.

Mary Adner 9/14/24 Mary Adner 9/14/24

What The Funk?! Fest Brings Burlesque Joy in Year Five

If you’ve never been to a burlesque show before, welcome! If you have, I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like What The Funk?! Fest. One of the wonderful aspects to this art form is that there’s always something new to behold, a new story to be told, and moves like you’ve never dreamed of.

In an oppressive society that polices bodies, judges abilities, and is generally icky to anyone outside the cis-heteronormative mainstream, living out loud as your authentic self with bodily agency is an act of the purest resistance.

Jocelyne Booth 8/29/24 Jocelyne Booth 8/29/24

Titanish Tickles Our (Figurative) Icebergs at Green Lake Bathhouse

In this parody of the movie, Titanish turns the tragic tale into a comedy for the ages. Rose and Jack, played by the charismatic Julia Kuzmich and Kooper Campbell, venture aboard the totally unsinkable RMS Titanic along with a series of comedically iconic passengers and crewmates. The show is jam-packed with perfectly delivered jokes, many that are easy to miss, somehow making them even funnier. With irony and innuendos around every corner, every moment is a treat to experience.

Michael Baldovino 8/25/24 Michael Baldovino 8/25/24

Seattle Tattoo Expo Highlights Artistic Diversity

The Seattle Center hosted Seattle’s annual tattoo expo showcasing over 200 artists across the world, some local to the Puget Sound, our Eastern Washington neighbors, and our neighbors on the other coast. Attendees viewed portfolio after portfolio within the long rows of talented tattoo studios. The varieties of styles and inspirations were put on full display from the artists. Expansive geometric patterns stretched across bodies. Shadowed creatures from the occult appear to creep out of body parts. Flowers were stuck in the most perfect moment of bloom.

Lynette Evans 8/9/24 Lynette Evans 8/9/24

Something for Everyone at Duwamish River Festival

One of the most remarkable aspects of the festival was the sense of community. People of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages—from kids to adults—came together in a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. It was a true reflection of the diverse and vibrant community that calls the Duwamish River home.

Jocelyne Booth 7/26/24 Jocelyne Booth 7/26/24

June is the First Fall: An Emotional Journey of Self and Family

In the heart of Seattle’s International District, the stage is set and ready to captivate the audience with Yun Theatre’s summer production, June is the First Fall. This 90-minute play hosts themes of personal and cultural identity, defying tradition, the complexity of family relationships, and so many other themes that everyone is bound to find a connection with in the show. At this intimate venue operated by Theater Off Jackson, audiences will be absorbed into a heartfelt, empathetic story that is sure to leave you entertained and immersed.

Michael Baldovino 7/24/24 Michael Baldovino 7/24/24

First Thursday ARTSy Joy at King Street Station

Did you know there is an art gallery at the top floor of the King Street Station in Pioneer Square? If not, add it to your stop during the First Thursday art walk. ARTS at King Street Station is a free art gallery open Wednesday through Saturday, 11am to 5pm, and closes at 8pm for the monthly art walk.

Michael Baldovino 7/10/24 Michael Baldovino 7/10/24

Fruit Bowl Fashionistas Flip for PhoeNyx!

Fruit Bowl is a recently developed art production series bringing local artists’ designs to life with a set of runway shows—and yes, you’re right: it’s fruit-themed. Fruit Bowl is very queer and closed the show on Pride weekend; this last show’s theme was “Chimera Fruit: The Mutant Fruit.”

Jocelyne Booth 6/28/24 Jocelyne Booth 6/28/24

What to Watch: Japanese Film Festival Online 2024

The Japanese Film Festival Online streams a diverse catalog of cinema from Japan. As an entirely free festival, viewers from around the world can instantly gain access to many movies and TV shows, including some archival films. The Japan Foundation started this festival, known as JFF, in 2016 to highlight and share Japanese culture through film, and has since expanded its access to 27 countries with subtitle options in over a dozen languages. These facets of JFF make it a fantastic chance to experience all kinds of Japanese cinema from almost anywhere around the world.

Lynette Evans 6/27/24 Lynette Evans 6/27/24

Auburn’s Lack of Effort Apparent at Juneteenth Fair

The City of Auburn’s Juneteenth event at Les Gove Park in Auburn, WA, promised to be a vibrant celebration of freedom and culture. Located right in downtown Auburn, adjacent to the King County Library Auburn Branch, the event was set against a backdrop that should have been inviting and accessible. My experience, however, revealed several areas that needed improvement.

Rachel Glass 6/27/24 Rachel Glass 6/27/24

Jinkx Monsoon & The Major Tip the Scales in Heart and Humor

The story transports the audience to the year 2065, where Planet Earth is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian hell, and the rulers are odd, sponge-like aliens who oversee a Big Brother-style world, and the humans who have somehow survived live in constant fear of being disappeared in the night if they don’t openly demonstrate their fealty to their authoritarian rulers.

Michael Baldovino 6/23/24 Michael Baldovino 6/23/24

Gage Academy Bids Farewell to Capitol Hill with Graduating Class

Congratulations to the Gage graduates for completing their programs and their final showcase as students at Gage Academy of Art! This Best Of showcase was Gage’s last show in their Capitol Hill location, as they’ll be moving to a new spot soon. Gage’s gallery hallway will expand with more space for art, students, and learning. Many of these recent graduates have had their pieces shown across Seattle, including a contemporary showcase held at AXIS a few months ago. The showcase grouped the different art pieces by categories: still life, nature, figures, sculpture, portrait, narrative, and abstract.

Michael Baldovino 6/23/24 Michael Baldovino 6/23/24

New Thought-Provokers at Ethnic Heritage Gallery

The Ethnic Heritage Gallery hosts several paintings across the third floor of SMT. One of the paintings, Wat’sa with a Pearl Earring (2014), by Allison Marks, puts a mask on a version of the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring piece. While the alluded painting gently remains unchanged, the mask brings a dark and violent feeling to the scene with red eyes and fire across the face.

Michael Baldovino 5/31/24 Michael Baldovino 5/31/24

cINeDIGENOUS at SIFF: Representation from Voices Traditionally Silenced

SIFF took a close and considerate involvement with Indigenous film creators with a designated category and showcase. Three films that caught attention ranged from Indigenous Mexican, Aboriginal, and Native Hawaiian stories.

David Quicksall 5/25/24 David Quicksall 5/25/24

Powerful Metaphors to Grok from SIFF International Films

One artistic choice that seems to occur more often in foreign films is an extended use of metaphor. I especially appreciate the filmmakers who move beyond using visual symbology to enhance their storytelling and deeply embed metaphor into their film’s narrative structure itself.

Kathy Hsieh 5/9/24 Kathy Hsieh 5/9/24

Unfolding Ourselves: “Animals Out of Paper” Tenderly Delights

The fascinating thing about seeing this play now in 2024 is that it feels even more relevant post-pandemic as the world comes out of a period of forced isolation. How have we been transformed and how do we reconnect with ourselves and others as we face the real world again? This play explores the hope and transformation that human connection offers, but that connection comes with the potential risk of great pain. Is the reward of joy in finding others who accept you for who you are worth the possible pain of opening up your heart to someone else?

Rachel Glass 5/8/24 Rachel Glass 5/8/24

ACT’s “Lehman” Lacks Visceral Piece of Dark American Chapter

Anyone in the US who lost their entire life savings, their home, their business, or their job starting in September 2008 will remember with horror the most devastating financial meltdown of the 21st Century. September 15th marked the day when Lehman Brothers collapsed and declared bankruptcy. Dubbed “The Great Recession,” this crisis led to a severe economic recession, with millions of people losing their jobs and countless businesses going bankrupt through no fault of their own.

Mary Adner 4/28/24 Mary Adner 4/28/24

Does Hope Set Us Free? “Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth” Answers.

In the world of Brown Bodies, we’re taken to the not-so-distant future wherein Helios (our sun) is inching its way closer to Earth. The ice caps have melted, the sea levels have risen, the animals are all but gone, the air is burning hot, and those with enough affluence and influence have boarded a space lifeboat for the colonized Moon. Of course, who is left on Earth but the rest of us, the broke and the BIPOC.

Mary Adner 4/27/24 Mary Adner 4/27/24

Greenwood’s Art Gem

To anyone not from the area, Greenwood seems like a neighborhood just like many others around the city: Easy to pass through, easy to ignore, easy to try once then never again. To locals, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

One of their best-kept not-so-secret secrets is nestled on the main strip, one of those joints where if you sneeze, you miss it. With its black façade and nearly hidden door, the Greenwood Art Collective consistently provides passersby with an otherworldly indoor art experience.

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In an oppressive society that polices bodies, judges abilities, and is generally icky to anyone outside the cis-heteronormative mainstream, living out loud as your authentic self with bodily agency is an act of the purest resistance.

SIFF took a close and considerate involvement with Indigenous film creators with a designated category and showcase. Three films that caught attention ranged from Indigenous Mexican, Aboriginal, and Native Hawaiian stories.

One artistic choice that seems to occur more often in foreign films is an extended use of metaphor. I especially appreciate the filmmakers who move beyond using visual symbology to enhance their storytelling and deeply embed metaphor into their film’s narrative structure itself.