The city seems to be gripped with puppet mania of late! Maybe whimsical and wacky avatars are just what we need right now to process the trauma of everything in a relatively healthy, communal way. Or maybe we're just tired of living inside our phones? Either way, this week we have an array of spooky, chic, and queer puppets to keep our spirits high. You can also blow off steam at an otherworldly steam plant that's been taken over by art. So make sure to carve out time this week for some healthy escapism, and get a little lost exploring new artists, fantastical spaces, or fantastical creatures fighting the good fight.

OUR PICKS:

The Dark Crystal and Shelly’s Leg
SIFF Cinema (Downtown + Uptown)
From the archive: SIFF is dusting off everyone’s favorite freaky puppet fantasy adventure, Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 cult classic, The Dark Crystal. It may not hold a light to the freakiness of Skibidi Toilet, but if you’re Gen X, you probably have a corner of your brain still haunted by the spectre of the Skeksis skulking around. This screening gets an update with a live soundtrack by DJ NicFit. They're also giving out stickers and film posters made just for this event in the lobby (at Cinema Downtown, aka Cinerama) before the show, so get there early if you want that sweet swag. Then, on May 22 at SIFF Cinema Uptown (Queen Anne), Seattle filmmaker Wes Hurley (of Little Potato acclaim) presents Shelly’s Leg, a thoroughly-researched and imaginative recounting (with archival footage, animation, and recreations) of Seattle’s legendary disco and first openly gay bar, which ran from 1973 to 1977.
May 20, 22

Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam vol. 27
Theatre Off Jackson
This Friday and Saturday the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam vol. 27 has puppetry in spades, as Theatre Off Jackson is taken over by a horde of creepy ghouls, vampires, aliens, giant bugs, and monsters of all types (in puppet form, of course). The slam brings together 10 puppet artists from around the West Coast and Pacific Northwest who are offering their take on the theme "Monster of the Week." The event is co-produced by artists Cass Bray and Zane Exactly, whose extremely mesmerizing collaborative production Shadow Girls Cult will be debuting an X-files-inspired sketch, among myriad other productions that promise “a wide array of absolute chaos and campy fun.” Which sounds just about right for right now.
May 23-24

Actualize AIR icons and Open House
500 Pike St.
Another fourth Friday means another Downtown Art Walk! This one is special for being the fourth but not the last Friday of the month. (Can we take a moment to appreciate May for giving us five whole Fridays?) Actualize AiR, the artist residency housed in the former Banana Republic building downtown, is opening their studios to the public again, and we highly recommend you stop in. If you missed the recent two-part exhibition of Actualize artists at Hometeam Gallery, this event is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with this unique bunch of people and their art. Do some homework (get it?) and read Julia Monté’s piece about the Hometeam exhibits beforehand, then head over to Actualize to explore everyone’s studio. We’re also excited about the new exhibition going up in the basement space, called icons, which features work by residents Alissa Dymally Williams and Noelle Whitaker. The installation promises to “decipher a palimpsest of subconscious generational knowledge through independent and collaborative practice.” Our interest is piqued!
May 23

In Bloom
Georgetown Steam Plant
No really: do not miss this! On Saturday, a cohort of artists are taking over Georgetown Steam Plant—an already breathtaking space—and transforming it into “a fleeting landscape of immersive art and performance.” The one-day event, called In Bloom, is celebrating the 12th birthday of METHOD Gallery, an artist-run installation space in Pioneer Square that's hosted a wild array of every kind of installation you can imagine (most recently, Kalina Winska’s massive walk-through web of flattened shopping carts and tangled metal). It’s the perfect fit of folks to invade the Steam Plant, and the lineup of artists is stellar: Kalina Winska, Weston Lambert, Yale Wolf, Dez'Mon Omega Fair, Kat Kazlauskas, Joe Axler, Esther Loopstra, Rachel Grunig, Twyla Sampaco, Kelsey Fernkopf, Megan Prince, Gizelle Hadeed, Isabella Rinald, Kait Rhoads, Chi Moscou, Maayan Haim, Tory Franklin, Debra Broz, Amai, Ren Han, and Hugo Moro. Throw in a DJ and bites from Off the Rez, and you’ve got a for-real party! Bring your kids and art-loving friends and family.
May 24

2025 University of Washington MFA + MDes Thesis Exhibition
Henry Art Gallery
It’s time to say hello to a new generation of artists graduating from the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design programs. The MFA and MDes exhibition opens this Saturday at the Henry, showcasing work by Lisa Bambach, Bonny Barker, Ian Brownlee, Maryam Dehbozorgi, Jordan Horton, Jade Knox, Kyler Pahang, ralph salazar, and Yihan Shi. It’s always nice to be reminded that innovative art is being made, despite whatever madness is afoot. And we’d be remiss not to mention that there are numerous other fantastic exhibitions on view at the Henry right now, so it’s well worth skipping on over to the U-District this weekend.
May 24-June 15