DON'T MISS IT! June 30-July 6
DON'T MISS IT! June 30-July 6
It's the most patriotic week of the year! We can't think of anything more patriotic than going out and supporting your local artists. (The Seattle art scene is just oozing cadmium, titanium white, and phthalo blue!) As always, the city's serving a little bit of everything to satiate your craving. So choose your own adventure and attitude, and experience the stuff of life through art!
Straight Pain Cabaret
Slip Gallery with Washington Ensemble Theater
If you’ve ever lamented the fact so many queer productions end in heart-wrenching suffering or the tragic death of a love interest, this event is for you. The last in a month-long series of pop-up performances centered around the Queer Joy exhibition, this night of “cabar-gay” turns the trauma-porn narrative around on the straights for a night of semi-malicious glee. Queer singers will perform songs where straight people are the ones in pain. Quoth the show description: “Let's point and laugh at the straights and all the weird pain they put themselves through.” Don’t be scared to go as a straight person; just make sure you’re ready to have a good, healthy laugh at yourself and your people. Tickets here.
July 2
First Thursday: Pioneer Square Art Walk
It’s time for another First Thursday, which means another PDA-approved cheat sheet is on the way! Our official picks will come out Thursday morning. (No spoilers!) In the meantime, mark your calendars.
July 3
James W. Washington, Jr.: Many Hats, One Spirit
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
Many Hats, One Spirit is a retrospective that celebrates the life and work of Dr. James W. Washington, Jr. (1908-2000). The exhibition is aptly named for a man whose résumé spans a multitude of genres and bodies of work, ranging from sculptor and visual artist (he was a prominent member of the legendary Northwest School) to poet, civil rights activist, and community leader. Washington's studio in the Central District has official Seattle landmark status, and currently serves as a cultural center and artist residency program. Along with work by Washington, Many Hats, One Spirit offers a wealth of art created by more than thirty current and former of those artists in residence. If you’re looking to embark on a day trip and enjoy art by a true multi-hyphenate icon of the PNW, get yourself over to Bainbridge Island on the Fourth for the grand opening.
July 4
F#CK The Fourth!
Push/Pull Gallery
Maybe you’re feeling more punk than patriotic about the holiday this year? If so, Ballard's Push/Pull gallery is open from 1-4 pm for F#CK The Fourth!, an activation/group therapy session that offers space to experience solace and activism among artists who support trans rights and the right to protest. Part art store, part studio space, part community center, Push/Pull is Seattle's hub for underground art and comix makers; this Independence Day, they'll have everything on hand for you to register to vote (if you haven’t already), wax political as you pen postcards to elected officials, and contribute to zines that will be printed and distributed by the gallery. Let’s kick the tires, light the fires, and make zines!
July 4
First Friday: Central District Art Walk
First Fridays mark the CD Art Walk, and this month brings a variety of ways to celebrate BIPOC-made art in honor of the Fourth. On our list: Creative Justice NW offers a showcase of locally-made art and zines at Washington Hall. Wa Na Wari hosts Voices From the Inside, a night of poetry, visual art, jewelry, and solidarity beyond bars, featuring works made by members of the Black Prisoners Caucus at Monroe Correctional Complex. Finally, At Liberty weaves together a teach-in, art show, and activation at Made Space, a Seattle mixed-use space (spanning retail, performance studio, classroom, gallery, co-working and more) dedicated to supporting and amplifying the work of Black creatives and entrepreneurs.
July 4
Briana Hertzog’s Inner Wild is on view for one more week at Gallery Ergo. The Virginia-based painter’s Wonderland-esque dreamscapes are deliciously trippy with chimerical lady-faced creaturelings about to be plucked from the vine and eaten for lunch. (The candy-colored narratives are a bit ominous/carnivorous when you really lean in.) Then stop by AMcE Creative Arts to catch the final week of WoP, a group show of mixed-media works on paper. Not that you asked, but we think there's nothing quite like a good work on paper: a well-placed bit of ink spilled across the sumptuous satin of 140 lb. Fabriano hot press. Watercolor sunk into the crenelated tooth of rough cold press cotton rag. Paint rippling and ruffling a slick sheet of yupo...we're getting hot and bothered up in here! Come see it all, from collage to gouache, at AMcE before it's gone!
Closing July 6
