What does an artist "drawing board" look like?
People keep “going back to the drawing board”… where is this legendary place, anyway?
It was in Washington Hall this week, and on this drawing board were the first sketches of an upcoming art project/ apartment building in Seattle’s Central District. Curator Bill Gaylord went over the initial plans for 12th Avenue and Yesler Way. You might know the location as the old Seattle Curtain Manufacturing Company; some of its remaining fabrics will go into textile art created by the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters.
Civic arts leader Vivian Phillips then introduced the rest of the artist team: Marita Dingus, Juan Alonso-Rodriguez, June Sekiguchi, Romson Regarde Bustillo, Jite Agbro, Jonathan Clarren, Jeffery Veregge, Lawrence Pitre and me.
It’s super-early days for this two-year project. It still needs lots of input from the neighbors so it doesn’t end up just another big box of gentrified property. But I joined this project because I hope the building becomes responsive part of the historic neighborhood, like the Liberty Bank Building. Maybe that’s a high bar, but I think it’s possible.
Wa Na Wari: a Seattle version of 'Hotel California'
When I reluctantly ended my first visit to Wa Na Wari, I told one of the co-founders if I didn’t get out now, I’d never leave this home-turned-gallery space. Apparently that was plan all along: get people in the door with the art, then lull them into staying. Kinda like Hotel California, but homey instead of sinister.
Wa Na Wari co-founder Rachel Kessler and visitors
Creative reminders of home are woven throughout the house, like the hanging sculptures by Henry Jackson-Spieker. They literally mark “places that were points of gatherings or comfort” when the Greene family lived there.
Henry Jackson-Spieker glass & wood sculpture above family table
Wa Na Wari continues the revived trend of home-based art exhibit spaces. Not pop-ups — permanent galleries. No surprise that New York artists have done this in apartments — or just in one apartment room — considering New York rents. The phenomenon seems to be solidifying in Seattle and nearby communities too, as real estate gets pricier by the minute.
Still from “Remembering Her Homecoming,” a film by Natassja E. Swift
The thing I love the most about Wa Na Wari, though, is it still feels welcoming like a home — not merely a house-shaped gallery. In fact, the view into the backyard shook me for a moment: it’s strongly reminiscent of my grandparents’ home in Kentucky, which no longer exists.
Contemplating art & community with Wa Na Wari co-founder Inye Wokoma
This weekend is an especially good time to visit: environmental artist and icon Marita Dingus is teaching a doll-making class on August 11th. Plus, her own doll sculptures are on display upstairs.
Selected works by Marita Dingus
If you have so much fun you can’t bear to leave, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
"Like Mother": closing reception
All right, you've convinced me. You have one more chance to see the amazing artwork on display in "Like Mother" at SPACE at Magnuson Gallery.
No, really: The show closes this weekend. I'd like to invite you to the exhibit's closing reception. Details:
Visitors to the show have remarked on how much the themes resonate with them, from funny to poignant to wistful and everything in between. The Stranger recommends our show as well. Go, darling, go: you'll be so glad you went. I say this because a mother knows these things. (And because two of my pieces are in the show, but never mind that.) Go!