Art + Culture Week
Sept. 20–27
Citywide
It’s the second iteration of Seattle Art + Culture Week, the one week each September when a bunch of galleries and venues plan special events and performances. You can’t possibly see everything on the calendar, and that’s kind of the point: Seattle has a lot of art. Think of this week as an arts tasting menu where you can discover things not on your radar. Highlights include a night of “Ghost Stories” at Henry Art Gallery, with readings by local author Jane Wong (to accompany the Henry’s new Spirit House exhibition); an evening of sunset music on the Salish Steps at Waterfront Park presented by KEXP DJ Tory J, cohost of Sounds of Survivance; violinist Tekla Cunningham performing live at Foster/White Gallery amid Kelsey Fernkopf’s Big Neon (see page 32 for more on Fernkopf); and a performance by Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Leah Terada, whose choreography responds to Cathy McClure’s toy-inspired bronzes and mechanical zoetropes on view at Traver Gallery. Heads up: PNB is offering a 20 percent discount on tickets to George Balanchine’s Jewels, which will be running this week, and admission to Seattle Art Museum and SAAM is half price the entire week.
WALK DONT RUN
Sept. 20, noon–6 p.m.
Pioneer Square, Downtown, Belltown
As we hurtle toward the dim horizon of ever-flattening culture, it’s a great time to remember what’s lovely about being human, capable of drinking in sunlight and finding wonder in weird places. WALK DONT RUN is here to help you touch grass (or asphalt, anyway). The art “marathon” is a one-day event that starts at Occidental Park at noon and winds through downtown parks, sidewalks, plazas, and storefronts to the finish line in Belltown. The route is lined with interactive art, music, and live performances by more than 100 artists, like the Fabulous Downey Brothers, 8‑Bit Brass Band (performing video game tunes), inflatable dancing sculptures, Chimurenga Renaissance (Hussein Kalonji and ex-Shabazz Palaces member Tendai Maraire), and a Motivation Station vending machine that offers video messages of encouragement, creative prompts, and tough love. There will be something for everyone, from whimsical to conceptual, including stops along the way to explore 32 artist studios at both Base Camp Studio locations. Bring the whole family, or a coven of brunch buddies, or just wander solo for the year’s biggest outdoor art walk.
SPAM New Media Festival
Sept. 12–14
Georgetown Steam Plant
Built in 1906 to power Seattle’s electric streetcars, the decommissioned Georgetown Steam Plant now exists as an “industrial cathedral” and stage for cultural events. While exploring the plant’s labyrinthine interior is a breathtaking experience on its own, the acoustics and architecture of the space provide a beyond-epic setting for dance, projection, and installation. Upcoming events include the Super 8 Film Festival (Sept. 6), A Circus of Steam & Shadows (Oct. 17–19), and SPAM New Media Festival. Offering an opportunity to engage with tech while AFK, SPAM brings together over 30 installations by artists and technologists from around the world. Ever been enchanted by robotic surveillance? Kate Bailey’s floating sculpture Is It Listening is made from a weather balloon and equipped with a mic that eavesdrops on snippets of conversation while it wanders the room, transcribing in real-time and printing reams of stream-of-consciousness ticker-tape poetry. Along with AI portals, audio soundscapes, VR, and digital ghosts lurking in the boiler room, it’s just one of the many moments that will warm your cockles as we plunge ever deeper into a postdigital reality.
Refract | The Seattle Glass Experience
Oct. 16–19
Citywide
Unleash your inner glasshole! No, I’m not making that term up. Seattle is an emperor of the glass art industry, and the seventh iteration of Refract is your chance to become an expert on the subject, try your hand at a punty and glory hole (more glassblowing terms I am not making up), or just mingle with folks whose small talk involves devitrification. On the menu: a posh opening-night bash at Chihuly Garden and Glass, live demonstrations and the opportunity to blow at Glassybaby, a private tour of Dale Chihuly’s iconic Boathouse, a Glassblowing Film Festival in partnership with SIFF, and a bunch of open studios of local glass artists (Refract has partnered with Tours Northwest to provide shuttles from studio to studio). If you have time, plan a trip to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, which boasts a unique Visiting Artist Residency Program that draws artists from around the world. You can watch visiting artists (Åsa Sandlund will be on deck during Refract) and the MoG hot shop team in person as they whip up wildly experimental pieces before your eyes in an auditorium designed like a theater.
Walk the Block
Sept. 27, 1–7 p.m.
Central District
Walk the Block is the annual one-day festival that takes place across the Central District and transforms yards, parks, porches, and side streets into one continuous stage for art. But it’s not just an art walk; it’s a celebration of ownership and stewardship by and for the Black community who built one of Seattle’s most culturally rich and robust neighborhoods. Produced by Wa Na Wari, this year’s theme is gratitude, and the artists headlining the event include some big names: Musician/poet/multi-hyphenate Saul Williams will be performing, along with work by visual artist Curry J. Hackett and a performance by LA-based Autumn Breon. Artists from closer to home make up a rockstar roster, including 2018 Betty Bowen recipient Natalie Ball, videopoet (and personal forever art crush) Kamari Bright, and Dez’Mon Omega Fair, whose ultra-immersive installation-cum-performaces of late are nothing short of ensorcelling. This year also introduces a dedicated comedy stage curated by Nate Jackson’s Super Funny Comedy Club, featuring sets by Danny Meyerend, Frederick White, and Tyrik Woods.
