Our music critics have already chosen the 26 best concerts this week, but now it's our arts critics' turn. Here are their picks for the best events in every genreâfrom PAX-related parties to the First Thursday Art Walk, and from Hooded or Being Black for Dummies to, of course, Bumbershoot. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.
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MONDAY
READINGS & TALKS
Bard in a Bar: Richard III
Shakespeare would no doubt approve of Bard in a Bar: rowdy, crowdsourced, and boozy presentations of his plays. This time, watch an irreverent performance of the terrifying Richard III.
MONDAY-FRIDAY
ART
Dean Wong: New Street Photography
If you don't know Dean Wong's name already, he is the photographer who has most doggedly and beautifully documented Seattle's Chinatown, and he has a new book out, Seeing the Light: Four Decades in Chinatown. It includes photographs also taken in Chinatowns in San Francisco and Vancouver, BC, but Wong's heart is where his home is, here in Seattle, where he grew up in his family's home tucked into the streets of what we now call the International District. Here at Jack Straw, you'll see a selection of the photographs and a copy of the book, which includes images and also Wong's stories. This is a show you want to see, and a book you need to have. JEN GRAVES
This exhibit closes on September 2.
TUESDAY-SUNDAY
ART
NW Art Now
Artists in NW Art Now, the new survey of Northwest art at TAM, are invading the museum as best they can, and succeeding. On the concrete wall of the museum's parking lot, there's a huge sign that looks like an official municipal posting. "NO DOGS," it says. It's by Portland artist Brad Adkins, who mounts authoritative-looking signs actually attached to no authority at all. The signs represent a libertarian streak in Northwestern identity, says curator Rock Hushka, while his other chosen themes for this survey are the progressive standbys of environmentalism, social justice, and race/class/gender identity. His argument is that the Northwest incubates libertarian and liberal tendencies that often conflict, and so its art reflects desires and realities locked in contention. This year, the works are refreshingly varied. JEN GRAVES
This exhibit closes on September 4.
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
ART
Tim Cross
Itâs the liquid quality of Tim Crossâs pigment transfers onto silk that gets me. The imagery doesnât sit still but kind of flows. I canât tell what Iâm looking at, mostly. Itâs just shapes and colors. But I get the sense theyâre connected to something Iâve seen before, something in my actual landscape of buildings, cars, trees, glaring lights. This is Crossâs first show being represented by Bridge Productions. JEN GRAVES
This exhibit closes on September 3.
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY
ART
Posing Beauty in African American Culture
This is a series of photographs from the last century exploring portrayals of beauty and the way African-American people are perceived in portraits, featuring work by artists including Anthony Barboza, Sheila Pree Bright, Leonard Freed, Charles âTeenieâ Harris, Russell Lee, Jamel Shabazz, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, and Ernest C. Withers.
This exhibit closes on September 4.
THURSDAY
ART
First Thursday Art Walk
During September's edition of the city's oldest art walk, look forward to gallery openings, free booze, and the opportunity to mingle with other artsy folks in Pioneer Square. Find a complete list of openings and events on our First Thursday calendar, and make sure not to miss Jen Graves's picks: Susanna Bluhm's March Snow of New York, Ellen Ziegler's Studio Visit, Efrain Almeida's Trance, Fay Jones's Water, John Sarkis's L I F E L I N E S, Samantha Scherer's Aerial, and Things That Kill.
READINGS & TALKS
Loretta Napoleoni
Hear from political journalist Loretta Napoleoni, who has spoken and written frequently about the economies and financing systems of terrorism.
Margin Shift Presents: Khaty Xiong, Sasha LaPointe, manuel arturo abreu, & Leanne Dunic
Jane Wong will host the first fall reading in the Margin Shift series, which will include writers from Ohio, Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle: Khaty Xiong, the first Hmong-American woman in the US to publish a full-length collection of poetry; manuel arturo abreu, a poet from the Bronx who co-facilitates a free pop-up art school in Portland and whose first book is available from Bottlecap Press; Leanne Dunic, the daughter of a Chinese mother and Croatian father who was shortlisted for the Asian-Canadian Emerging Writer Award; and Sasha La Pointe, a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe whose work has appeared in publications including Indian Country Today and The Portland Review.
Megan Snyder-Camp
Megan Snyder-Camp, a Seattle poet whose work has appeared in places including the Antioch Review and PBS NewsHour, will read from two new books of poetry, The Gunnywolf and Wintering, the latter of which incorporates found text from the journals of Lewis and Clark from their experiences at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Seattle StorySLAM
Much like The Moth, this is a live amateur storytelling competition in which audience members who put their names in a hat are randomly chosen to tell stories on a theme. Local comedians tend to show up, but lots of nonperformers get in on the action as well. Tonight's theme is "money," which could cover anything from millionaires to eBay deals to buying a round for the whole bar.
FILM
Prince vs. The Jacksons Sing Along
Sing (and dance!) along to more than 30 videos starring Prince, Michael Jackson, and Janet Jackson at this night of intense music video competition. Who will be crowned the winner?
COMEDY
The Central Comedy Show: Goodbye Gallery/2-Year Anniversary Show
The monthly stand-up showcase, which has featured headliners including Emmett Montgomery, Yogi Paliwal, and Steven Wilber during the last two years, will have its final show at Gallery 1412 tonight before moving. To celebrate their two-year anniversary, they will have former headliners and special guests they "legally can't tell you about."
THURSDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCE
Duels
This play by Nick Stokes and directed by José Amador "bleeds vegetable juice, smashes tomatoes, smears blackberries, speaks Spanish, capitalizes on immigrants, and recedes from suburban now to rural then, when the shooting began."
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCE
Hooded or Being Black for Dummies
Does voting for members of a political party who want to rid universities and workplaces of affirmative action, who pay lip service to white nationalist groups, who push for voter ID laws, and who generally advocate for economic/policing systems that disadvantage black people make a black person less black? That's one of the many questions Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm asks in his West Coast premiere of Hooded or Being Black for Dummies. Tru, a rapper from Baltimore, meets Marquis, a "Republican prep-schooler" living in a white suburb, in a holding cell, and the two tangle over the question of whether blackness is a thing that one can lose and gain. Yes, you should drive/bike/bus to a strip mall in Kent to watch this dramatic conversation about the way notions of blackness form within the minds of youth. Yes, you have timeâhi, Labor Day weekend! And yes, you have the money. The show is free, thanks to a grant that producers Theatre Battery secured from Radical Hospitality. These young theater artists want to participate in a conversation about blackness in Kent. Join them. RICH SMITH
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
FESTIVALS
Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot, Seattle's biggest music, comedy, and arts festival, will take over Seattle Center for Labor Day weekend this year for the 46th year. The lineup includes former locals and now big-time stars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Death Cab for Cutie, and there's also plenty of local talent on the bill, including Erik Blood, Chastity Belt, So Pitted, Lisa Prank, and Maiah Manser. Hot tips: wear comfortable shoes, stay hydrated, and make sure to get an Elephant Ear, because when else during the year can you feel good about eating a giant, fried, cinnamon-sugar pastry? See our complete Bumbershoot calendar for showtimes, critics' picks, and links to listen to music from all the performers.
SATURDAY
QUEER
Pink Party Prime 8
This is it: the boss fight of queer geek parties, and the real reason we look forward to PAX every year. Relax in the "Gayming Lounge" with geek-themed drink specials, a massive cosplay contest with serious cash prizes, and dancing all night long. But don't make Pink Party Prime your only outing: There's also the PAX Countdown party Thursday night at the Kremwork Pokestop (with lures running all night), and Superhard at the Eagle on Sunday to end the weekend in as few articles of clothing possible. Stop by all three parties to unlock maximum achievements, without having to find a ticket for the sold-out convention itself. MATT BAUME
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
ART
Game Recognize Game
Game Recognize Game is a multimedia event that organizer Laura Cassidy of the band Litter Shore describes as âa show about working together and working aloneâabout the challenges and difficulties of partnership and the victories and defeats of solitude.â Not to diminish other aspects like paintings by A Framesâ main songwriter (and Cassidyâs husband) Erin Sullivan or Cassidy's visual text-based pieces or a âmythological music video,â but for music purposes, GRG will be worth attending to hear Litter Shore. Featuring Cassidy, Sullivan (with whom she also played in the eerie experimental-rock group Childrenâs Hospital), Jessa Carter, and Ria Leigh, Litter Shore tap a similar anomic, Quaaluded vein as Childrenâs Hospitalâs 2008 lo-fi, minimalist-psych classic, Alone Together. Besides this, thereâll be a mini market offering goods from several Seattle artists, including Derek Erdman, Sierra Stinson, Joey Veltkamp, and Erin Frost, and more. DAVE SEGAL
SUNDAY
ART
Backstreet Bazaar
On the first Sunday of every month, Hillman City Collaboratory throws a little street festival, featuring live music, food, and local artists. HCC is an energetic new place worth visiting.
THEATER
Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery
On the first Sunday of each month, comedy, variety, and "a parade of wonder and awkward sharing" are hosted by the self-proclaimed "mustache wizard" Emmett Montgomery.
FOOD & DRINK
Sadly, there's not much going on in the world of food this week (unless you want to drive out to Bremerton for a blackberry festival/classic car show, which I don't). However, the thing to not miss this week is clearly the ridiculously gorgeous weather. It ain't exactly an artisan pasta-making class, but my favorite thing to do when global warming blesses us like this is to hit Pike Place, stock up on snacky picnic goods (baguette, boquerones, landjaeger, Marcona almonds, easily spreadable cheese, Castelvetrano olives, etc.), and head to the UW aquatic center to rent a canoe. Paddle around Portage Bay, pull up to a chill spot in the lily pads, and revel in the ludicrous views of Mount Rainier behind the shimmering lake. Boating accidents due to intoxication are no joke, as the many frat boys paddling out with 30-racks of Natty Ice are sure to find out someday, but I'm not gonna say that a bottle of cheap prosecco or a pre-roll wouldn't be a perfect addition to the afternoon. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
