The second half of September means Art + Culture Week is upon us. Recall how I previously mentioned September is Art World Prom in NYC? This week feels like a (much-needed) attempt to recalibrate the Seattle art calendar to match some of that energy. Now in its third year, the annual Art + Culture Week festival is designed to stack as many events as possible at as many galleries and venues as possible within the space of nine days. It’s a great way to get to know new spaces or get to know old ones better. Find the complete calendar of events here.
The keynote event is WALKDONTRUN, now in its second year, which turns downtown into an art-filled corridor. It’s gonna be gorgeous out, so unless you’re going to a wedding or a funeral, you better soak it up. Here are details about that plus some other things I recommend you catch in the coming weeks.
September 17
unpoetry at Frye Art Museum
Our Genius shortlister Eric M. Acosta brings ekphrasis to life with the latest installation of unpoetry at the Frye. This one is inspired by the current exhibit I hear the hollow boom of time, with responsive works by dance artist Noelle Chun; composer, intermedia artist, poet, and archivist María Dolores A. Matienzo; and multi-instrumentalist Tom Scully, who is currently the guitarist for improvised noise duo CSTMR and “gunk-pop” band Black Ends.
Project NW: David Hytone at Tacoma Art Museum
For the past decade, David Hytone has been building a style and process that produces visual stunners—uncanny mixed-media quasi-landscapes on canvas that are populated with hypothetical dream architecture and objects not from the “real” world. His Project NW installation at Tacoma Art Museum leans even harder into nostalgia-tinged dream imagery and gently absurd symbolism (sinking toy ships and carnival roller coasters). He’s also utilized the space to introduce some massive pieces that tip traditional painting into the realm of installation.
September 17-19
The Goldberg Variations at On the Boards
The word “unhinged” is the primary adjective used to describe Clayton Lee’s The Goldberg Variations, opening this week at On the Boards. What’s actually going to unfold onstage tonight is a surprise—each performance is different (you can read a review of the recent iteration at Portland’s Time-Based Art Festival here), but I daresay we’ll be enraptured as Lee uses Bach and wrestling as a vehicle for teasing out fantasies delving into themes of “power dynamics, sexual desire, and vulnerability that entangles queer sexuality with classical music and professional wrestling.”
September 19
WALKDONTRUN
The long-awaited WALKDONTRUN features more than 200 artists spread across 20 blocks of downtown Seattle. Find the full list here. This year, the route is reversed from last year’s, kicking off in Westlake Park at 11 a.m. and ending at Occidental Square. Here are my notes from print: Last year’s wayfinding was a little tricky. If that’s the case again, my advice is to study the route beforehand and plot a path so you don’t miss artists like Dez’Mon Omega Fair, one of my favorite performance artists in town; Charmi Shah, who is hiding collectable, baseball-card-size collages along the route for participants to find and keep; and Jesse Higman, whose interactive paint-pouring technique, performed around a massive tilting table, is an unforgettable experience. Or just wander blindly and let the art happen to you, because the magic of this event is that you get to experience the city in a completely new way.
Cut the Red Tape at Slip Gallery
Seattle was shaped by redlining, a discriminatory housing practice that involved denying mortgages, insurance, or other financial services to Black, Asian American, and other communities of color in certain neighborhoods, resulting in wealth disparities and racial segregation. At Slip Gallery, Rodney King’s Cut the Red Tape addresses this city’s history of redlining and on Saturday the gallery hosts a panel discussion (noon–2 pm) featuring King and guest artists Myron Curry, TR Miles, Vincent Keele, and Jonarra Swanson to discuss gentrification, redlining, and how artists can shape what society remembers.
Social Contract at Actualize AiR
Tommy Gregory and Rachael Comer have curated the fall exhibition at Actualize AiR, which features 17 artists from across the continental US, including The Stranger’s very own Charles Mudede, whose video, Twilight of the Goodtimes, loops across a TV screen haunted by the fallout of late capitalism’s repeated calamities. I’m here for it. An opening reception is scheduled during WALKDONTRUN (4–8 pm) with an artist talk at 5.
September 20
Build Your Own Black Hole at Steve Gilbert Studio
Do astrophysics the hedgewitch way with Meghan Thréinfhir’s Build Your Own Black Hole workshop, from 3–6 pm at Steve Gilbert Studio. Thréinfhir will take you through her solo exhibition, Spacetime Gothic, which features her original black hole in a jar—an inky, liquidy ball of ferrofluid that dances with magnets and has the impeccable title Girls Own The Void (Land Art For Bog Witches). All materials provided but the vessel—just bring a small jar, baby-food size recommended.
September 23
William Kentridge Anything Is Possible at Greg Kucera Gallery
It’s movie night in the gallery. They’re screening the feature documentary William Kentridge Anything Is Possible along with short films by the artist (6–7:30 pm). The doc provides a BTS glimpse inside Kentridge’s studio practice and mind. The selection of shorts, featuring hand-drawn charcoal animations, explores his themes of memory, time, and all kinds of politics-ridden history.
September 24
Day-to-Day: A Life in Sticky Notes at Henry Art Gallery
Artist Clare Johnson has kept a diaristic sticky note drawing practice for two decades, amassing a collection of over 6,000 drawings (and counting). Join Johnson for a talk and hands-on activities that will help you develop your own relationship to making “everyday” art. If you haven’t seen the Day-to-Day exhibition at Henry Art Gallery (I wrote about it here), this is your sign.
Melissa Messer at Spectrum Fine Art
Melissa Messer describes her practice and work as “if Rothko’s daughter were obsessed with form.” I might add Albers to the mix. Messer is a colorist whose use of hue is almost spiritual (in which case, Rothko is the correct comparison). She is also a pre-eminent figurative painter, where the human body becomes an armature upon which to drape shades of deciduous greens, burnt orange, and acid gold. This is Messer’s first solo with Spectrum Fine Art; a formal reception lands on October 8, but you can get a preview this weekend for Art + Culture Week.
September 26
Kelly Bjork: Lunacy at J. Rinehart Gallery
No one in this city is as cool and talented as Kelly Bjork. Her drawings are full of intimacies and bodies, tenderness and acceptance, rendered in beautiful, illustrative precision. Her second solo exhibition at J. Rinehart Gallery, Lunacy, addresses queerness in a time of queer discrimination and violence. The exhibition preview opens today, 1–3 pm.
IMMINENT MODE at ArtLove Salon
The seventh iteration of IMMINENT MODE, held at ArtLove Salon, brings collaborations by six teams of garment designers paired with visual artists to tell stories through wearable art and installation on the runway. This year’s artists include Anouk Rawkson, Jordan Christianson, Shiloh Davies, Shari Noble, Brandon Vosika, Jersey Virago, Dez’Mon Fair, Mariel Andrade, Devon Yan, Ruben David Rodriguez, and Debora Spencer.