Rachel Gallaher
Glacial Expressions
Local scientist and painter Jill Pelto spotlights climate change in a multi-artist show at Slip Gallery
The divide between the arts and sciences is long-fostered and well-documented. From elementary school onward, children are often singled out for their penchant for math or artistic ability and guided toward classes — and later careers — that align with their right or left brain tendencies. For Jill Pelto — a local climate scientist, painter,…
Conru Foundation Launches Seattle Prize Masters Fellowship
Effort seeks to cultivate early career artists
After a successful run in the tech world, engineer and entrepreneur Andrew Conru, founder of the namesake Conru Foundation, is leaning in to one of his personal passions — art — with the launch of the Seattle Prize Masters Fellowship. Announced recently through the Conru Art Foundation, the one-year program, according to a press release,…
Rethinking the Residency
Community-focused Actualize provides space and support to artists
One night in December 2023, industrial designer Kate Bailey sat down to dinner with philanthropists and art supporters Shari D. Behnke and Edie Adams. It was a routine get-together at Adams’ house — the three women, each deeply involved in Seattle’s creative community, had grown close, bonding over their love of art. Adams and Bailey…
Ai Weiwei’s Biggest U.S. Show Opens at SAM
The retrospective covers 40 years of the conceptual artist’s career
This week, the Seattle Art Museum opened the largest-ever U.S. exhibition featuring the work of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Spanning four decades of the artist’s career, Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei (March 12–Sept. 7) includes 130 works — a mix of sculpture, video, painting, wallpaper, furniture, and installation —…
Spring Arts in Seattle
Shake off the winter blues with a fresh crop of arts happenings around the Emerald City
Spring brings a vibrant season of arts performances, celebrating renewal and creativity. Here’s a roundup of major arts events happening across Seattle this spring. Dance One of the buzziest performances to hit the Pacific Northwest Ballet stage in years, Crystal Pite’s Emergence returns on March 14, sharing the bill with the late Jerome Robbins’ neoclassical…
A Weekend in Park City with the Best Snow I’ve Ever Skied
Known for its luxury resorts and powder days, this tiny Utah town is a must-visit for outdoor enthusiasts and après-lovers alike.
Last month, I found myself standing at the top of Prospector — a black-diamond run at the Park City Mountain Resort In Utah. I’d just sailed down the first part of Parley’s Park, a straightforward blue, and it was absolutely dumping snow. A fairly new skier for someone who grew up in Seattle (it was…
Most Influential: Amy Tipton
Gallery owner, advocate
Amy Tipton is nothing if not resourceful. In 2013, shortly after opening her now-shuttered Belltown boutique Sassafras, she decided to resurrect the neighborhood’s monthly art walk, which had fizzled after Roq La Rue Gallery moved south to Pioneer Square. “I found an old map of the locations that used to participate, then reached out to…
Secrets of the Sound
A new mystery novel by local author Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum draws from her personal experiences
Writer Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum grew up surrounded by words. As children, she and her sister enjoyed falling asleep to their mother’s voice as she read books before bed, and their father — a Lutheran pastor and poet — spent every Sunday working on his sermons, reciting the words aloud as he wrote. “Being around a…
Most Influential: Susan Lieu
Author, Playwright
Last spring, after publishing her first book, Vietnamese American author, playwright, and performer Susan Lieu went on a 30-stop national tour culminating in an event with the Vietnam Society at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. Along the way, Lieu garnered reviews and praise from media outlets including the New York Times, NPR, Kirkus…
‘Winter ’25’ Explores What Connects Us
Three choreographers premiere powerful new works for Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Studio
Choreographer Olivier Wevers has always been open about his collaborative process, especially when it comes to working with the members of his contemporary dance company Whim W’Him. From allowing them to help choose the artists they want to work with in the annual Choreographic Shindig to asking for input and feedback during rehearsals, Wevers draws…
Most Influential: Matika Wilbur
Photographer, Activist
When Tidelands Gallery opened last September along Seattle’s rapidly evolving waterfront, it was, in a sense, a full-circle moment for photographer Matika Wilbur. The 6,000-square foot Indigenous-owned creative space, comprising an art gallery, production studio, rental space, and boutique, is just steps away from the Pike Place Hill Climb, where Wilbur had her first studio….
Most Influential: Nia-Amina Minor
Dance
For dancer and choreographer Nia-Amina Minor — a cofounder of Black Collectivity with David Rue, marco farroni leonardo, and Akoiya Harris — collaboration is at the core of her practice. A longtime dancer (Minor moved to Seattle to join Spectrum Dance Theater), it wasn’t until attending grad school at UC Irvine that she seriously dove…
Most Influential: Nick Ferderer
Entrepreneur, Activist
With a background in government relations, legislative advocacy, and business strategy — including stints at the U.S. Department of Commerce and Microsoft — Nick Ferderer admits that he isn’t the first person to come to mind as an art gallery owner. And yet, in just three short years, Ferderer has opened two of the city’s…
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