Skip to content

New Seattle Art Fair Artistic Director on Exploring the Good, Bad and Ugly of Tech

Philly native Nato Thompson says this year’s fourth annual expo will explore changing forces within Seattle’s art scene

By Gavin Borchert August 2, 2018

art-machine

This article originally appeared in the August 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the August 2018 issue. Click here to subscribe.

“I know deeply how important it is to develop a complex cultural economy to support the arts. The Seattle Art Fair has given me the platform to do something that speaks to a broader community outside the traditional gallery or museum setting. Since Seattle is famously the home of many internet and tech companies, I’m eager to highlight work that is thinking through the good, bad and ugly of these profound, world-changing forces. These programming highlights include a prototype of artist Trevor Paglen’s satellite, ‘Orbital Reflector,’ that he’s launching into space at the end of the summer; Heather Dewey-Hagborg’s installation ‘Probably Chelsea,’ which features algorithmically generated masks of [transgender activist] Chelsea Manning using her DNA; and performances by machines made by [artist and inventor] Mark Pauline’s Survival Research Laboratories.”

8/2–8/5. Times and prices vary. CenturyLink Field Event Center, downtown, 1000 Occidental Ave. S; 212.518.6912; seattleartfair.com

 

Follow Us

A New Year of Influence

A New Year of Influence

Seattle magazine’s Most Influential list kicks off 2026 with leaders across the city.

New year, new issue! As we kick off 2026, Seattle magazine is proud to present this year’s cohort of the Most Influential list, which showcases local leaders in politics, philanthropy, arts, hospitality, and business. Determined, creative, empathetic, humble, and bold are just a few of the words you’ll see describing them—each one has achieved great…

The Queen of the Seattle World’s Fair

The Queen of the Seattle World’s Fair

With a fur coat and gold Cadillac, Gracie Hansen struck a figure. Her business savvy and whip-smart humor made her a star.

In 1960, a group of well-attired men from the Seattle World’s Fair planning committee gathered in a downtown office. With the fair only two years away, people were starting to pitch their business ideas and on this day, some lady wanted to meet with them to do the same. At the scheduled time, the door…

Cookies From Home

Cookies From Home

Seattle author Kat Lieu introduces a first-of-its-kind cookbook centered on Asian cookies.

Kat Lieu has built a career out of baking, storytelling, and standing up for what she believes in. A former doctor of physical therapy turned bestselling cookbook author, she’s based in Seattle, is the founder of the online community Subtle Asian Baking and is the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home, a book that…

Photo Essay: The Relief of the Moment

Photo Essay: The Relief of the Moment

Words and photography by Nick Ward.

Photography tricks my ADHD brain into doing something borderline miraculous: It allows me to focus on exactly one thing at a time. When I press the shutter and hear that lovely little ka-chunk, the inner chatter winks out. I feel oddly connected to the moment by being outside it, observing through the frame instead of…