Food & Drink
OBAMA Celebrates Bad Art
Upstairs at Café Racer, feast your eyes on the Official Bad Art Museum of Art
By Sam Steele May 3, 2020
This article originally appeared in the May 2020 issue of Seattle magazine.
When Marlow Harris and her husband, Jo David, were given free rein over 10 square feet of a friend’s café back in 2008, they decided to honor two of their favorite things: then presidential candidate Barack Obama and bad art. Today, most of the pieces in the Official Bad Art Museum of Art at Café Racer still come from Harris’ personal collection, although the Jesus made of marshmallow Peeps is by local artist Janet Galore. Now constituting the café’s entire second floor, the OBAMA Room not only serves as a cozy refuge for Racer regulars, but provides what owner Jeff Ramsey describes as “an alternative to exposed wood, wrought iron and fake ferns,” giving young techie transplants a space to recharge away from Amazonia, and older Seattleites a little bit of grunge nostalgia.
Follow Us
Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing
Seattle resident Joshua Gidding examines his own white privilege
In his book, Old White Man Writing, Seattle resident Joshua Gidding attempts to come to terms with his privilege. Gidding grapples with the rapidly changing cultural norms in 21st-century America while examining his own racial biases and prejudices. As Manhattan Book Review notes: “Old White Man Writing is an introspective deep dive into an eventful life…
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,…
How Taproot Theatre Survived A Financial Crisis
Theatre is planning for its 50th birthday next year
Karen Lund vividly remembers that sinking feeling she had in the fall of 2023. That was when Lund, producing artistic director of Taproot Theatre Co., first realized that the financially strapped, midsized professional theatre in the Greenwood neighborhood might not survive. The theatre had already weathered the worst of the pandemic, but costs were mounting….
Humanities Washington Fights ‘Midnight’ Cuts
Nonprofit loses previously approved federal grants with little warning
The letter came without warning, like a slap in the face from an invisible hand. Humanities Washington CEO and Executive Director Julie Ziegler had already been talking with peers in other states, and she readied herself for the blow. The National Endowment for the Humanities (think DOGE) had terminated her nonprofit’s previously awarded federal grant…