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Jo Koy will drop by Climate Pledge on his current world tour, which comes on the heels of his upcoming flick Easter Sunday and his recent Netflix special, Jo Koy: Live From The Los Angeles Forum. The jovial Filipino American comic, who you might’ve peeped as a panelist on Chelsea Lately, recently popped by the Pacific Northwest to celebrate his memoir, Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo. (He described the tome as a “kick-ass tale of how a half-Filipino, half-white kid whose mom thought [and still thinks] his career goal was to become a clown became a success.”) This time around, he’ll share brand-new material. Will it be clownish? Only one way to find out. LC
Climate Pledge Arena, Uptown (Fri Apr 5)
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Check in with the current cast of the classic Emmy-nominated show Whose Line Is It Anyway? on this comedy tour of unpredictable tomfoolery. In true improv style, audience members will shout out suggestions for Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray, who will then create uproarious scenes off the cuff. LC
Moore Theatre, Belltown (Sat Apr 6)
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Despite being nominated for seven Grammys, Jim Gaffigan still feels like an everyman—like, I think I could talk to him about my landlord’s refusal to replace my broken dishwasher, and he’d at least attempt to understand it. I’m probably completely wrong, but you know what I mean, right? Anyway, the relatively family-friendly dude will crack some jokes about his impressive food consumption and the trials and tribulations of daily life on this tour. (Promotional materials report that he lives in Manhattan with his wife and five “loud and expensive” children, so prepare for anecdotes about their antics.) LC
Paramount Theatre, Downtown (Apr 11–14)
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Few comedic roles live on in the public consciousness like Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon and Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope—even if you’ve somehow never watched a single episode of 30 Rock or Parks and Recreation, you know damn well who they are. The comedy queens, who, unsurprisingly, are also BFFs, will celebrate 30 years of camaraderie with jokes, stories, and “conversational entertainment,” which I hope involves Tina eating her night cheese. LC
WaMu Theater, SoDo (Sat Apr 13)
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America could do with more Muslim comics and their under-acknowledged observations, especially if they’re as sharp-witted as Hasan Minhaj. His charming demeanor belies a deceptively acerbic humor, honed during his trenchant appearances on The Daily Show. Minhaj truly rose to the occasion at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he delivered hundreds of punishing left jabs at right-wing politicians. It was a roast for the ages, and if it made the president’s blood pressure rise to dangerous levels, Minhaj deserves a Nobel Prize. His Netflix special Homecoming King proved he could conceive exceptionally moving personal comedy, too. STRANGER CONTRIBUTOR DAVE SEGAL
Paramount Theatre, Downtown (Fri Apr 19)
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Upper Left Comedy Fest will return for its third year with three days of solid stand-up acts and after-parties for laugh addicts. The buzzy festival showcases some of the best in local and national talent, including side-splitters and audience faves like Monica Nevi, Timmy Booth, Juno Men, and Vanessa Dawn. You’ll find gigs at Here-After and the Rendezvous, so head out for guaranteed giggles. LC
Various locations (Apr 25–27)
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As we speak, tulips are blooming in Skagit Valley and calling on you to come dance in their fields, take influencer/dating profile pics, and simply spend a moment stopping to smell the flowers. We recommend checking online before you go for each garden’s ticket price (there are four different ones, but at least all parking is free!) and status of the blooms. Towns in the area make the most of the floral festivities by hosting dozens of events ranging from the annual parade on Saturday, April 6 in La Conner to a salmon barbecue, mountain film festival, and pickleball tournament April 25 to 28 in Mount Vernon. Check out this comprehensive brochure for all the activities, art shows, performances, tours, and local eateries. SL
Various locations, Skagit Valley (Apr 1–30)
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White Center is home to one of our state’s largest Cambodian communities—each year, they celebrate Cambodian New Year at the end of the harvest season. During this street festival, the day will start with a monk’s blessing, guest speakers and poets, and roban, a classical Khmer blessing dance. Stick around for an open dance floor, traditional games, and a bok lahong (green papaya salad) contest. SL
SW 98th St (Between 15th & 16th Ave SW), White Center (Sat Apr 27)
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If you consider life to be both an endless pursuit of beauty and philosophical challenges, I humbly suggest that you watch more ’60s- and ’70s-era Italian films. Viva Italia! makes it easy—the selection of straordinari film italiani boasts rare 35mm prints and 4K restorations, includes a screening of the unmatched Pasolini drama Mamma Roma. Chef’s kiss. LC
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown (Apr 3–24)
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Juzo Itami’s “ramen western” follows a band of milk truck drivers whose pit stop at a roadside noodle shop blossoms into a quest for the perfect noodle recipe. The genre-bending 1985 film is segmented by stirring stories that don’t relate to the main plot, but speak to the emotional power of food. Slurp it up in a new 4K restoration at this screening. LC
Central Cinema, Central District (Apr 12–16)
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Ryuichi Sakamoto, Oscar-winning composer, unparalleled style icon, and one of the three melodic geniuses behind the Tokyo electronic outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra, passed away last year after a battle with cancer. (Chances are good that you’ve heard YMO’s arty electro-pop tunes, but if not, throw this on before continuing.) Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus is Sakamoto’s swan song—as a parting gift in 2022, he curated, sequenced, and performed a piano concert that “wordlessly narrates his life through his wide-ranging oeuvre.” You’ll hear selections from his pop icon days in YMO, his scores created for Bernardo Bertolucci, and his reflective final album. LC
SIFF Theaters (Opens Apr 12)
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If you aren’t riveted by the prospect of this film, well, we’re two very different people. David and Nathan Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset follows a family of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) over the course of one year, as they wander, grunt, and munch mushrooms in North America’s foggy forests. Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg star, and they look like this. We owe it to them to go see this film as payment for the zillion hours they spent having prosthetics applied. LC
SIFF Theaters (Opens Apr 18)
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Programmed in collaboration with artist Rana San and Seattle writer Chelsea Werner-Jatzke, this experimental festival explores the boundaries of video poetry through screenings, workshops, and discussions. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the festival honors video poetry as both a literary genre and a complex visual landscape, facilitating opportunities for critical and creative growth within the medium. LC
Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill (Apr 19–28)
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Gourmands across Seattle rejoice over this twice-yearly event, which gives diners the opportunity to try curated menus for $20, $35, $50, and $65 at dozens of restaurants. It’s an excellent opportunity to branch out of your usual rotation of tried-and-true favorites and cross some destinations off your culinary bucket list. Round up some friends to join you, and don’t forget to tip your server generously. JB
Various locations (Apr 14–27)
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Founded in Canada, this expo invites everyone from hardcore vegans to the herbicurious to learn about living a more plant-based lifestyle. Hear from speakers like vegan bodybuilder Nimai Delgado (I’m hoping to learn new ways of responding to the age old “where do you get your protein” question) and sample foods from dozens of vendors, including Bainbridge Island-based Cakes for Breakfast, Portland’s Cultured Kindness (mmm, cashew cheese), and Hippie Snacks (think granola and crisps) from Vancouver. With Earth Day around the corner, there’s no better time to make choices that help our dying planet (yes, that heatwave in early spring was nice, but also terrifying). SL
Seattle Convention Center, Downtown (Apr 20–21)
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In 2021, a new pasta shape entered the scene. With a convincingly Italian-sounding name, cascatelli took the foodie world by storm (to be fair, the root of the word, cascate, does mean “waterfalls”). Dan Pashman, James Beard Award-winning host of the Sporkful podcast, invented this pasta shape because he was frustrated by all others in existence (see the “Spaghetti Sucks” episode) and wanted to create a shape that was more “forkable” and better at holding sauce. Social media featured tons of people cooking the new shape, but Pashman was disappointed by the lack of creativity in the dish as a whole. His response: releasing his first cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes For Saucy People. Hear him discuss it with local comedian and writer Lindy West in the first ever live taping of a Sporkful episode. SL
Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Fremont (Tues Apr 30)
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PNW rock royalty Sleater-Kinney will swing by for a two-night stint in Seattle to support their new album Little Rope. The cathartic, post-punk-driven album tackles personal and national grief with nods to the loss of Brownstein’s parents and the overturn of Roe v. Wade. In a statement from the band, Brownstein writes, “We’re always mixing the personal and the political but on this record, despite obviously thinking so much about politics, we were really thinking about the person—ourselves or versions of ourselves or iterations of depression or loneliness—in the middle of the chaos.” NYC indie rock project Palehound will open. AV
The Showbox, Downtown (Apr 2–3)
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Former Stranger writer Jas Keimig once compared Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara’s captivating vocal range to Sade, noting that her unique voice “skips like a rock over water across different registers.” Diawara will get the crowd on their feet with her futuristic blend of traditional Malian folk, Wassoulou music, R&B grooves, and fuzzed-out electric guitars that blaze through her latest album London Ko. AV
Neptune Theatre, University District (Fri Apr 5)
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Laufey is single-handedly making vocal jazz cool again. The Icelandic singer-songwriter has garnered the attention of Gen Z with her instrumentally sparse songs about young love in self-discovery. The songs are pithy enough to go viral on TikTok while also traditional enough to play while having dinner with your grandparents. She will stop by to support her sophomore album, Bewitched, alongside singer-songwriter Grace Enger. AV
Paramount Theatre, Downtown (Tues Apr 9)
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I am a regular listener of the feminist philosophy/pop culture podcast Binchtopia—a “Binchie” to be precise (IYKYK)—so, the fact that I will be in the presence of my parasocial bestie Eliza McLamb this month has me shaking in my boots. If you know anything about her podcast with Julia Hava, then you know that McLamb is incredibly insightful about the trials of girlhood, which is the heart of her debut album, Going Through It. Exploring female friendships (“Glitter”), parentified children (“Bird”), social media addiction (“Modern Woman”), and being mythologized by boys (“Mythologize Me”), the album chronicles her own experiences of growing up through tender folk-tinged lullabies and ferocious indie rock anthems. She will support the album alongside the LA-based indie rock project Mini Trees. AV
Barboza, Capitol Hill (Fri Apr 12)
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Chastity Belt’s debut album No Regerts instantly transports me to the summer of 2013—driving around Alki Beach in my friend’s VW Cabriolet, scheming for beers, complaining about boys, and shouting the lyrics to “Giant Vagina.” It isn’t just my personal memories that tie this album to the sunny season, but it’s the breezy guitars, the lyrics that evoke the freedom of a summer break, and frontwoman Julia Shapiro’s free-flowing, full-bodied vocals. When I hear the opening chords of “Black Sail,” I swear I can hear the crack of a Rainier beer opening. Now, a decade later, the quartet will play a hometown show to support their latest release, Live Laugh Love, which beautifully showcases their knack for riding the line between satire and sincerity. Don’t miss an opening set from the LA-based indie pop trio Peel Dream Magazine. AV
The Crocodile, Belltown (Thurs Apr 18)
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Cheekface has been around since 2017, but it was four years later that they really captured the voice of our generation with the song “We Need a Bigger Dumpster.” KEXP wouldn’t stop playing it, and for good reason—with its guitar-driven rhythms and tongue-in-cheek lyrics like “I caught a cold / I coughed on all my friends / Now everyone is coughing on everybody else / And we’re coughing on our doctors and our doctors cough out / ‘EVERYTHING IS FINE.'” the song is equal parts catchy indie rock and social commentary. Lead singer Greg Katz’s talk-singing puts the message front-and-center as we bob our heads and smile wryly to the beat in spite of (because of?) existential dread. Hazy bedroom pop artist Yungatita will open this show. SL
Madame Lou’s at the Crocodile, Belltown (Sun Apr 21)
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If you’re not yet familiar with the work of Kath Bloom, allow me to introduce you. The Connecticut-born singer-songwriter released a handful of albums in the late ’70s/early ’80s with the avant-garde guitarist Loren Connors. Both Bloom and Connors individually shine with their emotionally resonant, intuitive style, so their collaborative work is truly transcendent (if you queue it up, be ready to wrap yourself in a blanket and cry for several hours). Bloom’s voice is raw, emotive, and often sounds as if she’s on the edge of tears, crooning poet lyrics about physical and emotional closeness. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see Bloom on her PNW tour alongside fellow folk troubadours Leon Majcen and Amanda Winterhalter. AV
The Rabbit Box Theatre, Pike Place Market (Sun Apr 21)
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You can go ahead and file Mannequin Pussy under bands I love whose name I hate (it’s not out of prudishness, I promise). Besides, making the effort to overlook an off-putting band name is a telltale sign that the band is really good. The quartet originated in Philadelphia in 2010, and more than a decade later, their sound has gotten more and more refined. In my opinion, their new album I Got Heaven is their greatest accomplishment thus far with melodic post-riot grrrl riffs, cathartic lyricism, and percussion that you can feel in your bones. They will support the album alongside fellow Philly hardcore trio Soul Glo. AV
The Crocodile, Belltown (Tues Apr 30)
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Canada’s Drag Race season one contestant and unabashed drag clown Jimbo will head to Seattle sans bologna to continue her reign as one of the world’s most beloved bizarre queens. Prepare yourself for the weirdest show on earth. LC
Neptune Theatre, University District (Tues Apr 2)
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Celebrating a “diverse garden” of performance artists, SpringShot serves as a launch pad for brand-new dance, theater, burlesque, and comedy shorts over three weekends, come rain or shine. Popping up like one of those bright magician’s bouquets, over 30 artists will appear during three choose-your-own-price performances. Step outside to see week one’s shows, which feature Si-Inni, Coco Justino, Ashley King, Erin Popelka, Daisy Dot, Bebe Abundance, Sinful Sugar, Vivienne Minx, Fawna Fae Tal, and others.
18th & Union: An Arts Space, Cherry Hill (Apr 4–13)
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Seattle’s own “Second Lady of Entertainment,” master humorist, and demented drag diva will make her inaugural Vashon debut with Dina Martina: Sub-Standards, which promises some uncouth razzle-dazzle. Martina will deliver the surreal comedy and “overburdened costumes” for which she’s been known and loved for over 25 years. (The freaky queen’s art form goes beyond your standard drag show—John Waters once described Martina’s act as “some new kind of twisted art”—so buckle in for something beautifully gnarly.) LC
Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon (Apr 5–6)
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Indigiqueer legend and Seattle Rep Native artist-in-residence Howie Echo-Hawk will make an appearance at this “night of extravagance, self-indulgence, and abundance.” Drop by to shop local vendors, dance to live tunes, and enjoy performances by stand-ups and storytellers. The event promises “intentionally awkward moments for Caucasians,” and if you saw Seattle Rep’s Between Two Knees last year, you know what you’re in for. LC
Seattle Repertory Theatre, Uptown (Sat Apr 6)
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Pacific Northwest Ballet will present a fresh array of ballet for this performance, including a performance of Crystal Pite’s artful work The Seasons’ Canon. Back by popular demand, the “mesmerizing work” features 54 dancers “moving as one organism to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons,” which sounds like a very sophisticated way to celebrate the coming of spring. Twyla Tharp’s Shaker-influenced work Sweet Fields and Jessica Lang’s “stunning solo work” The Calling will round out the show. LC
McCaw Hall, Uptown (Apr 12–21)
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“Guess who’s Black in the house, bitch! Yas!” Fishy spitfire, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season four co-winner, and Sibling Rivalry podcast host Monét X Change will head to Seattle for an evening of stand-up comedy eleganza. You probably already know Monét for her congeniality and lip-syncing skills, but it should come as no surprise that she can also bring sociopolitical hilarity—she slaughtered as Maya Angelou in RPDR season 10’s snatch game. (In the words of Monét as Maya, “If these hoes try to come for me, I surely will cut thee.”) LC
Neptune Theatre, University District (Tues Apr 30)
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Seattleite Kat Lieu, also known as the founder of the wildly popular Facebook group Subtle Asian Baking and the author of Modern Asian Baking at Home, is back with her second cookbook, Modern Asian Kitchen. The book aims to empower home cooks to create myriad meals from a variety of Asian cultures, including air fryer Taiwanese popcorn chicken, Sichuan-style fish-fragrant eggplant, homemade pho, weeknight bibimbap bowls, and much more. Kat will join Book Larder for a cooking demo, Q&A, and book signing.
Book Larder, Fremont (Wed Apr 3)
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Whether you’re prejudiced against parsnips or biased against beets, local cookbook author Becky Selengut is here to help you gently break down your aversions to veggies that have traditionally gotten the short end of the stick. Her newest release Misunderstood Vegetables is dedicated to this very mission, with seasonal recipes like charred chard with spicy chili oil and celery root gratin, sure to convert even the pickiest palates. She’ll chat about the plight of unpopular produce with Seattle Times food critic (and former Stranger food writer and managing editor) Bethany Jean Clement. JB
Town Hall Seattle, First Hill (Wed Apr 3)
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If you haven’t had a chance to read James Beard Award-winning local writer Geraldine DeRuiter’s fierce, incendiary viral essay “I Made the Pizza Cinnamon Rolls from Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter,” go do that right now. Her hysterical review of an absurd meal at the Michelin-starred restaurant Bros. is equally worth your time. Luckily for us all, DeRuiter has brought her scathing wit to a new collection of essays entitled If You Can’t Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury. Join her for an evening sure to interest “how patriarchy, pop culture, and plated dishes intersect, or who are just seeking some levity.” JB
Town Hall Seattle, First Hill (Fri Apr 5)
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Former Seattleite, formidable poet, genre-crossing artist, TEDx speaker, and podcaster Anastacia-Reneé’s funky, feminist collection Side Notes from the Archivist: Poems illuminated Black femme culture through coming-of-age poems set in ’80s Philly, and it had me awe-inspired just last year. (“The deft tonal shifts of Anastacia-Reneé’s words and delivery amuse, disarm and devastate,” said the Seattle Times.) She’s somehow already back with Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere, a “bold hybrid collection of poetry, flash fiction, and Afrofuturism sci-fi,” which sounds incredible. Show up to her talk with fellow author Noni Ervin to become a super fan. LC
Elliott Bay Book Company, Capitol Hill (Fri Apr 12)
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Ditch your delivery habit and create a fun new weeknight ritual to look forward to with food writer and Alexandra’s Kitchen blogger Alexandra Stafford’s latest release, Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad. The book contains exactly 52 seasonal pizzas, each with their own salad pairing, so you’ll be set for a year of weekly home pizza nights, a prospect I find delightful. From Detroit-style pizza to winter white pizza with garlic and herbs, Alexandra will guide you through the intricacies of making produce-laden pies that will impress your friends and family. Alexandra will join Book Larder for an author talk, Q&A, and book signing.
Book Larder, Fremont (Mon Apr 22)
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“It’s a shame that Tessa Hulls will never write another graphic novel,” said Rich Smith in a recent review of Feeding Ghosts. “The 400-page odyssey holds its own in the company of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do, or any of the other major comic works that feature immigrants, the children of immigrants, and refugees processing the generational traumas sparked by the horrors, bloodshed, and diasporas of the 20th century. No shit. It’s just that good.” Hulls, the lead artist in the recently closed Wing Luke Museum exhibition Nobody Lives Here, has been developing her genre-bending graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts for the last decade. The tome tells the story of three generations of women in her family—her Chinese grandmother Sun Yi, a bestselling author and journalist in Shanghai during the ’49 Communist victory; her mother, who came to the United States and eventually cared for Sun Yi; and herself. At 30, Hulls begins to reflect on her travels to Antarctica and how she might be running from her own history—Feeding Ghosts meets the reader there. Hulls will be joined by writers Michelle Peñaloza and Jane Wong, whose recent memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, traces her upbringing in a Chinese takeout restaurant on the Jersey shore. LC
Elliott Bay Book Company, Capitol Hill (Tues Apr 23)
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Hanif Abdurraqib is the best friend I never met. Having spent years reading his work—his essays, his poetry, his music criticism—it feels as though we’ve spent half a lifetime together sitting on floors, listening to records, and exchanging observations about everyone from Aretha Franklin to My Chemical Romance. He doesn’t write at you, as so many culture critics do—his prose opens up and pulls you into whatever little world he’s spinning in his brain. You don’t just understand his observations, you often feel them, too. He’ll be at Town Hall in support of his new book There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, which NPR, Time, Chicago Review of Books, and Lit Hub, among many others, have deemed as one of the most anticipated books of 2024. I can’t fucking wait. STRANGER CULTURE EDITOR MEGAN SELING
Town Hall Seattle, First Hill (Wed Apr 24)
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Recipe developer and food stylist Jess Damuck worked for Martha Stewart in various capacities for over a decade—including a stint as her personal chef, during which time she’d craft her signature “three-hour salads” for the legendary home and cooking mogul herself. Her 2022 debut cookbook Salad Freak detailed how to craft these leafy masterpieces. With her latest release Health Nut, Damuck’s set her sights on updating traditional “hippie health food” like smoothies, stir-fries, and grain bowls, adding a modern twist to these granola-core staples. This results in nourishing, well-rounded dishes like brothy white beans with parmesan and pesto, or crispy rice and salmon bowls with quick pickles and greens. She’ll visit Book Larder to chat about her fresh approach to wholesome cuisine. JB
Book Larder, Fremont (Thurs Apr 25)
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If you follow the goings-on in contemporary literature, you’ve probably seen more than a few nods to Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which was released in 2022 to significant fanfare, including New York Times bestseller status and a lofty 4.18 review ranking on Goodreads. In my opinion, one of the book’s merits is that it might get your non-reader friends to pick it up: The plot follows three friends who begin a video game company together. (This perked up my partner’s ears–try it yourself.) Zevin will visit Seattle for a Q&A session with Ruchika Tulshyan, who covers diversity and leadership for Forbes. LC
Town Hall Seattle, First Hill (Thurs Apr 25)
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Shirking trendier art locales like Paris, African American visual and performing artists (Doug Crutchfield, Herb Gentry, Dexter Gordon, William Henry Johnson, Howard Smith, and others) sought new opportunities in Nordic countries, but their work—and stories—have often been overlooked. (“Life in the Nordic countries could appear idyllic, but upon examining [the artists’] stories more closely…you begin to see hints of elements of the African American past, like cotton fields and a shanty,” National Nordic Museum explains.) Curated by Dr. Ethelene Whitmire and Leslie Anne Anderson, Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century examines the complicated experiences these artists had in Nordic countries. LC
National Nordic Museum, Ballard (Apr 2–July 21)
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Artists Mia Imani and Mayola Tikaka call upon the extraordinary visions of Octavia Butler for this installation, which features a low-lit resting space, an altar, and imagery of Black rest. Head to King Street Station to contemplate Butler’s visionary worlds, which counteract intergenerational trauma and stress often experienced by Black people with a “portal of healing and imagining.” By the way, Butler prophesized an eerily accurate, destabilized world in 2024, so Imani and Tikaka’s rest space has arrived just in time. Throughout the exhibition, visitors can engage with rest rituals, hear interviews, and watch performances by the artists. LC
King Street Station, SoDo (Apr 3–May 23)
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While you might not be welcome to touch the works in the cozy-sounding Tacoma Art Museum exhibition Soft Power, visitors are encouraged to join in on the creation of a large-scale, collaborative soft artwork in the gallery space. Soft Power includes textile explorations of cultural heritage, personal narratives, social criticism, and expressions of care, including works by key contemporary creators like Allyce Wood, Alexis Lee Ortiz-Duarte, Marie Watt, Marita Dingus, Monyee Chau, and many others. Filament, a monthly film screening series conceived in dialogue with the exhibition, will continue with an unannounced flick on April 14. LC
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma (Apr 3–Sept 1)
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Spring is a great season and all, but it’s also kind of weird. Newly hatched nestlings emerge with pinkish, bald heads, and crocuses expand from the grass next to the muddied slush that’s still plopped in the gutters. As we emerge from the darkness of winter, it takes a moment for the season to feel real. Spring, Time conjures some of the surreality I’m describing—the artists involved, including Anneka Wilder, Sharon Servilio, Yeon Jin Kim, and others, are thinking about mechanically grown grass, plastic flowers, and misbehaving creatures. I’m intrigued by Colton Sampson’s barbed-wire flora. LC
The Vestibule, Ballard (Apr 4–13)
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Tacoma-based artist Anida Yoeu Ali’s solo debut at the Seattle Art Museum blends elements of performance, religious aesthetics, and mythical heroines to disrupt notions of otherness, “transcend the ordinary,” and reflect on her upbringing as a Cham-Muslim refugee who migrated from Cambodia. In Hybrid Skin, Mythical Presence, two site-specific performances by Ali—The Buddhist Bug and The Red Chador—are explored through transformative “artifacts,” including garments worn by the artist and others during the performances, plus videos, photographs, and installation art. Visitors can return later in spring to see the artifacts come to life: Ali will perform The Red Chador on June 1. LC
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Capitol Hill (Apr 4–July 7)
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Transdisciplinary artist Martine Gutierrez creates twists on pop culture tropes through elaborate narrative scenes. Using a wide range of mediums connected to mass media, from music videos to billboard campaigns and satirical fashion magazines, Gutierrez explores constructions of self and their own multicultural, first-generation identity as an artist of Indigenous descent. This presentation of Gutierrez’s work was organized in conjunction with their upcoming Monsen Photography Lecture, an annual talk that brings key makers and thinkers in photographic practice to the Henry. LC
Henry Art Gallery, University District (Apr 4–July 28)
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As part of Frye’s ongoing Boren Banner Series, Seoul-born, Portland-based artist Samantha Wall’s intricate stenciled work, which draws from her nuanced perspectives as a Black-Korean immigrant, will become bigger and more visible on the facade of the Frye Art Museum. Drop by the museum to see the artist’s larger-than-life, mythical serpent-woman, which pulls from Korean lore to “push against the exoticization of those who are perceived as other” and “present femininity as a powerful, liminal state of being.” LC
Frye Art Museum, First Hill (Apr 10–Oct 6)
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