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FILM
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This inclusive festival centers films by Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing filmmakers from around the world, with flicks screened in person April 5-7 and streamed online April 8-22. The fest will showcase 44 films from 11 countries, including standouts like The Tuba Thieves, a sensory docufiction that uses a series of “unusual thefts occurred targeting twelve Southern California high school band rooms” as a jumping-off point, and Extraordinary Women, a short film program in which “multi-talented trailblazing Deaf and Deafblind women are front and center.” LC
(Virtual)
LIVE MUSIC
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Before seeing her magnetic opening set for Carly Rae Jepsen’s Seattle show last fall, I was admittedly unfamiliar with the genius of Empress Of (aka Lorely Rodriguez). I was mesmerized by Rodriguez’s performance style, which involved standing amid free-standing mirrors and dancing her heart out while singing ethereal electro-pop songs in a lavender fairy-esque outfit. I was immediately obsessed with tracks like “When I’m With Him” and “Women Is a Word.” Unfortunately, her current tour does not include any proper concerts in the Pacific Northwest. However, she will stop by KEXP this week for a live in-studio performance to support her critically acclaimed new album For Your Consideration. The studio session is free and open to the public, but admission is limited—you’ve been warned! Snag your tickets in person 90 minutes before the set (or just watch it on YouTube afterward). AV
(KEXP, Uptown)
OUTDOORS
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It’s Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate MOTHER herself than by getting out in nature? Washington State Parks is making things easy by waiving entrance fees for the day, so go ahead, play hooky from work. On a typical day, access to one of these natural gems will set you back $10 for a one-day pass or $30 for an annual pass, so fee-free days like this help make the outdoors accessible to all. The closest parks to Seattle proper are Bridle Trails in Kirkland and Saint Edward State Park on the northern shores of Lake Washington; both are about a 30-minute drive. JW
(Various locations)
READINGS & TALKS
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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. JB
(Book Larder, Fremont)
LIVE MUSIC
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Combo Chimbita is composed of four first-generation New Yorkers who all have roots in Colombia. Together, they fuse traditional cumbia with reggae and psych-rock, resulting in a danceable genre that they’ve coined “tropical futurism.” The quartet recently released a new single “Margarita,” which marks the first release on their label Discos Abya Yala. Don’t miss an opening set from contemporary dub scientist Pachyman. AV
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)
READINGS & TALKS
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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)
FILM
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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. Chef’s kiss. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown)
READINGS & TALKS
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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 April 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)
COMEDY
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Dating is downright spooky business, so any opportunity to laugh at the whole process of “finding the one” is more than welcome. Enter Fun & Flirty Productions, which blends comedy and “interactive dating experiences” to make the whole shebang a little more survivable (and also very funny). PowerPoint master and professional singles consultant Zahnae Aquino will be joined by local humorists on stage. Hey, there are weirder ways to meet your soulmate. LC
(Comedy/Bar, Capitol Hill)
EXHIBIT
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This exhibition introduces viewers to the vendors who hawk Real Change, Seattle’s progressive weekly that fosters progress by spotlighting low-income and homeless people’s experiences. Stories From the Streets includes 12 years of portraits created by Seattle artists and commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Real Change Portrait Project. Show up to learn more about the city’s street newspaper, which counts itself as part of a global movement “to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty through low-barrier work opportunities, community-centered media, and anti-poverty advocacy.” LC
(Central Library, Downtown)
LIVE MUSIC
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Prolific cellist and experimental artist Lori Goldston, whose first major appearance was on stage with Nirvana during their iconic MTV Unplugged set, will be joined by improvisational drummer Jaison Scott (SINDIOS, Severhead, Instead Of) for a genre-bending performance that moves between jazz, metal, chamber music, and folk music. Having met through their late friend, the tennis player/writer/musician Torben Ulrich (who also happens to be the father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich), the duo will pay tribute to his memory. AV
(Good Shepherd Center/Chapel Performance Space, Wallingford)
READINGS & TALKS
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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)
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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)
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It was kind of by accident that Taha Ebrahimi wrote a book. Especially an illustrated one about trees. “This is a kismet, happenstance COVID project,” she told me. “Basically, during COVID, I had all this extra time, and I was always interested in trees, but I don’t have any background in illustration or horticulture. I always thought people who knew stuff about plants and trees, those were the people who had authority. I don’t know why! Those Latin names, they just give you this impostorism.” Street Trees of Seattle: An Illustrated Walking Guide is a charming book full of hand-drawn maps, detailed sketches of leaf and petal shapes and bark patterns, and tons of very nerdy, very fascinating history about how certain species of trees got to Seattle in the first place. STRANGER CULTURE EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(Third Place Books, Ravenna)
COMEDY
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For further evidence of local laugher Dewa Dorje’s persistent hilarity, head to her recurring talk show-style comedy night, where she gathers up some of her favorite fellow funny people to discuss everything from current events to beef jerky. (Dorje’s a “working-class-first-gen-Tibetan-single-mom-with-C-PTSD and Restless Coochie Syndrome,” if you weren’t already familiar.) This time around, she’ll be joined by comics Natalie Holt and Danny Myerend. LC
(Comedy/Bar, Capitol Hill)
FILM
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Calling it now: If you’ve seen Stop Making Sense, it’s probably your favorite concert film. It’s jangly and arty and all of the other words one might use to describe Talking Heads’s catalog, and David wears the suit. Not feeling the Byrne? Listen, I know watching a concert movie for a band you don’t listen to sounds like hell, but this one might be an exception. If you haven’t seen it yet, anticipate looking back on the experience with a funny fondness later, like a good birthday party or the first time you smoked weed. Jonathan Demme (yes, the guy who went on to make The Silence of the Lambs) recorded all of the concert footage over the course of three days at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in 1983, during the height of the Heads’ visionary fame. It’s screening in a new restoration, so prep for a “once in a lifetime” experience. LC
(SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Capitol Hill)
LIVE MUSIC
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On her latest album, sentiment, Claire Rousay contrasts her diaristic lyrics about loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sex with robotic vocal filters and lavish drones. Despite the electronic production, the emotion in Rousay’s voice seeps through the effects, spurring a strong sense of desire to connect to the listener. She will support the album alongside the Portland-based ambient project Anne Annie. AV
(Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Fremont)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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All’s fair in love and poetry. Join your fellow Swifties as they congregate in honor of Taylor’s eleventh album, The Tortured Poets Department, for a listening party that includes drag performances. Given the album’s Reputation-esque synth-centric breakup bops, expect to do plenty of cathartic dance-crying at this one, folks. Bonus points if you show up in Clara Bow-style makeup (à la the “Fortnight” visuals). AV
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)
SHOPPING
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The only way Seattle can possibly keep enjoying a wide variety of excellent, engaged, helpful independent bookstores is to support them, love them, and buy as many books as we possibly can from them—and not Jeff Bezos, even if his company offers convenient delivery. Seattle Independent Bookstore Day gives you a perfect excuse to visit your favorite shops, stock up on new releases and old classics, and maybe even meet some local authors and/or get some sweet swag.
(Various locations)
LIVE MUSIC
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I won’t pretend I’m an expert in K-pop, but from what I gather, the Seoul-based boy band Enhypen is a big deal. The seven-piece got their start on the reality survival series I-Land, in which the contestants were placed in a Big Brother-style apartment complex in the middle of a forest for 113 days; this is where things start to get very Black Mirror. The boys would then show off their performance skills on a giant stage that was connected to their living quarters. Through audience votes, contestants were cast out one by one until the seven remained, forming Enhypen. The group will swing by Tacoma on their Fate tour with songs from their fifth EP, Orange Blood. AV
(Tacoma Dome, Tacoma)
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((( o ))) is the intentionally unpronounceable moniker of Filipino American electronic musical June Marieezy, who has made the whimsical vow to release new music every full moon for 12 years, known as “moondrops.” Although the concept can feel dauntingly abstract, her music is fun and exploratory, evoking the early work of Grimes and FKA Twigs. Expect to hear tracks from her newest output, ((( 4 ))), with a few surprise guests. AV
(Barboza, Capitol Hill)
COMEDY
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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, Thursday-Saturday)
EXHIBIT
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An often-overlooked 1968 social justice movement confronted poverty head-on and reimagined American activism, but you’ve probably never heard of it. The Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign looks closely at the nearly six-week-long protest, which took place in a constructed “Resurrection City” in DC and drew attention to the impact of poverty on Americans. Everyone from rural Appalachians to residents of Puerto Rico and Native communities showed up for demonstrations and demands for jobs, living wages, access to health care, and more. Organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, the Poor People’s Campaign was the “first large-scale, nationally organized demonstration to take place after King’s death.” Head to this exhibition to learn more about it through photographs, oral histories, and political ephemera. LC
(Washington State History Museum, Tacoma, Tuesday–Sunday; closing)
FESTIVALS
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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, Monday-Sunday)
FILM
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SIFF Cinema Egyptian’s latest series offers a rare opportunity to catch nine Seattle International Film Festival faves and Audience Award winners. Over the past five decades, the festival has screened over 10,000 films from all over the world, so seeing them all would be pretty much impossible. These screenings will help fill the gaps on your Letterboxd lists, though. (My suggestion? If you dug Kôji Yakusho’s warm performance in Perfect Days, watch him in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure for something…completely different.) LC
(SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Capitol Hill, Monday-Sunday)
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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, Monday-Sunday)
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Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino’s latest follows Zendaya as Tashi, a prodigy tennis player-turned-coach whose training transformed her husband into a national champion. Things get weird and maybe horny when she forces him to play a pro-tournament “Challenger” event alongside her former boyfriend. Do I care about tennis? No, of course not!! But I don’t ask for much—Zendaya and a psychosexual plotline are enough for me. LC
(SIFF Cinema Downtown, Belltown, Thursday-Sunday)
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Alex Garland’s latest, Civil War, is A24’s most expensive in-house production to date, following a group of military-embedded journos headed to DC “before rebel factions descend upon the White House.” Honestly, I’m wary of how he’ll handle this one, although Garland’s work does tend to thrive in dystopian settings. But Kristen Dunst stars as a photojournalist, which is reason enough to watch. Also, Garland may or may not be retiring from directing (“I’m going to take a break for the foreseeable future,” he clarified recently), so if you’re a fan of the filmmaker behind Annihilation and Men, you should plan to let his new one marinate. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, Monday-Thursday)
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A sweeping sci-fi film with origins right here in the Pacific Northwest, Dune: Part Two is a sequel that surpasses the first by leaps and bounds as it transports us back to the world first created by the late local author Frank Herbert. Picking up where its predecessor left off, it follows the young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he aligns himself with Chani (Zendaya) and the rest of the Fremen who have found a way to survive in the harsh desert climate of Arrakis. As they battle against the forces of the galaxy looking to mine the valuable resources that the planet holds, there is soon a growing sense that the greatest dangers are only just beginning. The film also digs into fears Herbert explored about the hazards of giving power to leaders who talk a big game even as they may be the villains of their own stories. Readers of said books know how this ends, but the film offers just as much to those who are going in blissfully unaware, and its stunning visuals deserve to be seen on the big screen. In all of 2024, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a film as immense and well-crafted as Dune: Part Two. STRANGER CONTRIBUTOR CHASE HUTCHINSON
(SIFF Cinema Downtown, Belltown, Monday-Thursday)
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Don’t you hate when the ghost of your dead grandfather has to warn you about the plant-munching goblins terrorizing your family’s vacation destination? Me too. You’ll get the whole gooey, ghoul-ridden story at this Hecklevision screening of so-bad-it’s-good 1990 masterpiece Troll 2, during which you can submit your wisecracks via phone. (They’ll land right on the big screen for the ego boost of everyone finding out how funny you are.) Buckle up, and don’t forget your corn and Nilbog milk. LC
(Central Cinema, Central District, Monday-Wednesday)
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In many ways, the true diva of The People’s Joker has been Warner Bros. Discovery. The massive media giant sent a letter that shut down all but the premiere screening of the indie comedy spoof at Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. Those who have seen The People’s Joker—co-written and directed by comedian Vera Drew—say it’s as much or more a trans coming of age story than a DC Comics-inspired satire, but we must admit the chance to see Maria Bamford as a (nude?) Lex Luthor-like Lorne Michaels, Tim Heidecker as an Alex Jones-adjacent political chaos personality, and Bob Odenkirk as Bob the Goon is certainly a draw. PORTLAND MERCURY ARTS EDITOR SUZETTE SMITH
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, Wednesday-Sunday)
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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 Cinema Uptown, Uptown, Monday-Thursday)
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The 21st annual Seattle Black Film Festival offers a melanated blend of boundary-pushing flicks, screening at both Langston and Washington Hall this year. Celebrating the best of Black local, national, and international filmmaking, the hybrid festival will include screenings of Justin Emeka’s Biological, the Sundance 2024 Audience Award winner Daughters, and Goodbye Julia, the first-ever Sudanese film to appear at Cannes. LC
(Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, Central District, Friday-Sunday)
FOOD & DRINK
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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, Monday-Saturday)
PERFORMANCE
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I recently attended a children’s opera production of The Snowy Day, and since then, I’ve been a kid’s theater convert. There are several solid reasons for this: Kids shows are shorter, for starters; they’re also colorful and designed to keep your attention. (ADHD, anyone?) Also, there are plenty of adults in the audience. You won’t look like a weirdo. If I’ve convinced you, head to this modern twist on a classic Potter tale (tail?), which attempts to answer a good question. What does it mean to be a good bunny? LC
(Seattle Children’s Theatre, Uptown, Thursday-Sunday)
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I think there is one thing we can agree on—we love Cherdonna Shinatra. If that name escapes you, let me catch you up. Cherdonna is a self-described “movement artist who works in persona.” She’s been a key component of Seattle’s arts and entertainment scene for years—she won a Stranger Genius Award in 2015 and an Artist Trust Fellowship in 2017 and has held successful residencies at the Henry Art Gallery and the Frye Art Museum—and she’s internationally recognized as a profoundly creative solo artist. Read the entire profile of Cherdonna by Nico Swenson in The Stranger‘s Arts + Performance issue.
(Repair Revolution, Industrial District, Thursday-Sunday)
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Playwright Sanaz Toossi’s profound debut production won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. English follows four adult students as they prepare for the TOEFL test from a classroom in Iran. The TOEFL—or Test of English as a Foreign Language—sees the group aim for fluency through gamified approaches, and the results build a “two-way crackle in the room” (The Daily Beast). This production was co-produced by Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble. LC
(ArtsWest, Junction, Thursday–Sunday)
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When I asked my play-obsessed friend in New York about The Lehman Trilogy, he responded, “I’ve heard it’s quite good. It’s veryyy long.” He’s not wrong, considering the show won five (!) Tonys in 2022 (Best Play, Best Actor, Best Direction, Best Scenic and Lighting Design) and it has a runtime of almost three-and-a-half hours with two intermissions. The show tells the story of three young Jewish brothers immigrating to the Big Apple in the 1840s, and how they found tremendous success. But those of us living in the modern era associate these brothers (the Lehman brothers) with the 2008 financial crisis. So how did we get from those humble-yet-successful beginnings to triggering one of the largest modern financial crises? I’ll be putting my butt in a seat (for longer than I might like) to find out. SL
(ACT – A Contemporary Theatre, Downtown, Saturday-Sunday)
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It’s the Cowboy Carter era, so I’m pretty sure Beyoncé would approve of this shindig, which comes complete with line dancing and glam rodeo clowns. Sin de la Rosa, Scarlett Folds, Rebecca Mm Davis, Thee Gemini Stone, Nabilah Ahmed, and Jesse Calixto will show us their two-step while queer comedians The Salty Licks will create the “rootinest, tootinest queer cowboy saloon of your dreams.” Can we get a yee-haw? By the way, if you’re ready to saddle up throughout the entire weekend, Tractor Tavern’s Diva Ranch: A Country Drag Show will serve more cornbread-fed realness on April 28. LC
(Theatre Off Jackson, Chinatown-International District, Friday-Saturday)
SHOPPING
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Creative Works brings a three-day conference highlighting creativity and community to the Cornish Playhouse, but don’t fret if you’re not paying the ticket price to attend: they’re hosting a curated pop-up market that’s free and open to the public. Shop the creations of over 50 designers and makers for handmade clothes, prints, and pins and don’t forget to explore Flatstock 94 (I’ve loved flipping through those bins of concert posters for as long as I can remember). SL
(Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, Uptown, Friday-Saturday)
VISUAL ART
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Queer CHamoru art collective Guma’ Gela’, which is comprised of members from the Mariana Islands and its diaspora, explores their own motto—”part land, part sea, all ancestry”—in this varied exhibition of sculptures, soundscape, writing, printmaking, textiles, and more. It’s a unique opportunity to learn more about CHamoru culture while checking out bright, textural works by 13 creators in the Pacific Northwest and Guam. LC
(Wing Luke Museum, Chinatown-International District, Monday/Wednesday-Sunday)
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LA-based painter Sebastian Loo creates ink and color compositions on rice paper for I, Chrysalis, Open at the Close, which he describes as a “hyper-personal” exhibition. That descriptor makes sense—Loo’s work blends a system of symbols with Buddhist and Christian aesthetics to draw parallels between his own life and “the transitional site of the chrysalis.” We’re talking mortal impermanence here, so get on board! Loo’s process includes pointillism, paper cutouts, and collage approaches, and the results are a blast to observe. (I’m partial to Flying or Falling: bb Luci and friends to Daoist canyons, embracing suffering and acknowledging faults for the purpose of growth?) LC
(SOIL, Pioneer Square, Friday–Saturday; closing)
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Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, is one of the 20th century’s most innovative artists—she blends references to pop art and abstraction with Native perspectives on Americana and mass media in brilliant, layered compositions. This solo exhibition curates from across five decades of the artist’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures; I’m especially drawn to the Bush administration critique of War is Heck and Indian Map, Smith’s “first recognizable map of the country in which brushstrokes and drips blur states’ borders and collaged texts and photographs tell stories of the land’s vast Indigenous presence.” LC
(Seattle Art Museum, Downtown, Wednesday–Sunday)
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If you’re already familiar with the Portland art scene, you’ve likely heard the name “Jessica Jackson Hutchins” float around. Jackson Hutchins’s tactile works transform everyday objects into art forms that are both intimately familiar and reverently heightened, and her ambitious, raw, playful style, which runs the gamut from massive sculptural installations to clothing pieces, is easily recognizable. The artist often employs castoff household objects to create her earth-toned, figurative, and vessel-like forms; in 2016, her process expanded to include collage-like window pieces in fused glass, some of which you’ll see in Jessica Jackson Hutchins: Wrecked and Righteous. The exhibition surveys the last 30-ish years of her career in a nonchronological presentation of furniture pieces, relief paintings, and more, plus “wearable food vessels” that will be activated during a special performance. LC
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill, Wednesday–Sunday)
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A multi-site exploration of Kelly Akashi’s work, which began with the now-closed exhibitionFormations at the Frye Art Museum, will continue with Encounters. Formations explored the Los Angeles-based artist’s focus on craft and included Conjoined Tumbleweeds, a bronze cast of plants collected from Poston, Arizona, where members of Akashi’s family were incarcerated in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. In Encounters, Akashi continues to share her interest in material transformation and time-mapping with sculptural works in wax, bronze casting, fire, hand-blown glass, silicone, and rope. LC
(Henry Art Gallery, University District, Thursday–Sunday)
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Light lovers LUSIO and the Downtown Seattle Association have lit up Pioneer Square for Shine On Seattle, a luminous public art installation. From March 1 to April 30, visitors can take a walking tour of “dazzling exhibits that will illuminate window storefronts, parks, and other outdoor spaces” in the area. LC
(Pioneer Square, Pioneer Square, Monday-Sunday)
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Exploring the diversity of SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African)experience, SOIL’s latest exhibition showcases video projections, sculptures, and vinyl installations.Whispers of the Veiled Melody features works by Iranian artists Nasim Moghadam and Kiana Honarmand, whose multimedia approaches blend memories and sociocultural influences to reflect on the distinctions of their identities and heritages. (Moghadam’s award-winning works focus on “hyphenated identity, as well as the constraints on women, their bodies, and their voices,” while Honarmand contemplates “the complexities of her cultural identity, the violation of women’s rights in Iran, and the Western perception of the SWANA identity.”) LC
(SOIL, Pioneer Square, Friday-Saturday; closing)
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