The Local Seattle Artist Community & Art Scene

This blog is is now about a month and a half old and I’ve had a fairly decent response from people so far. But the true measure of success for any blog lies in the relevant content and information that it provides to viewers. I rely on most of my information from various mailing lists that I subscribe to or personal emails I receive from people about local art events, news and happenings. I also run across tidbits of information on websites and other sources. This stream of information only gets me so far though. I would really like to find more local art content to post here on the blog to make it even more helpful to visitors.

SO, I’d like to invite anyone with local art related information that you think would be interesting to post, to please forward it over to me. Obviously, I can’t post everything I receive, but I’ll do my best to make sure I post as much as possible.

Please keep in mind that date specific events should first be posted to our free events calendar – occasionally I will feature a specific event here on the blog, but typically only if it is very notable and worthy of extra recognition. Other possible posts could be: calls for artists, grants & contests, art fairs or anything related to the neighborhood art walks, art policy and advocacy, new gallery openings etc.

Use the online contact form to submit your information or to just send me other feedback or comments.

From the Washington State Arts Alliance:

SHARE YOUR TALENTS AND EXPERTISE WITH COLLEAGUES!

Present a workshop at the 2009 Washington Cultural Congress. The 17th annual statewide arts conference will be held from Monday, April 27 to Wednesday, April 29 at the beautiful Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat in Leavenworth, Washington. 175 of the state’s top artists and arts leaders convene for three days of demanding sessions, stimulating speakers and vital peer dialogue.

We are looking for artists, arts administrators, educators, consultants, cultural and community leaders from all disciplines to lead workshops and panel discussions at this year’s conference.

Presenters receive one day at the conference free of charge (includes lunch at Sleeping Lady). Lead your session, attend other workshops and events, and enjoy the rejuvenating environment.

Click here for the REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FORM. For more information about 2009 Washington Cultural Congress, please contact Program Director Kim Thomas at 206.448.1909.

If you support high quality arts experiences, artistic freedom, lifelong arts education, arts diversity, a vital and inclusive arts network, and strong public and private investment in the arts - please consider becoming a member of the Washington State Arts Alliance. Together we will continue to create a voice for the arts in Washington State. Join Now!

Washington State Arts Alliance / Foundation
1204 Minor Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
206.448.1909
www.wsartsalliance.com

It’s never too late to get into art. Pratt Fine Arts Center is offering a wide range of art classes to get you started in that favorite hobby. Glassblowing, sculpture, painting and drawing, jewelry and more – from November 16th through the 23rd. You can learn more online at Pratt.org.

Classes are available for both and adults.

Click here for a list of classes and schedules.

Learn more about the Pratt Fine Arts Center at Pratt.org.

Pratt has been serving the arts community since 1976 with art classes and workspaces for artists in Seattle’s Central District.

An art fundraiser for the Obama / Biden Presidential campaign is being held on Halloween at the Tukwila Community Center.

The fundraiser is also to support local democratic nominees for the 2008 elections. They are seeking donations for a silent auction and raffle. These donations can be 100% or to recoup costs, donors can set a starting bid - where they receive the starting bid amount and the campaign receives the excess. Artist / donors will be able to display their business cards and bio if they provide one, as well as an online presence.

Anyone interested in participating can visit: http://www.100thmonkeyclothing.com/obamahalloweenbash/

Sometimes it’s difficult to locate this type of information when you are evaluating who to vote for in this Presidential election. But ArtsVote, A program of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, has graciously put it all together in one nice little packaged summary.

Here is the press release from ArtsVote below. You can also click on the image at the end to download and view the PDF matrix of each candidate’s positions on the arts.

Stay informed and vote on the facts not the hype!

ARTS VOTE 2008

Dear Arts Voter:

Americans for the Arts Action Fund is pleased to present you with its just released summary of the Arts Positions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates. [PDF]

As you may know, Americans for the Arts Action Fund launched its ArtsVote2008 initiative in May 2007 in order to educate presidential candidates on issues impacting the arts and arts education with the goal of securing—for the first time ever—formal position statements from the top candidates.

To date, we have shared with you Senator Barack Obama’s comprehensive arts policy proposal [PDF] that he began issuing in February 2008. Unfortunately, the McCain campaign has not been as forthcoming, despite numerous formal requests from the Arts Action Fund and Senator McCain’s own supporters over the last year. However, we are pleased to report that Senator McCain has now issued a short statement [PDF] that he released in an article for today’s Salt Lake City Tribune.

With this information in hand, we ask you—the arts advocate—to take action by doing the following things:

1. Share this side-by-side comparison of the presidential candidates with your friends, family, and colleagues.
2. Blog about this issue on any sites that you are affiliated with.
3. Post the comparison chart on your social network sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and others.
4. Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspapers and journals. We’ve made it easy for you by drafting a customizable letter at our E-Advocacy Center that you can personalize. You will then automatically be given the choice to e-mail your letter to all the key media outlets in your area based on your zip code.
5. Ask questions about policies on the arts and arts education to both your Congressional and presidential candidates in any kind of town hall forums, online chats, or any other public forums.
6. Vote for the candidates that you feel will best advance the arts and arts education in America.

With only 32 days left to Election Day, now is the time to act and show your support for the arts!

Click the image below to download and view the full PDF. (Adobe Reader required).

The Gasworks Gallery monthly first Friday party has now moved to just 4 times a year (quarterly). The parties will now take place on December, March, June and September.

Gasworks Gallery, founded by Matt Jones, has been hosting their fundraising parties for over 4 years now. The party, called Get a Passion For Mashin’, is focused on raising awareness for local food banks and collects food donations at each party.

Click here to view this event on our Arts Calendar.

I’m re-posting this from Carlyle, the Board Vice President of the Art/Not Terminal Gallery. I think it’s important to help those in the local art community brag about their accomplishments. The Art/Not Terminal Gallery is celebrating it’s 20 year anniversary with a party on Saturday October 4th.

Dear Seattleartist.com and Staff,

Would you agree that it’s an extraordinary accomplishment to achieve 20 years of success in the art community? With the recent opening of art-bar galleries in our city to supplement artist income, how does Art/Not Terminal Gallery (A/NT) exist in Seattle today? Well, let me tell you!

We’re celebrating not only the progress we’ve made as a non-profit gallery over the past 19 years, but also the ongoing support of our patrons and artists worldwide. We believe that by focusing on the come-one-come-all approach we will continue to be the oldest artist operated gallery in Seattle.

On Saturday Oct 4th from 7 P.M. - 10 P.M., you are cordially invited to join A/NT in the celebration of our 20th Anniversary! Featured performers will be Shenandoah Davis, “B#’5, Peach Plum Pear, and Son Things. In addition, A/NT is debuting the Puget Sound Art Circle (PSAC) website.

The idea behind PSAC came from the large volume of artists contacting A/NT daily for information. A/NT is constantly spreading the word about other organizations throughout the Puget Sound. The PSAC mission is to provide useful accurate information back to the artists.

The question is: Does A/NT deserve the right to encourage cooperative behavior amongst the Puget Sound? Who’s to say, but when you’ve helped over 1600 artists get a start you had better make sure they have a place to go from there. PSAC offers today’s opportunities for tomorrow’s future.

Art is my passion, and I value the struggle.

Sincerely,
Carlyle Moore III.
Art/Not Terminal Gallery
Board Vice President 2007 – 2008
www.antgallery.org/
(425)-876-0048

Date specific events are typically reserved for our Art Calendar but I like to highlight important community events.

Congratulations Art/Not!

There are multiple ways to follow along and subscribe to the various sources of information on this Blog and our main site. Here is a quick roundup on ways you can keep up-to-date on the local Seattle art scene.

To follow along on this blog, you can subscribe the following ways:

Subscribe to Blog via RSS

Subscribe to SeattleArtists.com Blog updates via email

**UPDATED** - You can also subscribe to just the comments people post on this blog. Comments are an important part of the interaction on a blog and visitors often post very useful information. You can stay up-to-date on these comments using these RSS Feed or email subscription links:

Subscribe to Blog Comments via RSS

Subscribe to Blog Comments via email

We also publish a weekly events summary from our Art Calendar. This summary goes out every week to our email subscriber list, but you can also subscribe to the RSS for this weekly feed:

Subscribe to weekly Arts summary via RSS

Subscribe to weekly Arts summary via email

This may seem like a lot of options and subscriptions to track but I really like to segment the information so you only get the information you want.

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions for me, just leave a comment below!

Thanks - Joe

I’ve added a new category to post local Artist requests. I frequently get requests submitted through our Art Request Contact form on our main site, from people looking for local artists for specific projects. Typically these are businesses or individuals looking to commission artwork.

If you would like to submit a request for an artist for a certain type of artwork or need help with a specific project, just submit the Request Form.

This is a free service and is open to anyone.

Calls for Artists from local art galleries and shows will be posted seperately.