If you walked by River in Seattle, WA on August 11th and 12th you would've seen a large, industrial gorgeous space filled with fine art by 10 Tacoma local artists.
About the Event
I organized this exhibition because I wanted this opportunity for myself. (the opportunity of having a fine art show in Seattle). Inviting 9 other artists to come along on the journey made this exhibition actually work. They brought beautiful work, they invited their circles and they gave me support and encouragement.
Friday night we had some drinkies from a cider company and amazing cookies from The Common Cookie. We also enjoyed music from DJ Raf Lauren. Jana Early was there to document the night.
Saturday afternoon, the next day, we were blessed by Maddy's Bakeshop (GORGEOUS DELICIOUS CAKES). Plus Cami Werden did a phenomenal job singing (Can't wait for her debut album to be released).
About the Artists
To read more about the artists you can head to my other blog post about this event. They all currently live in (or grew up in) Tacoma. There was no "theme" to the show. We brought our best work and represented our city as best as we knew how.
As well as the organizer, I was also the curator. I chose these artists based on the quality of their work, their attitude/personalities and their dedication to making and selling work. They had to be people that were dreamers and doers. Having the same goal and attitude towards the event helped us to stick together and make it happen.
Anticipation
We had put in the work to get the word out and we started the day pretty early to get all the work up to Seattle and hung by late afternoon.
I was thrilled to be at River. The space was huge and beautiful. It was such a wonderful feeling to see it come alive with all the artwork.
How It Went
It went really well.
Firstly, I'm so thankful to River for hosting us. They are an invaluable resource for artists. Having the space for a second day was amazing because we didn't have to set up and tear down in the same day. It was so easy to work with the owners. 110% would throw another show there.
Friday night had such good energy.
We had people dropping in because they were doing the Belltown Art walk which was happening the same evening. We had loads of family and friends. People were eating the cookies, drinking the drinks and spending a long time looking at art. There was a lot of work on the walls so there was a lot of reason (beyond snacks and chatting) to stay and enjoy the show.
Saturday was a little slower, a little more chill. But we still had family and friends stopping by. In the lulls, The artists were able to catch up and chat. The whole project was a little surreal because many of us had never met. Being artists in Tacoma gives us a lot in common so it was so good to chat and bounce ideas off of each other. A collector also came back to pick up Dierdre's painting and close the deal. (amazing).
Everything went so smoothly. There were no big accidents or mishaps. No one missed the show because of traffic and no work was damaged.
It was such a beautiful show and I'm so proud of it.
Why Seattle
Some thoughts,
I think it's important to share art between Seattle and Tacoma. As we chatted amongst ourselves, we agreed that it felt like maybe the art scene in Seattle has been slowing down recently whereas the art scene in Tacoma is getting revitalized. (I'm sure someone may feel differently). But if there's any truth to it, it's important for our cities to support each other- Tacoma with our vitality and Seattle with it's experience and long running organizations and structures (and collectors).
I loved organizing this event. It feels so inspiring and empowering to organize an event for yourself and for others. We were tired of waiting for someone to "choose us". We chose ourselves. I will definitely be thinking about curation and how I can throw more shows in the future (in Tacoma and Seattle)
If you have a good space for an art show, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Thank you. Thank you to everyone who made their way to downtown Seattle on their August weekend. We can put in the work and yell from the roof tops, but it's really up to every supporter, friend, family member and art aficionado to come make the party happen. So, thank you. See you next time.
All photos by Jana Early.