Take a stroll through town and beyond to hobnob with friends as you check out artwork made by local artists. Most galleries will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5.
Featured exhibit: #MyMeToo at Vashon Center for the Arts
In a timely move, given the news of recent weeks, the Koch Gallery’s October show is an artistic response to sexual assault and harassment. The show will include work by 12 artists described in a press release as “an essential collection of artistic voices and expressions, grounded in our Vashon community, that resonates in an ongoing national and global conversation.”
Art on view will include Bella Ormseth’s “Suzanna and the Elders,” inspired by a tale of a woman who needed to be believed in order to save her life, and Kathleen Kinney’s “Body Image,” which addresses the mandates of fashion and women’s own harsh self-criticism. Tami Brockway Joyce will present an audio installation that is the culmination of over 20 hours of recorded interviews with individuals who share their #MeToo stories.
The viral #MeToo movement has been blooming online and in public forums since 2017, and VCA’s artistic director and #MyMeToo curator, Angela Gist, said she was inspired by the movement to create this exhibit.
“The exploration of what it means to survive this kind of assault produces emotions that words alone cannot convey,” Gist said. “This is why it is important to me to provide an artistic platform to continue these conversations.”
Due to mature subject matter, the doors of the gallery will be closed on opening night and signs will be placed in the lobby to inform patrons with trigger warnings prior to entering the gallery space. VCA is also working with Vashon’s DOVE Project to arrange for advocates to be present at the opening to help anyone who would like assistance in processing the emotions they may experience in viewing the show. Also on opening night, a live Twitter feed will be projected onto a wall that will allow guests to respond and comment on the show. The conversation can be followed at #VCAMyMeToo.
Throughout the summer, Gist organized a series of free workshops at VCA, using the arts to explore the issues of the #MeToo movement. Vashon writers and artists Laurel Saville, Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, Alisara Martin and Deborah Kapoor led the exploration of various techniques as different means of truth-telling, both visually and through the written word.
Forums and workshops will also be offered throughout the month of October to engage the community in a collective exploration of shared experience.
The first workshop, “Love Triumphs Fear,” will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. The workshop’s facilitator is islander Jamie Wolf. The workshop is billed as “an opportunity to deepen your understanding of those you love (or yourself) who have experienced sexual assault and/or sexual harassment, how to recognize and have a compassionate discussion around trauma and how to be present, support and love those who are suffering.” Tuition for the workshop is $30, but scholarships are available to those who select that option when registering for the workshop at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Cafe Luna
The cafe will exhibit the photographs of Tracy Chait, which are a visual journal of Chait’s work as a volunteer at a holistic birthing center in Uganda. Chait documented a teen reproductive health workshop, nutritional workshops and the center’s midwifery practice at the center. Chait’s experience in service and advocacy also includes teaching creative writing to pregnant and parenting teens and mentoring teens in community-based programs in the U.S. and beyond.
Giraffe
The shop celebrates its 12th anniversary this month, and Daryl Redeker will play guitar music on First Friday.
The Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery
Kristen Reitz-Green, who is known for her masterful, close-up oil paintings of single subjects, including food, cats and children’s faces, will exhibit her work. Reitz-Green began painting at the age of 40 after a successful career as a French horn player. She has since been juried into many prestigious shows, and her work is in private collections around the country. She was recently commissioned by chef John Schenk to paint a permanent large-scale piece for his restaurant in Santa Monica, California.
Judd Creek Ranch Gallery
The gallery, located at 22237 103rd Ave. will open a show at 5 p.m. Friday called “Structure & Light,” featuring the work of Seattle artists Mark Meenan and Yuri Kinoshita, who work with bamboo and paper to create structured pieces that pull from Asian traditions with a contemporary twist. Meenan creates traditional Asian fencing. Kinoshita, born in Japan, works with organic materials to create site-specific sculptures that explore the interplay of light and shadow. The exhibit runs through Nov. 18.
Margaret in the Hallway
The gallery will feature magnetic art and information on Initiative 1631.
Puget Sound Community Credit Union
Photographs by seventh-generation islander Susan Edna, inspired by nature, will be exhibited. This is Edna’s first gallery exhibit, and she will donate half the proceeds from sales of artwork to Vashon’s Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness and Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. The opening will feature live music from Listen in the Kitchen, an island band whose members include Erin Durrett, Lynn Carrigan, Linera Luca, Mary Rose O’Reilley and Mary Litchfield Tuel. Their music includes “Makin’ Whoopee,” bluegrass, folk, Hank Williams songs, children’s songs and some originals. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
VALISE
A group show, “ONE,” will feature works by the artists of VALISE Gallery, based on the aim to make “hopeful, optimistic statements for universal goals in a divided world.” The show will feature representational and abstract work, including paintings, assemblages and encaustics. Regular gallery hours, after the opening, are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Vashon Center for the Arts
Student photography from three VCA camps and an exploratory intensive photography session, with more than 30 participating student artists, will be on display at VCA’s lobby in October. The show is curated by island photographer and VCA instructor Ray Pfortner, who led these classes during the spring/summer 2018 season.
