What’s Happening July 2 – 9

A virtual variety show, a public art initiative, and more.

July 2, 2020 1:30 am
Mik Kuhlman is the interview guest in the first installment of a new live-streamed variety show, It’s Late on Vashon,” debuting at 9 p.m. Monday, July 6, at vashoncenterforthearts.org (Courtesy Photo).
Mik Kuhlman is the interview guest in the first installment of a new live-streamed variety show, It’s Late on Vashon,” debuting at 9 p.m. Monday, July 6, at vashoncenterforthearts.org (Courtesy Photo).

See it live-streamed from VCA

A new live-streamed variety show, “It’s Late on Vashon,” will debut at 9 p.m. Monday, July 6, at vashoncenterforthearts.org and on Vashon Center for the Arts’ Facebook page. Described as VCA’s “late-night virtual community living room featuring the gems of our island,” the show will bow with an episode featuring Darragh Kennan as host, Mik Kuhlman as the interview guest, Gregg Curry as musical guest and some extra surprises for viewers. There is a $10 suggested donation for the show.

Also from VCA, an online lecture by Mouse Reusch on the development of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning program will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. Reusch is the regional ShakeAlert coordinator with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) at the University of Washington. After earning her doctorate from Penn State University, Reusch worked for a lending library of seismometers. During that period, she traveled all seven continents installing seismic stations. An expert in earthquakes and seismic risk, she joined the PNSN in 2016 to facilitate the build-out of seismic stations and the implementation of the ShakeAlert system in Washington and Oregon. Her lecture will be live-streamed and viewable at vashoncenterforthearts.org and VCA’s Facebook page. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session where viewers can type in questions. There is a $10 suggested donation.

Call for artists for public art initiative on Vashon

Open Space for Arts & Community has launched a new public art initiative, aimed at beautifying public spaces throughout Vashon with new works created by local artists in the age of coronavirus.

The effort is dubbed “!Attention! Artists at Work!” Described in detail on openspacevashon.com, it is being created to help support local artists who have lost much of their income during the pandemic.

According to Jiji Saunders, the executive director of Open Space, the new program “is going to bring free, public art to Vashon at a time when it is needed most. But at its core, it is a jobs program. Our primary goal is to make sure that artists who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 have more opportunities to work.”

Two projects are in the works so far as part of the program. The first project of this initiative was inspired by large public art murals, as well as the AIDS quilt. Rather than one large painting, the mural will come together as a quilt of paintings, each as one-of-a-kind as our community. The “mural quilt” will consist of about 60 panels from many local artists that are 32 inches by 32 inches each, forming a collage of island. A call for artists is listed at openspacevashon.com, with an application deadline of July 17.

The second project in the program is “Distance Dance.” This project aims to “highlight dance and awe-inspiring physical performance (at a safe physical distance) to create a drive-by spectacle.” Five choreographers will work with dancers to put on two to three shows each, for a total of 10 to 15 shows this summer. The call for artists for this program is also listed at openspacevashon.com, with an application deadline is July 13.

Anyone interested in contributing to the project, or donating to it, should visit openspacevashon.com or follow Open Space for Arts and Community on Facebook, Instagram, or in their newsletter for updates about the project.