For a week in late February 1910, two Seattle-bound trains remained trapped in deep snow near Stevens Pass at the small railroad town of Wellington. When the unrelenting snowfall turned to rain, avalanches began roaring down the mountainsides. Around 1:15 am, on March 1, one giant avalanche swept the trains off their tracks into the river canyon below, killing at least 96 passengers and crew. One hundred years later, the event remains the worst avalanche disaster in U.S. history.

To commemorate the disaster’s centennial, historical organizations are presenting programs and posting information on websites.

On Saturday, February 27, the Skykomish Historical Society hosted two writers of books about the Wellington Disaster: Gary Krist, author of The White Cascade; and Martin Burwash, who just published Vis Major. An overflow crowd of 200 attended the event to hear the authors speak. Missed it? Save the date for August 14, as the Society plans a second commemoration at the site of the Wellington Disaster along the Iron Goat Trail.

The Northwest Railway Museum featured Gary Krist at a fundraiser on March 5, 2010, and has posted historic photos from the Oberg collection on the Wellington Remembered website. The centennial has renewed interest in a catastrophe that remains one of King County’s little-known, but major historical events.

For more information about the Wellington Disaster, visit HistoryLink.com.

Locomotive and plow crews pose with steam rotary snow plow X-808. Courtesy of Northwest Railway Museum.

Opportunity for lease and utilities in trade for work at a 4Culture-supported, south county landmark!

Overview: The City of Auburn is seeking applications for Caretaker, Mary Olson Farm. The Mary Olson Farm dates from 1879 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. This 70+ acre property includes seven historic buildings, a stream, 100+ year old orchard, gardens, pastures and dense forests.  It is managed as a limited use City of Auburn Park by the White River Valley Museum. The caretaker reports directly to the Museum Director.

Lease in Trade for Work:  The Caretaker is responsible for the following tasks which will vary with the seasons and with the uses of the Farm. The lease calls for 90 to 140 hours a month (greater in the summer) of labor by the caretaker performing these tasks:

1. Trim grass around buildings monthly during growing season.
2. Care for chickens on a daily basis.
3. Set out water and food for feral cat colony on daily basis.
4. Feed, water and generally care for two cows and two horses, move to pasture and to barn as needed, remove manure to compost bins, daily.
5. Meet with Museum staff at least monthly.
6. Work weekends, staff special events, facility rentals and other duties as assigned. Much summer and weekend work.
7. Weed, water and care for farmhouse gardens, hops demonstration garden, vegetable garden, and water orchard as needed during dry season.
8. Odd jobs as requested.

The City of Auburn provides the following in trade for performing the caretaker’s duties.

1. Mobile home, 12 x 60 feet located at the Mary Olson Farm.
2. Utilities to include water, septic, electric and garbage (at the nearby golf course).

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will possess skills handling livestock, including awareness of issues of health and daily care; will enjoy tending vegetable and flower gardens; is able to meet and work with the public providing exceptional customer service, speaking appropriately to individuals of different ages and backgrounds; is physically able to walk or hike on uneven out door surfaces, carry 30+ pounds, bend and use his/her hands; has a good work ethic, meets commitments of both time and effort; and has a devotion to history, historic preservation, farming or the environment. The caretaker must maintain his/her own tax records, and no cash is exchanged as part of this lease.

Application Process: Fill out a City of Auburn employment application, available on line at www.ci.auburn.wa.us or at Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main St. Auburn, WA 98002, Human Resources office, first floor, or by calling 253-931-3040 to request an application by mail. The lease is open and applications are accepted until it is filled.

© courtesy of 4Culture, Chickens at Mary Olson Farm, 2008

Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions help small and mid-sized institutions, such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities, improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. Awards of up to $6000 support preservation related collection assessments, consultations, training and workshops, and institutional and collaborative disaster and emergency planning. Grants cover consultant fees, workshop registration fees, related travel and per diem expenses, and the costs of purchasing and shipping preservation supplies and equipment.

All applications to the NEH must be submitted through Grants.gov. See the 2010 application guidelines for details. Sample project descriptions, sample narratives, and a list of frequently asked questions are also at this site. The deadline for applications is May 18, 2010.

U.S. nonprofit organizations are eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply.

For more information, contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at 202-606-8570 and preservation@neh.gov.

© Issaquah History Museum

UPDATE: The application deadline has been extended to Friday, March 19th (and Shunpike is doing one in King County, and another in Pierce County!)

WHAT IS ARTS LEADERSHIP LAB?

The mission of Arts Leadership Lab (ALL) is to recognize and empower arts practitioners as valuable, effective partners in the community development of the Puget Sound region. Under the stewardship of 4Culture, ALL was founded in late 2006 as the Emerging Arts Leaders of King County, a group connected to the national Emerging Leaders Network coordinated by Americans for the Arts; in 2008 the group re-formed as Arts Leadership Lab, led by the Core Team, and in early 2010, ALL moved to its new home as a program of Shunpike.

KEY ACTIVITIES

ALL’s main work has been to produce monthly panels, presentations and networking events that focus on issues and opportunities concerning the cultural ecology of our region.

The Core Team produces one of each of the following public events every quarter:

*Accountability in the Arts – Seminars in best practices for arts management

*Creative Conversations – Forums/panels on issues impacting arts and culture (e.g. space, technology, advocacy, etc.)

*SPIKE’d/ALL Out – Happy hour networking events

Beginning in 2010, the Core Team will also produce and host an “UnConference,” a half-day of short presentations by innovators in cultural ecology.

THE CORE TEAM

The ALL Core Team is an 18-month professional development, peer learning and community building opportunity that asks: What are the major opportunities of our time? How can art makers, managers and supporters be effective partners in pursuing them? Eight – 12 selected participants govern ALL and collaborate to discover new opportunities for innovation in arts leadership. Shunpike provides the Core Team with administrative support and guidance in programming.

For more information about becoming a part of the CORE TEAM, CLICK HERE to download the application.

To me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the work of 4Culture is its comprehensive approach to the breadth of what we call “culture.” Culture embodies more than the arts, including public art, and local history, the focus of our heritage program. It includes science and zoos and natural history and the ethnic traditions of a diverse society and so much more.

Culture also embraces historic preservation, a little understood field of endeavor that recognizes the value of saving the significant structures that tell the story of a community’s past. For instance, very few people today are members of a fraternal society, but our landscape is dotted with aging fraternal lodges that remind us of the methods of social engagement from our not too distant past. In many rural communities in King County, these lodges are important community gathering places, active reminders of the importance of social interaction. They may have small performances occasionally; they may have interpretive displays about the important people and events in a community’s history, but they are not commonly owned by arts organizations or heritage organizations. They do not typically apply to our Arts or Heritage Cultural Facilities programs (which regularly provide support for preservation projects that are also arts and heritage facilities.)

4Culture has two funding programs that provide capital support to maintain these significant community assets, no matter what kind of use goes on inside. These can include historic farmsteads, train stations, ships, privately-owned residences, gardens, and even churches. The Landmarks Rehabilitation Program and Landmark Challenge Grants are two 4Culture preservation programs – and the only such programs in King County – that provide “bricks and mortar” funding for these kinds of preservation projects.

The stewards of these structures that are important to all of use deserve help with the extra expense involved in maintaining them, regardless of how they are used or who owns them.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, our statewide advocacy group, maintains a Most Endangered List – a roster of historic resources of all sorts that face a myriad of threats. Right here in King County are five properties on the current list, including the brick buildings at Sandpoint Naval Station, the little Nuclear Reactor Building on the UW campus, the modernist Surrey Downs subdivision in Bellevue, the iconic P-I globe, and the old Homestead Restaurant at Alki. The Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2010 list, deadline March 15.

It will take much more than a small grant to resolve these complicated preservation issues and others like them, but we are pleased to be able to offer strategic assistance when the time is right.

The Dumbo Arts Center – Exhibition Proposals for 2011
Deadline: March 1, 2010
The Dumbo Arts Center (DAC) is a non-profit contemporary arts organization located in Dumbo Brooklyn, DAC invites artists or curators (individuals or groups) from all levels of experience to submit exhibition proposals for realization in its gallery space in 2011.  Proposed exhibitions  are open to all visual arts media.

Women in Film – New Grant
Deadline: March 1, 2010

Women in Film Seattle announces the launch of a new Professional Grant. The new grant will award one woman filmmaker’s project $1,000 in cash, in-kind donations from the Northwest film industry, promotional support through Women In Film (WIF) and a theatrical screening of the finished piece. The grant is open to professional Women in Film members in the Seattle Chapter.

Anacortes Arts Festival – Fine and Performing Artists Needed
Deadline: Various March Deadlines
Plans are well under way for the 49th annual Anacortes Arts Festival August 6-8, 2010. We continue the annual tradition of filling historic downtown with juried booth artisans, showcasing Northwest fine art at our waterfront Arts at the Port exhibits, and offering first class entertainment on Festival stages and evening concerts. All applications are available online. March deadlines for participants are quickly approaching.

Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation – Curator Funds
Deadline: March 5, 2010
The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation is offering curators, in partnership with an established non-profit exhibition space, the opportunity to be awarded the 2010 Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award — a grant of up to $150,000 for the realization of an innovative thematic exhibition concept that challenges the boundaries of contemporary art.

Meet the Composer – Commissioning Music/USA
Deadline: March 8, 2010
Meet The Composer offers support through its Commissioning Music/USA program. This support takes the form of subsidized commissioning fees as well as technical assistance in managing the entire life-cycle of a commissioning project. Once a project is completed, Meet The Composer will make information on the
commissioned work and the composer available to presenters and performers looking for new repertoire or new composers to commission.

Chamber Music America – New Jazz Works
Deadline: March 12, 2010
Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works program provides support to professional U.S. ensembles for the creation and performance of new work in the jazz idiom. The program also funds activities that extend the
life of the work, and allow the ensemble leader to acquire or increase career-related business skills. This program is designed for ensembles that want to explore new creative territory.

Bellingham Review – Fiction, Non-Fiction & Poetry Prizes
Deadline: March 15, 2010
Call to writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. First place winners will be published in the Bellingham Review. Second and third place winners and finalists may be considered for publication. Details for all three awards are now available.

Washington State Convention Center – Call for Exhibitions
Deadline: March 26, 2010
Proposals are now being accepted for the quarterly rotating art program in calendar years 2011 and 2012 within the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) public space. “The Galleries” are open daily for all convention delegates, visitors and citizens to enjoy, an estimated 500,000 people annually. “The rotating public art exhibitions have grown into an extremely popular program,” said Karen Wong – Chair, WSCC Art Committee. For guidelines and application information, contact: Diana Cross, diana.cross@wscc.com

Franklin Furnace – Produce in NYC
Deadline: April 1, 2010
Each year Franklin Furnace awards grants to emerging artists, allowing them to produce major works in New York. Grants may range between $2,000 and $10,000 depending upon funding received by Franklin Furnace.  Artists from all areas of the world are encouraged to apply; however, funded projects must be presented in New York.

Longhouse Education and Cultural Center – Grant Opportunities
Deadline: April 1, 2010
The Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at The Evergreen State College has announced a national call to Native artists for two grant opportunities: the National Native Master Artist Initiative: Artist Teaching Artists Program (DOC), designed to promote Native arts and cultures within urban and rural Native communities throughout the United States; and the National Native Creative Development Program (DOC), designed to address the professional development needs of individual artists, such as training in marketing, purchase of supplies and materials, professional portfolio development, and apprenticeships.

Inland Crafts – Calling Craft Artists
Deadline: April 5, 2010
Inland Crafts is one of Spokane Washington’s most treasured juried craft exhibitions. This sale and exhibition provides a wonderful array of pottery, glass, basketry, jewelry, fiber arts, wood works, metal design and photography. The event is Nov. 12-13-14 at the Spokane Convention Center.

Evergreen Washelli – Columbarium Exhibition
Deadline: April, 21, 2010
Evergreen Washelli Funeral Providers in Seattle is accepting submissions for the 2010 Art in the Columbarium exhibition. They are seeking a portfolio of original artwork that illustrates continuity and is appropriate for a columbarium.  Up to six solo shows will be hosted for local emerging artists; each solo show will run from four to six weeks. All 2D and 3D media will be considered.  Info: Heather Mitchell, hmitchell@washelli.com.

Sitka Center- Artist-In-Residency Program
Deadline: April 23, 2010
Applications for the Residency Program are now available. This program has provided more than 170 artists, writers, and natural science scholars the opportunity to conduct their work in the unique environment of Cascade Head and Salmon River estuary near Otis, Oregon just north of Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. Residents are on campus October through mid-May, when public workshops are minimal. Up to five residents at a time, usually from different disciplines and stages in their careers, live and work on campus for up to four-months free of charge.

Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize
Deadline: May 1, 2010
$2,000 for a First Book of Poems. This prize is offered annually to a poet who has not previously published a full-length collection of poems. The winner receives $2000 and the winning volume will be published by the Kent State University Press in Fall 2010.

2010 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize
Deadline: May 31, 2010
Selected poet will receive $300 cash award and publication in CALYX Journal (Vol. 24:2, Winter 2011). The winner and all finalists will receive a one-volume subscription, and all their poems will be published on CALYX’s website.

Northwest Film Forum – Local Sightings
Deadline: July 1, 2010
Local Sightings an our annual showcase of current narrative, documentary and experimental film by Northwest artists. The week long festival also features panel discussions, historic NW films, a filmmaker lounge, a stellar opening night party, and juried awards for a winning short and feature film.

Seattle’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs – Artist Projects Funding
Deadline: July 20, 2010
Individual artists are the heart of a creative community. The CityArtist Projects program provides funding for artists to develop and present their work. The program focuses on different disciplines in alternating years.  In 2010, they will accept applications from artists working in the performing arts for project funding in 2011.

Ormond Memorial Art Museum – Exhibition Opportunity
Deadline: Ongoing
Exhibition at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum is open to any artist or collaborative of artists submitting original works of art or design created within the past three years. Professionals in visual art media are encouraged to submit.

Photo: Giancarlo Neri’s The Writer, by Michael Hirst

a LOW IMPACT VEHICLE exploration (aLIVe)

Inspiring connections > transportation, transit and storm water systems

In December 2009, 4Culture posted a call for ideas that will inspire and engage the broader community in a conversation about transportation. The aLIVe project aims to spark interaction across disciplines, showcase ideas and suggest action around issues of energy, livability and design.

The selection panel of experts from the fields of art, applied design, technology, public health and transportation selected eight ideas for implementation of “low impact vehicle” design from a field of 21 submitted applications.  The selected recipients and projects are:

Michelle Arab: A series of drawings made from sediment and debris collected from catch basin filter inserts into the storm drain system.

Vaughn Bell: Sculptural walking sticks and a series of performances that reinforce the sensory experience of the traveler and the notion that the ultimate low impact vehicle is the human body.

Julia Field, Undriving.org: A series of 5-7 short documentary videos that chronicle the choices made by individuals who have made an Undriving pledge and received their Undriver License.

Melissa Glenn and Matt Inpanbutr: Bi(K) o garten – a kit that transforms parking spaces into a temporary “park.”

Michael Hintze, Alisha Dall’Osto, David R. Dall’Osto and Nadine Smith: Magnetic Mass Assist table-top model that illustrates a mechanism to harness the kinetic energy of descending vehicles to assist the riders going up the hill, making bikes more practical for a wider range of riders on steep Seattle terrain.

Dominic Muren: Production Cycle, a mobile, micro-factory in the form of a pedal-powered sewing machine.  Muren will make reusable cloth shopping bags for give-aways at local farmers markets.  The currency for the bags will be information about other waste stream products that can be recycled into goods.  A website that employs Google mapping technology will illustrate the sources of all contributed recycled materials.

Johnnie Olivan: A fleet of 6-8 “Bike-Cars” that are constructed from reclaimed bikes and other materials and designed to offer pedal-powered alternatives for transporting goods and people.

Stokley Towles: A one-person performance and temporary exhibition based on interviews with individuals involved in transportation infrastructure design, storm water systems and public perception and behavior research.  The goal of the project is to stimulate ways for the public to engage in “transpiration” – re-imagining how we travel around the city.

The aLIVe events and projects are produced in collaboration with artist Cheryl dos Remedios and Great City and will occur in various venues over the course of the next 12 months.  Blog4Culture will keep you posted with event details and ways to participate.

photo courtesy of Johnnie Olivan

Washington Museum Association
Washington Women’s Suffrage Centennial Workshop
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Coach House, State Capital Museum, Olympia

As part of 2010 Museum Day on the Capital Campus, Western Museum Association is offering a workshop for individuals and local museum representatives to develop projects and/or programs for Washington Women’s Suffrage Centennial. The workshop will offer ways that can assist in writing “women back into history” through identification and interpretation of women’s history in all eras—Pioneer to the women’s movement of the 1970s. The workshop includes a hosted tour of the historic Bigelow House Museum, built by Oregon Trail pioneers and activists in the Suffrage and Temperance movements. To register please contact Mark Vessey, Washington State Historical Society, State Capital Museum at 360/586-0219 or mvessey@wshs.wa.gov.

Pacific Northwest Historians Guild
Pacific Northwest Borderlands Conference
Saturday, March 6, 2010 8:15am – 5:30pm
Museum of History and Industry, 2700 24th Ave, Seattle

2010 conference will explore Pacific Northwest Borderlands, and will featuring presentations on Shaping the Frontier; Women in the Northwest; Constructing Habitats; The Human-ANimal Interface; Workers, Unions and Labor; Native Settler Negotiations; Trans-{acific Connections and Traders, Smugglers, Commodities and Contraband. To view the conference program visit www.pnwhistorians.org/conferences. To register for this event visit www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006.

Historic Seattle
“How To” Demonstrations at Washington Hall
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10am – 12pm
153 14th Avenue, Seattle

Historic Seattle’s 2010 Preserving Your Old House program uses its newly purchased building, Washington Hall, as a “get dirty” space to demonstrate how to repair plaster work, refinish wood work and paint, and repair windows. On March 13, Steve Irish of Lux Interiors, will be giving a “how to” demonstration on plaster repair and restoration. To register visit www.historicseattle.org or call (206) 622-6952.

Washington State History Museum
From Parlor to Podium: Territorial Suffragists of Olympia
Opening reception Saturday, March 13, 2010 1pm – 3pm
11911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma

The exhibit will focus on the territorial suffrage campaigns centered in Olympia, and the women and men who worked to secure the vote for Washington women. Organized by the Washington State Historical Society and the Women’s History Consortium, the opening reception will feature games, suffragists in period costume, and the opportunity to meet the historians, curators, and designers behind the exhibit.

Seattle Architecture Foundation
Greatest Hits: Chart Toppers and Heart-Stoppers tour
Thursday, March 25th, 2010 10am
SAF Gallery, 3rd Floor, 1333 5th Ave, Seattle

SAF tour that focuses on the construction, context and culture which shaped Seattle’s skyline, from golden oldies like the Rainier Club to eye-catching contemporary, like the Rem Koolhaas’ asymmetric, cantilevered Central Library. Stops will also include the Fifth & Madison Condominium(901 Fifth Avenue Plaza) and Seattle City Hall.
This tour lasts approximately 2 hours and begins at the SAF Gallery, 3rd Floor, Rainier Square Atrium. For more information or to register visit www.seattlearchitecture.org/tour_greatest_hits.

Arts Events:

AJC Seatle Jewish Film Festival
Recommended by Tamar Benzikry-Stern, Public Art 4Culture
March 11 – 21, 2010

With a special focus on the complexity of Israeli life and cinema, the 15th annual Seattle Jewish Film Festival is sure to intrigue and entertain.  SJFF opens with Academy Award nominated Ajami, a gritty, urban crime drama that tells the interwoven stories of Jewish, Muslim and Christian neighbors living in Jaffa, and features the first Ethiopian Israeli feature film (Zruvabel), among 30 critically acclaimed films from 10 countries that explore “the world through a vibrant lens.” Festival-goers can look forward to a stellar lineup of international films, related educational programs, and illuminating guest artists, including the Academy Award nominated German filmmaker Michael Verhoeven, the recipient of SJFF’s 1st Reel Difference Award.  Tickets and Passes are available to film screenings and a slew of parties and special events.

SALT HORSE  -  Man on the Beach
Recommended by Doreen Mitchum, Arts 4Culture
Through March 6, 2010
Erickson Theater, 1524 Harvard Avenue between Pike and Pine, Capitol Hill
Tickets: $15, students/seniors/military: $12, brownpapertickets.com

Seattle performance company Salt Horse presents a new, lushly layered, evening-length production of their critically acclaimed dance/sound work.  Man on the Beach follows the strange paths of three men who have replaced reality with their desire to retain the past and become perpetually stuck in time.  Their stark, monochromatic lives are invaded by colorful, dream-like forces that disrupt and embody the men’s unfolding internal narratives. Colliding dance, sound, and visual-theater, Salt Horse gradually reflects the men’s looped and fragmented memories through morphed or duplicated bodies and surreal abstractions of nature and environment. “Magic” scenic effects and gorgeous, live sound amplify the precarious fragility of perception and cinematically frame what is both funny and terrifying in an inability to let go.

On February 9, 2010, a selection panel of arts professionals met to review 140 online applications to Gallery4Culture from King County artists working in a wide range of media. With exhibition months to be determined in the near future, the selected artists will be exhibiting between September 2010 and August 2011.

Congrats to the selected artists!

Erin Elyse Burns – New media/video

James Cicatko – Painting/works on paper

Andrew Fallat – Sculpture/performance

Julia Freeman – Works on paper/installation

Paul Komada – Painting/fiber art

Jason Larsen – Woodcut

Ryan Molenkamp – Painting

NKO, NTG, and Dan Hawkins - Street art

Keeara Rhoades – New media/video/installation

Gregory Schaffer – Photography

Ben Waterman – Sculpture

And sincere thanks are owed to this year’s selection panelists: Zack Bent, Susie Lee, and Robert Yoder for their work; thanks also to 4Culture Board member Kevin Carl who served as an advisor in the process.

The next Gallery4Culture Call to Artists goes out in December 2010 with a January 10, 2011 deadline. This exhibition opportunity is open to King County artists not represented by a commercial gallery at the time of application.

Paul Komada, Boogie Woogie Homage, 2008, Wool yarn, 48 x 48 inches, image courtesy of the artist

Alicia Basinger’s  installation of ceramic sculpture takes its inspiration from various objects (tschotskes, antiques, and the garden).  Her predilection ranges from everyday kitsch to the figurines and over-the-top curiosities of the Rococo and Art Nouveau movements.  Creating structures in clay and orchestrating material transformations with a range of processes, Basinger creates a personal, fantastical world of objects, lanterns, and symmetrical, wall-mounted reliefs.  Her work alludes to concepts of growth, metamorphosis, phenomenon, deterioration, and our universal relationship to nature.

More

Alicia Basinger, Fan (detail), Porcelain, 5″ x 5.5″ x 4″, 2010 ©  Photo courtesy of the artist

If you’re an artist, arts group, heritage organization/specialist/educator, or someone needing help to rehabilitate a landmark, don’t forget to apply to 4Culture for project support – several deadlines are coming up in early March:

Landmark Rehabilitation: deadline March 3, 2010
Heritage Special Projects: deadline March 3, 2010
Heritage Cultural Education: deadline March 3, 2010
Individual Arts Projects: deadline March 10, 2010
Group Arts Projects: deadline March 17, 2010
See more upcoming opportunities on our 2010 Funding Calendar

Have questions? Click the link for each program above to:
1)    read more
2)    check out our brand new online application system
3)    contact the staff member for each program
4)    learn about our free application workshops

Also, we’re thrilled to have transitioned to an all-online application this year which has allowed us to simplify and streamline the process. Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

© Jason Hirata, 2009 Individual Artist Project recipient has work on view at James Harris Gallery through March 27, 2010. Abstract drawings are crafted using raw pigment mixed with the sweat. “It’s a personal connection,” explains the artist, “but in an extremely literal sense.”

The West Hylebos Wetlands in Federal Way are considered by many to be a natural and cultural gem of the region. Captivated by this site and the efforts to preserve it, Federal Way artist Mary Longhurst created a documentary film entitled, The Hylebos: Discovering a Hidden Jewel.

This film, supported in part through a 4Culture Individual Artist Projects award, conveys the vision of the late Ilene Marckx, whose worked formed the foundation, Friends of the Hylebos.  The Friends of the Hylebos has been working with the community to protect and restore streams, wetlands, forests and open space in the Hylebos watershed since 1983.

Mary Longhurst released her film on February 6th during a co-sponsored gathering by the Friends of the Hylebos and the Historical Society of Federal Way. Community leaders praised the film which draws attention to this hidden jewel. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Coming soon! Dynamic new media works by Scott Groeniger and Kenny Schneider will be added to e4c’s rotation this March.

Scott Groeniger

e4c will feature Groeniger’s The Ping Yao Continuum, depicting a scene of daily life at a restaurant in the ancient city of Ping Yao. Played in slow reverse, the food comes out of their mouths and is placed back onto the plates. Tea flows from within the body and returns to the glasses. The simple ritual act of eating together at the same table is one of the most universal human experiences. This video, The Ping Yao Continuum, is meant to express this tension by exploring the domestic ritual of a simple family meal inside the transitioning city, capturing a brief moment in time; and then extending it in reverse in an effort to prolong the experience of the present tense and savor the moment as an isolated, universal, ritual experience.
http://elasticlimit.com/artwork/

Kenny Schneider

Originally produced in 1968, Schneider’s 1002 Rothko’s was created by hand drawing on 16mm optical negatives, using markers, ink, collage materials and 2D cell animation. In 2008, he digitally reprocessed the work as 1002 Rothko’s. Using the Watchout software of e4c, Schneider has choreographed these newly reprocessed cells into a dance across four monitors.
artistsregister.com/artists/CO201

deadline: March 22, 2010

Are you an audiophile? Interested in the intersection of history, geography and stories of place? 4Culture & King County Metro Transit have issued a call for artists and interdisciplinary teams to create audio work along a new bus rapid transit corridor. Read the earlier post for details.

Now that the weather is warming up – yes for Pacific Northwesterners, 50 degrees is warm – and sunny, GO OUTSIDE!

Channel your inner tourist, and go down to Seattle’s Central Waterfront. Why not?! How long has it been since you’ve been down there? Lots to see and do…

Founded in 1851, Elliott Bay has served as the city’s front door. South of downtown at the mouth of the Duwamish River is Harbor Island, the world’s largest artificial island when it was constructed in 1909. The island’s profile is defined by the massive gantry cranes used to load and unload containerized cargo – said to have inspired the AT-ATs of Star Wars fame. Heading north, Piers 54–59 are a distinctive group of historic wooden warehouses home to working fireboats, the Seattle Aquarium, and a variety of tasty seafood restaurants and quirky shops. These sheds are the most authentic remnants of the old waterfront still standing.

Continuing north, historic markers placed all along the seawall commemorate milestones in Seattle’s maritime history. Explore Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, and/or the walking and biking paths that connect with Smith Cove Park and the Elliott Bay Marina in the Magnolia neighborhood. For other things to see and do visit DestinationHeritage.org.

Seattle’s Central Waterfront © 4Culture 2010

hot off the press

Public Art 4Culture has updated and reprinted the Public Art Guide. Available in our offices, at the Convention Center and Pacific Place in downtown Seattle and in local arts agencies throughout the county, the Guide may also be accessed online for download and printing. Explore your public art!

Check it out! HistoryLink just announced the addition of audio for their online essays. Listen to the voices of Hazel Wolf, a local environmentalist and social activist, Floyd Schmoe, a naturalist and peace activist, and Frances Farmer, a Seattle-born actress popular in the 1930s. Visit HistoryLink.org for more information, and remember they are looking for feedback.

Come join 4Culture in a collaborative effort in connecting communities.  This FREE event features artists working in culturally specific traditions to showcase their work both on stage and an art exhibit of emerging talent.  This is a great way to network with venues that present art and artists who create art.

March 10, 2010 10 am – 6 pm 
Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center

UPDATE– the registration deadline for presenters and artists has been extended to 5 pm, Friday, March 5. Download registration forms here.

The Ethnic Arts Connection is a collaborative project of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Seattle Center, 4Culture, Washington State Arts Commission, Ethnic Heritage Council, Fest and Arts Northwest.

HistoryLink.org

Check it out!

image: © HistoryLink.org

The Washington State Jewish Historical Society is inviting all wine lovers to attend History Uncork’d: A Wine Tasting Fundraiser for the society at Howard House, 604 2nd Avenue on March 10. Enjoy some of Washington’s top wines while mingling and enjoying some light kosher hors d’oeuvres. Guest speakers are Richard Kinssies, former wine columnist for the PI, Director of the Seattle Wine School, and Owner of the Wine Outlet; and Eric LeVine, founder of Cellar Tracker. Kosher and non-Kosher wines will be served at separate stations. Click here for more information.