Art Trumps Vandalism

Tacoma Murals Project seeks sites for neighborhood murals

The Hilltop Mural project led by artist Jeremy Gregory was one of several successful neighborhood art projects in 2011.

 If your neighborhood is a victim of blight and vandalism, the City of Tacoma wants to hear from you. The Tacoma Murals Project seeks community groups who would like a mural painted at a specific site in their neighborhood. The neighborhood group will pair teams of professional artists with selected citizen participants and the resulting artist teams will design and implement murals that reflect the character and ideals of the surrounding community.

The Tacoma Murals Project could be described as a positive tool for fighting fire with fire. It requires participation by community members who are committed to their neighborhoods and agree to be actively involved and open to the creative ideas of the assigned artist team. Selected applicants will be provided with all the ingredients for a funded mural, including supplies and artist compensation; a mural-artist team and technical assistance to design and implement an artwork; and general promotion of the project. In return, the selected applicants will be a resource to the artist team for research, stories, and content; assist in community coordination; agree to maintain the mural after completion; and contribute in-kind resources or cash to support associated meetings with community members. A mural dedication will celebrate completion of the project. Citizens who support or participate in the Tacoma Murals Project make a powerful, creative statement in their communities.

Art for Everyone: Eight Classes from Metro Parks

Winter’s bluster bringing you down? Then it’s time to get creative. Why not start an art project – Metro Parks and Tacoma School of the Arts are offering eight visual arts courses including painting, photography, glassblowing, jewelry and ceramics.

Watercolor Lakeside
Find your inner Monet! Instructor Pamela Gassman leads students ages 15 and up in painting their own free-form watercolor lake or forest landscape.
Location: Center at Norpoint, 4818 Nassau Ave. NE in Tacoma; 253.591.5504
Fee: Center card $18; Tacoma resident $23; non-resident $25
#59950   02/23 – 03/01   Thursdays 6:30 – 8:30pm

Glassblowing at M-Space
Experience the wonder of molten glass and make a unique blown-glass float with the artists at M-Space.
Location: M-Space, 2310 S. Holgate, Tacoma 98402
Fee: $66
#59943   02/25   Saturday   3:30 – 7:30pm

Ceramics, All Levels
Beginners ages 18 and up will learn basic wheel throwing in this class at Tacoma School of the Arts. Advanced students may explore relief-textured surfaces. Instructor: James Gosselin.
Location: Tacoma School of the Arts, 1950 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma (enter through the gray door at the back of building in the alley)
Fee: Tacoma resident $99; non-resident $108
#59955   02/27   Monday   6 – 8:30pm

Passion for Pastels
Learn the vibrant power of pastel drawing in this class by Cynthia Snyder. Supplies provided: a $10 value!
Location: South Park Community Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way; 253.591.5299
Fee: Tacoma resident $104; non-resident $114
#59939   02/28 – 03/20   Tuesdays   6 – 8pm

Drawing Techniques of the Masters     
Instructor Allison Morse teaches young artists, ages 11-15, the basics of still-life drawing, and how to create images that resonate with color, shading and depth. Supplies provided: a $70 value!
Location: Tacoma School of the Arts, 1950 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma (enter through the gray door at the back of building in the alley)
Fee: Tacoma resident $109; non-resident $119
#59953   02/29 – 03/28   Wednesdays   5:30 – 7pm

TAM Brings Hide/Seek Exhibition to the West Coast

How have gender and sexual identity shaped the creation of modern portraiture? Quite profoundly, as seen in an internationally-acclaimed exhibition, Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, coming to the Tacoma Art Museum from March 17 – June 10, 2012. Hide/Seek debuted at The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in 2010. Its much anticipated stop at TAM provides the opportunity to share this groundbreaking survey with audiences on the West Coast.

“I Look Just Like My Daddy” by Cass Bird. Collection of the artist.

Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture traces the evolution of sexual identities through a diverse range of artworks including video, paintings, sculptures and photographs. It brings together an unprecedented collection of nearly 150 years of American art representing a range of identities, from exclusively same-sex to exclusively straight. Iconic American artists from Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent in the 1870s to Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keefe, Jasper Johns, Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol in the modern era all explored the definition of sexuality and gender as they continually reshaped modern art and as they reflected society’s changing attitudes about the individual’s pursuit of happiness and freedom of expression.

"Susan Sontag" by Peter Hujar. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

“Tacoma Art Museum stands uniquely positioned to present Hide/Seek,” said Stephanie A. Stebich, Director of Tacoma Art Museum. “We sit in a diverse and welcoming community that values freedom of expression and the open exchange of ideas. At the museum we see ourselves as a safe place to present works of art that express different points of view.”

Win Season’s Tickets to Tacoma City Ballet!

Ethereal moment at a Whalesong rehearsal. Photo: Connie Riggio

Put all those hours on Facebook to good use: work your social media connections and get the buzz out about Tacoma City Ballet’s Spring Dance Extravaganza. You could win a grand prize of two 2012 season’s tickets to the ballet! Contest deadline is Wednesday, April 18, 5pm.

Spreading the word is easy: simply post Tacoma City Ballet‘s Facebook page on your wall, or tag @TacCityBallet with a link to the Broadway Center event page in your Twitter feed; every time you encourage your friends to purchase tickets to TCB’s Spring Dance Extravaganza you’ll earn another entry in the contest. There’s no limit to the number of times you can post. The participant with the most entries will win a pair of tickets to all of TCB’s 2012 productions:

• Spring Dance Extravaganza – April 20th – 22^nd
• Storybook Ballet Theatre – May 19th & 20^th
• Tacoma City Ballet’s Annual Art Gallery – July 21^st
• The Haunted Theatre – October 20th – 28^th
• The Nutcracker – December 8th – 23rd

Photo: Connie Riggio

Get creative and support your local city ballet! Are you a blogger? Write about the Spring Dance Extravaganza, repin the performance on Pinterest, or film a YouTube video – and help fill the theater. See the TCB blog for the fine print. For further information, contact Leah Taff at 253.272.4219 or visit www.tacomacityballet.com.

The Grand Cinema Oscar Party, Sunday, February 26

It’s George Clooney Night – oops, we mean the Oscars! – next Sunday, and the Grand Cinema is hosting Tacoma’s premier Academy Awards party at Theater on the Square (915 Broadway). Get set for a night of red carpet fun with doors opening at 4pm, and televised coverage starting at 5pm.

Take your seats for an evening of fun, Feb. 26.

Order your tickets now for a shot at a year’s worth of free tickets to the Grand for the individual with the most prescient Oscar ballot. The ticket price ($20/members; $25 general admission) includes a catered box dinner from Maxwell’s Restaurant with decadent dessert by Corina Bakery. Take this opportunity to dress up and step out at Theater on the Square; the winning costume will score $100 to Chopstix courtesy of the Weekly Volcano. Info: 253-593-4474 or GrandCinema.com.

Tacoma is for Lovers, February 12 at King’s Books

Poster by Chuck Knigge

Attention, V-Day shoppers: Tacoma is for Lovers and King’s Books are presenting a special, romantic edition of the artist craft fair Sunday, Feb. 12, 11am-4pm at King’s Books (218 St. Helens Ave.). Find gifts to tickle the most discriminating valentine, including rabbit tees, Victorian-framed insects, letterpress prints, stylish accessories, heavenly scents, delicate corsages, vintage fashion, artisanal cheese and creamery products by some of T-town’s best-loved creative souls.

Tacoma Is For Lovers is a community-based organization that promotes the visibility of local artists and encourages reuse, intentionality, sustainability and high craft. Participating artists include: Backcountry Creamery, Mindy Barker,  La La Laurie, Orange House Press, Lulu, Deeds and Petunia, DEVIANTdecor, Urban Doe, Libertine Tacoma, Lauren Logsdon, Mara Loveday, Eleven11Wish, Atlas Past, Parisienne Girl Design, Miranda Pollitz, Matthew Porter, Singe, Heather Rowland, Senua, Slide Sideways, and James Wenlock.

Look for Opal and Lola selling lemonade! All proceeds of the lemonade stand will benefit Laurie Cinotto’s terrific Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. Get a sneak preview of TIFL here.

The 10th Northwest Biennial is on through May 20, 2012!

There’s more than one way to enjoy the 10th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum, thanks to a series of special activities honoring this spectacular showcase of regional art and artists. Next up, An Evening of Education and Art, on Third Thursday gallery night, Feb. 16, 5–8pm. Enjoy performances and art-making celebrating the achievements of the civil rights movement and Black History Month, and the 10th Northwest Biennial. This family-friendly event celebrates the intersection of education and art at TAM with a vibrant mix of local artists, teachers, teen interns and members of the community. Check out the Community Art Space featuring elementary student artwork curated by School of the Arts (SOTA) interns. Learn about educational resources at TAM, and upcoming programs through the Puget Creek Restoration Society, Metro Parks, and more. Nibble complimentary snacks, and win fabulous prizes in a TAM raffle. Admission: free from 5–8pm; free for teachers all day! Click here to see a schedule of events for the evening.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, 10am–5 pm, TAM presents Art from the Heart. Join several of the artists honored  in the 10th Northwest Biennial in this day of interactive works of art inspired by the idea of “art and social practice,” a contemporary movement in which artists encourage their audience to think about, discuss, and even act on important social questions of the day. All activities and performances are free with museum admission. Click here for information about each event.
• 12–4 pm: Abraham Ingle presents Fake Up
• 1–5 pm: Ariana Jacob discusses The American Society for Personally Questioning Political Questions
• 2-4 pm: Wynne Greenwood invites participation in Video, Performance, and Identity (pre-registration required)

National Print Exhibition Opening at PLU, February 8

Art work by Arvid Anderson. Photo courtesy of PLU University Gallery

The Human Experience is the subject of a national print exhibition opening Feb. 8, 5-7pm, at Pacific Lutheran University. The show brings together art from across the country that explores “the avant garde in terms of printmaking,” according to PLU assistant professor of art and design, Craig Cornwall, in a YouTube video.

Cornwall and Jessica Spring, PLU visiting artist of English art and design, will give a fascinating onsite demonstration of the printmaker’s art – and a few lucky gallery attendees will receive an original print to take home.

Art by Jessica Spring and Chandler O'Leary. Photo courtesy of PLU University Gallery

Visitors will have the opportunity to see how etchings are printed, “see the actual plate, the press, the pull process, in terms of how [a print] is put together,” promises Cornwall.

Can’t make the opening reception? The University Gallery in Ingram Hall is open Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm; admission free. Pacific Lutheran University, Wheeler St. S. and 121st St. S., in Tacoma. Exhibition runs through Mar. 7.