The art of Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon in their show, “tomakesenseofitall” at Tacoma Art Museum works to deliver orchestrated messages, respecting and supporting each other’s voice, singing a similar song which gives you many things to think about. Harrison and Pettibon have much in common, they both practice their disciplines with similar concerns in mind, they both utilize a rich, visually allegorical narrative, incorporating surrealism as a means of communication to express the niche space they occupy in the world.
Summer Reading List at Childhood’s End Gallery gathers a diverse sampling of what the book arts can do. Childhood’s End is Olympia’s premiere art gallery, and this exhibition should not be missed. The artists are: Susan Aurand, Malpina Chan, Camella Gumaelius, Robin Gumaelius, Lucia Harrison, Randi Parkhurst, Shu-Ju Wang and Suze Woolf.
Mo Golden and Ross Cowman are the owners of Heart of the Deernicorn Inc. Cowman has been casually designing tabletop games since he was a kid. Cowman and Golden made a game together called Night Forest. Golden studied fine art with Marilyn Frasca, also movement with Rob Esposito at Evergreen. Cowman says the prompts in the game give an opportunity to share in a poetic way, poetry being a love of Cowman’s which he studied as a student at Evergreen.
The purpose of LoveOly, in its third year, is to bring people together and promote downtown. “I love it that we bring the community together right when kids are fresh from the school year,” said Desiree Freeman, executive director of the Downtown Olympia Alliance, which organizes LoveOly. The family-friendly event comes to life June 20 to 22.
Comedian Sam Miller and his mother, Mary Soehnlen, performed “The Jail Letters Project” several times in 2017, when Miller was doing standup locally and hosting a comedy open mic. They’re revisiting it now because Stand Up Records, which produced Miller’s 2023 Round Trip, is working on a documentary about him. “I’m used to standup, and I’m good at standup,” he said. “Even though I’ve done this show before, it is more challenging. … The thing about my drinking and using that I am most ashamed of is how I treated my mom. Doing a show with my mom about that time is the hardest thing.”
Founded in downtown Olympia in 1980 by a group of artists dedicated to bringing their work directly to and fostering a dialogue with the community, the Artists’ Artists’ Gallery in Capital Mall celebrates 45 years of cooperative art this summer with live music and an opportunity to meet and talk with the artists, and view a wide selection of drawings, paintings, sculpture, jewelry and other artworks.
“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf,” now being staged at Lakewood Playhouse, is a show that mainly consists of poetic monologues delivered by seven emphatically engaged performers, interspersed with wildly physical musical numbers. It’s a show that demands that you be as present as possible — a show of giddy highs and devastating lows.
More than 80 vendors will be present at the Olympia Zine Fest, May 30-31, primarily featuring zines and similar art forms. Co-organizer Kerry Martin describes the format of the Tabling Expo as a cross between an art gallery opening and a craft fair, with the opportunity to meet and chat with zine creators while enjoying the different writing and artwork on display. Zines featured in the expo may be available for a small fee, and zine artists may also be open to trading or exchanging zines with fellow zine authors.
SPSCC Theater Collective’s rock musical “Lizzie” about Lizzie Bordon, accused of the ax murder of her mother, assumes Lizzie’s guilt, according to its director. It also doesn’t shy away from suggesting that Lizzie’s relationship with her father included sexual abuse, a theme explored in the song “This Isn’t Love,” one of the 26 songs that tell Lizzie’s story.
Since 2017, the City of Olympia Poet Laureate has used the written word as a frame to explore timely topics, facilitate community conversations and revisit local landmarks and landscapes. This spring, the City of Olympia is searching for the next Olympia Poet Laureate and is inviting members of the public to submit applications for the position.