There are so many pieces to get lost in at the Black Artists Exhibition, nestled, as it is in the modest space of The Gallery at Tacoma Community College. Repurposed art, sculptures, loving portraits (Charles Conner’s warm rendition of comedian and activist Dick Gregory was a pleasant surprise), clothes and quilt-making — all to be discovered at this show.
The South Puget Sound Community College Theatre Collective production of Single Black Female is not a stage version of the 2022 thriller about a woman trying to steal another’s life. Rather, this Female, a comedy by Lisa B. Thompson, centers on two close friends, both successful single Black women, dealing with society’s expectations — chiefly, that what each needs is a man.
“It’s funny,” said Raessa Patterson, the SPSCC alumna directing the show. “It’s bold. It gives us a chance to laugh at the stereotypes that surround us, but it also reminds us that those stereotypes don’t define us.”
‘How Much the Heart Can Hold’ (Saturday, Feb. 14 only) is a multi-faceted celebration of love featuring scenes, poetry, quotes and even love notes penned by audience members. “It’s such a fun piece,” said Bryan Willis, who created the show with the late Linda Kalkwarf and included pieces by other local writers. “This is not a play I could have written 30 years ago. The nature of love changes as we age. We have successes and failures. … In the course of the play, we follow this couple who meet as grade-school students, and we follow them until they are in their golden years.”
The Washington Center holds four series, the Silent Film Series, Black Box Jazz, an Adventure series, and Comedy Underground. Stepping into the majority of silent film experiences, audiences can expect house organist Dennis James plays scores alongside a historical silent film. Black Box Jazz showcases jazz performers who compose their own music in a truly intimate setting. The Adventure Series offers an immersive, in-person experience “Whether deep-sea diving or trekking across the Grand Canyon, and the Comedy Underground is more of a club-like feel than attending a theatre. “You can sit with your friends and enjoy your drink while you laugh together.”
Harlequin’s 2026 season begins with a classic thriller, Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. To heighten the film noir fun, the production is presented in glorious monochrome, with black and white sets and costumes, and make-up and light trickery to mimic the look of a classic black-and-white thriller. To assist both actress Helen Harvester who plays Susan, and the production team, the company brought in a sight-impaired consultant, Chandra Scheschy, a theater professional recommended by the Washington State Department for the Blind. The play runs January 23 – February 8.
Capital City Chorus of Olympia Chorale has been invited to New York City this May to perform ‘It Is Happiness’ at Carnegie Hall. In support of CCC Chorale members who will be traveling to New York, CCC is hosting the ‘It Is Happiness’ concert fundraiser which will take place Saturday, January 17 at United Churches of Olympia. The concert fundraiser will include a performance of ‘It Is Happiness,’ and will commemorate the seventh anniversary of Oliver’s death. To further celebrate Mary Oliver’s life and body of work, the event will include a live reading of Oliver’s poetry, in collaboration with Browsers Bookshop.
Many who come to hummingbird studio are defined by our society as disabled, and many are not. There are volunteers from Evergreen along with community members who just love to create and be part of this community of creators. “It’s the people,” said Willow, a former Evergreen College student who first discovered the studio through the college’s work-study program, but keeps coming back. “They (the leaders) do an amazing job of creating an environment where people feel safe and relaxed,” Willow said. hummingbird sudio is an inclusive art space where everyone is welcome, with people of all kinds and all abilities creating art together. At its foundation is a belief in the transformative power of art.
South Puget Sound Community College’s Fine Art Postcard Exhibition 2026 includes 198 artworks by the local creative community of all ages, and the content of the pieces — on the theme “Out of Order” — is as diverse as the artists themselves. The annual show is the college’s best-attended exhibition and its most important in that it raises money for the college’s Leonor R. Fuller Gallery. It also provides a window into the minds of the contributors.
Painters David Noah Giles and CJ Swanson, who, after 33 years as a married couple, are having their first two-person exhibition this month. The show runs Jan. 2-30. It is titled: Art Story: Reflection of an Artist Couple. It can be seen in The Art Gallery at Tacoma Community College. “This exhibition will give the viewer some insight into two artists’ lives together,” Swanson said. She and her husband view their experience to be similar to the experiences of other artist couples such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, Elaine and Willem de Kooning and others who came before them in art history.
Bella Kim will lead a community workshop at Arbutus Folk School in 2026 inspired by the resourcefulness of Jogakbo and the practice of transforming leftover and discarded materials into new meaning. Her art is both delicate and large in scale. As you encounter her pieces, the myriad of brightly colored, intricately stitched pieces in swirling matrices envelope you in a light embrace, seemingly inviting you to dance with them. When you look closer they are made of sterner stuff, recycled woven plastic packaging with writings and messages therein tell of more serious environmental concerns, and bring us necessarily back down to earth again.