visual art

Atmospheres at Childhood’s End Offers a Much-Needed Breathing Space

Each artist in Atmospheres at Childhood’s Eng Gallery offers not only a different environment, a different perspective, and a unique distance from their chosen subject matter, but also a different emotional response and interpretation. Albala’s Distance, suggesting meditation; Eshelman’s middle Distance, suggesting serenity; and Mathie’s close-up, suggesting awakened physical senses, are all encompassed in this show. Three very distinct individual viewpoints are able to live happily in the same gallery with unity in discourse – open through April 19.

Black Artists Exhibition at Tacoma Community College

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 which is open through March 13.

The Center Salon

Join us for the Center Salon, an annual dynamic gathering that showcases many forms of artistic expression – from visual artists and writers to musicians, actors, comedians, and filmmakers. Each year brings a unique mix of performances and creative showcases where artists connect and audiences discover something extraordinary.

hummingbird studio: “Art Belongs To Everyone”

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.

198 Artists’ Postcards in This Year’s Annual Postcard Show at SPSCC

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.

Art Story: Reflection of an Artist Couple at Tacoma Community College

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’s Art and Classes to Grace Arbutus Folk School this Spring

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.

The Carpenter’s House — A New Multidisciplinary Events Space

The Carpenter’s House was envisaged by Justin La Gra, who wanted to manifest a warm, intimate, and inclusive community space for creativity and art made for real people with real materials. Murphy and Ruiz joined the project, with their own specialized skills, resulting in a creative venue, involving a functioning carpentry studio, an art gallery, a live music venue, a community gathering space, and a developing broadcast and media studio. They say that it began as one person’s original idea that grew stronger with a collaborative vision, which was shaped by the community around them.

Copper Wolf 10th Anniversary Exhibit and Celebration

Copper Wolf Studios and Gallery, nestled off 2ND Avenue in Tumwater, is in a craftsman house with much of the old-world charm of the original house made into a beautiful gallery with great lighting and welcoming communal space, alongside the tattoo artists’ personal studio spaces. Danny Gordo says, “Copper Wolf creates a space showcasing art, bringing people together to further conversations and bridge gaps.” Aimee Schreiber rightly points out, “Art needs walls and space.” Gordo and Schreiber are board members of Olympia Artspace Alliance.

Oly Arts Fall Winter 2025 Print Edition

The Fall/Winter print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 34 is published! Here is a list of the articles and where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy. Enjoy!

© Copyright Oly Arts, all rights reserved 2015-2026
Skip to content