Multidisciplinary artists Shin Yu Pai and Justin Rueff are hard at work creating Less Desolate, a stunning haiku comics book exploring Pacific Northwest and pandemic life. The book will be published this fall – but available now for preorder! - by Blue Cactus Press. Less Desolate represents a hybrid literary art form that brings together the lyricism and associative qualities of poetry, while also drawing from the craft of sequential art. Within its pages, Pai and Rueff uncover the quiet moments of calm that anchor us within urban surroundings, while also contemplating climate change, poverty, homelessness, loneliness, parenting and mental health during isolation and confinement.
Preorder your own copy of Less Desolate at bluecactuspress.com/product/desolate
The Tacoma Arts Commission is proud to support this project with Community Arts Projects funding.
... See MoreSee Less
Find out more and read the Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality's full 2022 Annual Report here: ow.ly/BJ4J50NErcP
.
.
.
#tacomaarts #tacomacreates #tacomawa #artsandculture #tacoma_wa
... See MoreSee Less
Start planning your Tacoma Ocean Fest experience now! There's a whole month of ocean arts, science & events to help us all celebrate, learn about and protect our beautiful ocean. Events are FREE, family-friendly, and fun!
🐠 7-11pm June 2: Lantern Paddle for Species -- Bring your most fabulous illuminations and either paddle or watch from shore. Music, circus, art Foss Waterway Seaport
🌴 10am-12pm June 3: Beach Cleanup -- Your chance to clean up our sea, make a trash whale mural and listen to live Hawaiian music at the Les Davis Pier
💃🏽 10am-5pm June 4: FESTIVAL -- Music, art, circus, poetry, dance, OceanX speakers, science, booths, kayak tryouts, food trucks, boats and the Whale Ballet
🐙 Marine Biologist Beachwalks June 17-18 and Swan Creek Cleanup June 24.
Find out more at tacomaoceanfest.org
The Tacoma Arts Commission is proud to support this event through Community Arts Projects funding.
... See MoreSee Less
It's 'Tacoma Artist Tuesday'! Today we are featuring Burl Battersby -
Burl (he/him) lives in the South End of Tacoma and writes using the pseudonym B. Eugene B. He writes poetry, fiction, and personal essays, and his most recent book is Wild Rose & Other Poems Sung by the Window, published in April 2023. He is currently working on a project to explore and create new forms of contemporary/endemic poetry.
For his project “Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets,” Burl is designing and coordinating four parts of a project which will converge on the final publication. The four components include a monthly hybrid writer's group meeting, four poetry workshops, a call for poetry submissions about or inspired by Tacoma (from poets of all ages and from anywhere), and the compilation of an anthology of Tacoma Poetry (to be published in Fall 2024).
We are honored to support Burl's work through the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program.
... See MoreSee Less
Join us for a Freedom Celebration Thursday, June 15th, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza (1548 Commerce St)!
The City and Tacoma Art Museum are hosting a family-friendly celebration with music and performances to honor Juneteenth and the Black Lives Matter Mural, designed by artist Dionne Bonner. Hear from Mayor Woodards and C. Ivan Johnson; enjoy performances by Tacoma Poet Laureate Christian Paige and dance group The Artist Collective – Creative Direction by Kenya Adams. Eat delicious food from Bajan Station Caribbean Food (available for purchase). Make your mark by adding a handprint to the Black Lives Matter Mural. Feel free to head over to Tacoma Art Museum for FREE entry during the event.
📅 Thursday, June 15, from 5 to 8 PM
📍 Tollefson Plaza, 1548 Commerce St., in downtown Tacoma
🌐 fb.me/e/14Yyid2z6
Shout out to Tacoma Art Museum, BLM Mural Project, Dionne Bonner, Kenya Adams, and Christian Paige!
... See MoreSee Less
Happening today and tomorrow! Join Barefoot Collective for Healing Movement, a FREE outdoor dance concert May 20 & 21 at 2 pm in Wapato Park. Featuring new works by Alice Grendon, Cosmic Lottery, Grant Center for the Expressive Arts Dance Company, Jennifer Wolbrecht, Kaiya Holtzman, Lucille Jun, Mycelial Movement Network, Robbi A Moore, and Stephanie Kriege Pederson.
This is a site-specific show, so each dance will change location slightly. There will not be chairs or a traditional audience area; feel free to bring lawn chairs, blankets, or whatever you need to enjoy this outdoor concert comfortably.
The Tacoma Arts Commission is proud to support this event through our Community Arts Projects funding program.
... See MoreSee Less