The Seattle Center hosted Seattle’s annual tattoo expo showcasing over 200 artists across the world, some local to the Puget Sound, our Eastern Washington neighbors, and our neighbors on the other coast. Attendees viewed portfolio after portfolio within the long rows of talented tattoo studios. The varieties of styles and inspirations were put on full display from the artists. Expansive geometric patterns stretched across bodies. Shadowed creatures from the occult appear to creep out of body parts. Flowers were stuck in the most perfect moment of bloom.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the festival was the sense of community. People of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages—from kids to adults—came together in a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. It was a true reflection of the diverse and vibrant community that calls the Duwamish River home.

In the heart of Seattle’s International District, the stage is set and ready to captivate the audience with Yun Theatre’s summer production, June is the First Fall. This 90-minute play hosts themes of personal and cultural identity, defying tradition, the complexity of family relationships, and so many other themes that everyone is bound to find a connection with in the show. At this intimate venue operated by Theater Off Jackson, audiences will be absorbed into a heartfelt, empathetic story that is sure to leave you entertained and immersed.

Did you know there is an art gallery at the top floor of the King Street Station in Pioneer Square? If not, add it to your stop during the First Thursday art walk. ARTS at King Street Station is a free art gallery open Wednesday through Saturday, 11am to 5pm, and closes at 8pm for the monthly art walk.

Fruit Bowl is a recently developed art production series bringing local artists’ designs to life with a set of runway shows—and yes, you’re right: it’s fruit-themed. Fruit Bowl is very queer and closed the show on Pride weekend; this last show’s theme was “Chimera Fruit: The Mutant Fruit.”

The Japanese Film Festival Online streams a diverse catalog of cinema from Japan. As an entirely free festival, viewers from around the world can instantly gain access to many movies and TV shows, including some archival films. The Japan Foundation started this festival, known as JFF, in 2016 to highlight and share Japanese culture through film, and has since expanded its access to 27 countries with subtitle options in over a dozen languages. These facets of JFF make it a fantastic chance to experience all kinds of Japanese cinema from almost anywhere around the world.

The City of Auburn’s Juneteenth event at Les Gove Park in Auburn, WA, promised to be a vibrant celebration of freedom and culture. Located right in downtown Auburn, adjacent to the King County Library Auburn Branch, the event was set against a backdrop that should have been inviting and accessible. My experience, however, revealed several areas that needed improvement.

The story transports the audience to the year 2065, where Planet Earth is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian hell, and the rulers are odd, sponge-like aliens who oversee a Big Brother-style world, and the humans who have somehow survived live in constant fear of being disappeared in the night if they don’t openly demonstrate their fealty to their authoritarian rulers.

Congratulations to the Gage graduates for completing their programs and their final showcase as students at Gage Academy of Art! This Best Of showcase was Gage’s last show in their Capitol Hill location, as they’ll be moving to a new spot soon. Gage’s gallery hallway will expand with more space for art, students, and learning. Many of these recent graduates have had their pieces shown across Seattle, including a contemporary showcase held at AXIS a few months ago. The showcase grouped the different art pieces by categories: still life, nature, figures, sculpture, portrait, narrative, and abstract.

The Ethnic Heritage Gallery hosts several paintings across the third floor of SMT. One of the paintings, Wat’sa with a Pearl Earring (2014), by Allison Marks, puts a mask on a version of the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring piece. While the alluded painting gently remains unchanged, the mask brings a dark and violent feeling to the scene with red eyes and fire across the face.

SIFF took a close and considerate involvement with Indigenous film creators with a designated category and showcase. Three films that caught attention ranged from Indigenous Mexican, Aboriginal, and Native Hawaiian stories.

One artistic choice that seems to occur more often in foreign films is an extended use of metaphor. I especially appreciate the filmmakers who move beyond using visual symbology to enhance their storytelling and deeply embed metaphor into their film’s narrative structure itself.

The fascinating thing about seeing this play now in 2024 is that it feels even more relevant post-pandemic as the world comes out of a period of forced isolation. How have we been transformed and how do we reconnect with ourselves and others as we face the real world again? This play explores the hope and transformation that human connection offers, but that connection comes with the potential risk of great pain. Is the reward of joy in finding others who accept you for who you are worth the possible pain of opening up your heart to someone else?

Anyone in the US who lost their entire life savings, their home, their business, or their job starting in September 2008 will remember with horror the most devastating financial meltdown of the 21st Century. September 15th marked the day when Lehman Brothers collapsed and declared bankruptcy. Dubbed “The Great Recession,” this crisis led to a severe economic recession, with millions of people losing their jobs and countless businesses going bankrupt through no fault of their own.

In the world of Brown Bodies, we’re taken to the not-so-distant future wherein Helios (our sun) is inching its way closer to Earth. The ice caps have melted, the sea levels have risen, the animals are all but gone, the air is burning hot, and those with enough affluence and influence have boarded a space lifeboat for the colonized Moon. Of course, who is left on Earth but the rest of us, the broke and the BIPOC.

To anyone not from the area, Greenwood seems like a neighborhood just like many others around the city: Easy to pass through, easy to ignore, easy to try once then never again. To locals, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

One of their best-kept not-so-secret secrets is nestled on the main strip, one of those joints where if you sneeze, you miss it. With its black façade and nearly hidden door, the Greenwood Art Collective consistently provides passersby with an otherworldly indoor art experience.

Step into the Red Eye Lounge, where the air is thicker than the plot and the smoke swirls like rumors. Gunmetal Blues, the musical adaptation that's got more twists than a cat in a yarn factory, takes center stage at the Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend, WA. But hold on to your fedoras, folks, because this ain't your grandma's noir—it's got a side of slapstick and a generous dollop of charm.

Image: Photo by Giao Nguyen

Seattle Shakespeare Company has commissioned its first play: A world premiere by local playwright, screenwriter, and performer Keiko Green. Ms. Green, who splits her time between Seattle and Los Angeles, has crafted a fast-paced comedy that takes place on a college campus and centers on three roommates, one of whom is having boyfriend troubles that lead to a series of schemes in attempts to solve the problems. But, as in all great comedies, the best-intended plans are waylaid by misunderstandings, miscommunication, and even mistaken identity.

Image: The Human Library via Folio