White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Change is in the works for White Center Arts, according to this announcement from Shelli Park, and this might be your chance to help:

White Center Arts is at an exciting crossroads. We are opening a temporary gallery in the Greenbridge development, utilizing an available new storefront. Our goal is to host gallery shows, artist workshops, arts events, and fundraisers. WCA is hoping that this will eventually turn into a permanent space, either in the same location, or through fundraising, fund a different space. We have been working towards this goal of opening a community gallery for three years. We are partnering with King County Housing Authority in the current space.

WCA is also closing out an era. After years of service, the founding chair of White Center for the Arts and the merged organization White Center Arts, is ready to step down. WCA is looking for a new leader to continue the vision of our role in bringing greater art access and visibility to White Center, and support for our local artists.

WCA is looking to fill two positions:

CHAIR: a person with the vision to guide the organization with our mission in mind. A connection with White Center is preferred, as this is a unique neighborhood, and practical understanding of the challenges would be very helpful in establishing relationships and partnerships. It is also desired that this person understand the importance of art and culture’s impact on community and economic development.

WCA’s board is dedicated to our mission. We have faced and overcome many challenges. We feel the excitement of this new path and want to share it with someone who is as passionate about arts in White Center as we are.

RECORDING SECRETARY: a person to record the minutes and discussion highlights of board meetings. The secretary will summarize and e-mail the notes to the board members shortly after meeting dates.

Please contact Shelli Park at crimsonpark@hotmail.com

We don’t have a full venue list but we have, for starters, this announcement from Center Studio via Facebook:

Sarah Barrick be holding a donation-based bake sale this evening at Center Studio during White Center’s Art Walk from 6-9 pm that will benefit Feed Washington! Stop by to enjoy a sweet treat, some fresh new art and to browse a brand new batch of my sacred mandala pendants. Any purchase you make, brownies, art or jewelry will all help to feed hungry children in Washington state!

Wander the rest of the WC business district tonight and see what else you find – 6 to 9 pm.

ADDED 1:16 PM: Rock during the Art Walk, tonight at Zippy’s Giant Burgers:

Their names are forever part of the art – the young Evergreen Campus artists who created the mural that’s now complete on the north wall of the Super Saver Foods store on 16th in White Center. They were there, with their teacher, as it was dedicated Tuesday afternoon:

Those on hand got to hear stories of how it was created – 200 hours of volunteer time, as the White Center Chamber of Commerce noted in a preview announcement – and see the mockups:

Their teacher explained the mural is a truly collaborative work:

It spans so much space, you have to go see it in person to really appreciate it! Super Saver Foods is the former Albertsons store (sold and converted last March) at 16th/107th.

This afternoon, a dedication celebration will mark the completion of that mural on the north wall of Super Saver Foods in White Center. WC Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes sent a news release to formally announce it:

Last May, students from White Center’s Evergreen campus, comprising three local high schools, began painting a giant mural on the north wall of the new Super Saver Foods market (formerly the Albertson’s store, located on 16th Ave. SW and SW 106th Ave in White Center). This mural, designed by Evergreen Art Club students, and funded by the White Center Chamber of Commerce, was approved by Greg Saar, new White Center business owner who had just opened the market here. Half of the mural was completed at the end of the school year in mid-June. When Evergreen students returned to school this past September, work began again. This Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 3 pm, the students and the Chamber will host a celebration of the completion of the almost-100-foot-long mural.

It is estimated that over 200 hours of high school student volunteer time was spent designing and painting the mural. The mural emphasizes the cultural diversity of White Center, and the diversity of our Evergreen campus and promotes the ethnic foods that have made White Center famous. It is the largest, all-volunteer mural painted in White Center and covers a long wall that historically is tagged multiple times each year. This is the 17th White Center mural in the past year, sponsored by the White Center Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the White Center Community Development Association (CDA). Most murals are located in graffiti-prone locations. Our goal is to have 25 White Center murals completed by 2013, as part of our walking tour of White Center (see VisitWhiteCenter.com)

The White Center Chamber of Commerce and our White Center CDA want to thank Evergreen Art teacher and club adviser Amanda Schmidt and Evergreen student adviser Ray Zombro for their commitment to this huge project, and acknowledge the willing support from Greg Saar and his new Super Saver Foods market in White Center. This project is a creation of a group of highly talented Evergreen art students as a way to celebrate the rich diversity that has made White Center a wonderful place to live.

It’s White Center Art Walk night, 6-9 pm! One of the places you can stop for art and treats is Center Studio (9611 16th SW), whose proprietor Lonjina Verdugo sends word of what she has in store:

September Artist: Sarah Barrick at Center Studio

Please join us every 3rd Saturday of the month during Art Walk and enjoy what Center Studio has to offer. This month, Sarah Barrick’s photography based visual interpretations of the ratios and proportions found in the study of sacred geometry examine the perspective of the mandala principle where existence is described as ‘orderly chaos.’ She hopes that the beauty of her circular images give pause and create a space for the mind to wander, to wonder, and to appreciate what she sees as inseparable parts of a total vision of reality. www.sarahbarrick.com

We will be enjoying snacks and sips from 6-9 pm tonight with specials on classes if you sign-up while at the studio. Plus, if you have been wanting to try us out, we are offering our first Community Yoga night Sunday, 9/16, at 5:30. Cost is donation only. All are welcome!

Anybody else part of Art Walk tonight? Send info! whitecenternow@gmail.com

Just in from Shelli Park – details of what and who they are looking for, to help the White Center Art Walk grow. Read on:

White Center Arts (WCA), the producer of the White Center 3rd Saturday Art Walk, is seeking a new infusion of energy for the 3rd Saturday Art Walk. We are looking for a few good volunteers who have a vision to take this program to a new level. We want to continue to grow the Art Walk into an event that is unique to White Center, and a regional draw.

WCA has developed a few auxiliary programs that dovetail with Art Walk that need to be established in our annual schedule. Any volunteers would be supported by current supporters and the Board of Trustees.

Read the rest of this entry »

We stopped by Cultivate‘s open-mike night on Friday at Greenbridge Plaza, just long enough to see the crowd gathering on a perfect summer evening – not too hot, not too cool. Among the first performers, Celestine:

The event was a co-promotion with White Center Community Development Association and YES Foundation, and a chance for everybody to celebrate the summer. Cultivate has a photo album up on Facebook; see it here.

7 pm, the plaza will be full of sights and sounds as Cultivate, YES Foundation, White Center Community Development Association, and your artistic friends and neighbors team up for Open Mike Night. Need more info? Check out this Facebook event page.

Local artist RobRoy Chalmers sent word he has just installed a new “Swarm” at Luso Food and Wine in White Center. He explains his work here. But as is the case with many artworks, the photos only hint at what it’s like – nothing compares to a firsthand viewing.

To see his work in person, stop by Luso at 9988 15th SW.

Last fall, an independent film titled “Eden” shot some scenes in White Center. It’s complete and has just received an award at the Seattle International Film Festival, according to this news release we just received from KCTS:

KCTS 9 and SIFF are pleased to announce that Eden—directed by Seattle filmmaker Megan Griffiths and starring Jamie Chung, Matthew O’Leary and Beau Bridges—is the winner of the first annual Reel NW Award, presented to a distinguished feature-length film with Pacific Northwest connections appearing in the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival.

Eden shines a light into a sinister corner of our nation’s culture with an emotional drama based on the harrowing true-life story of a teenager who was abducted and forced into sexual slavery in the American Southwest. Shot almost entirely in Washington State, the film was the unanimous choice of the jury, which issued the following statement:

“From the assured vision of its director to the committed performances by its cast, this film displays strong cinematic craftsmanship. Unpredictable and therefore truly suspenseful, Eden explores a largely unknown issue with sensitivity and without preaching. In short, this is a powerful story that delivers on all levels. We’re very proud to recognize Eden with this Award.”

“This film represents exactly the kind of quality and creativity that we value and celebrate at KCTS 9,” said KCTS 9 President and CEO Maurice “Moss” Bresnahan. “We are delighted that this first recipient of the Reel NW Award exemplifies, both in content and in execution, the type of high quality story-telling that is independent filmmaking at its best.”

Jurors included Scilla Andreen, CEO and co-founder of IndieFlix.com; Randy Brinson, Executive Director of Programming for KCTS 9; and Robert Horton, film critic for KUOW and the Everett Herald.

The winning film was announced on Friday, June 8, at SIFF’s Northwest Connections party, and the Reel NW Award will be presented at SIFF’s annual Golden Space Needle Awards brunch (today).

Another mural for White Center! With paint contributed by the WC Chamber and WC Community Development Association, high-school students from Highline Public Schools‘ Evergreen Campus are creating one on the north wall of Super Saver Foods, which opened in March in the 16th/107th storefront that was formerly an Albertsons. As Chamber President Mark Ufkes explained it in e-mail last week, “The design will include cultural images and food items and promote the diversity at the three Evergreen High Schools on campus.” We checked on this site this past Monday; it’s just part of what’s becoming a tapestry of mural art around the area; we’ll check in on other projects soon.

Just got the announcement of this Saturday’s White Center Art Walk.

The venues are:

3.14 9602 16th Ave SW

Big Al Brewing 9832 14th Ave SW

Café Rozella 9434 Delridge Way SW

Company 9608 16th SW

Dubsea 9910 8th Ave SW

Dzul Tattoo 9622-B 16th Ave SW

Full Tilt Ice Cream 9629 16th Ave SW

Herbal Legends 9619 16th Ave SW

Proletariat Pizza 9622-A 16th Ave SW

Salvadorean Bakery 1719 SW Roxbury

The Forge: Tilton, Balaban & McCaallister 9052 Delridge Way

Southgate Roller Rink 9646 17th SW

Zippy’s Giant Burgers 9614 14th SW

We’ve been watching the WCAW website for the list of venues/artists – and it finally appeared tonight, in the nick of time. So, if you can get out and about in the next two hours, here’s who’s participating this time around.

Café Rozella proprietor Leticia Martinez is certainly proud of her coffee shop’s new look. But when we stopped in during the “reopening” celebration tonight, we found out she is even prouder of an achievement by her son Patrick – who just got an honor-roll certificate commemorating his 4.0 GPA at Madison Middle School. (Congratulations, Patrick!) He is a fixture at the shop, which has always been a home to art and a celebration of creativity, but is now artistically decorated in its own right:

Tonight’s event included live music – playing a handmade instrument from Germany, we found Craig Cinderich:

There’s also a new menu at Rozella, with added savory/hearty options as well as the to-be-expected sweets (often including Leticia’s home-baked breads). Tonight’s ringleader, White Center business-community cheerleader Aileen Sison, says there’s a celebration ahead on April 20th, too, so if you couldn’t make it to the café tonight, mark your calendar.

The fine folks behind the White Center Art Walk have published the lineup for this Saturday night’s event. Best place to see it is on their own website – just go here.

Today’s old skates, tomorrow’s art. Well – May’s art. Tonight, Amanda from the White Center Art Walk presided in the basement of Southgate Roller Rink as artists came by to pick up skates to turn into the “dynamic roller-skate sculptures” that WCAW is seeking. The artists’ marching – um, rolling – orders are:

– Max out your design at 4′ wide x 2′ tall
– Utilize up to (5) pairs or (10) skates
– Make it wall mountable
– Like the Native Americans with the Buffalo hunt, include as much of the roller skate as possible (ie; the boot, truck and wheels). A surplus of clay wheels are also available for use.
– Sculptures must be completed by May 9th

They’ll be spotlighted during the May 19th White Center Art Walk.

Five artists picked up their materials while we were there this evening.

Artists who haven’t already signed up for this – you have just a few days to go! White Center is on a roll and your creation can be part of it, if you get in on this:

White Center Art Walk is continuing the call to artists for dynamic roller skate sculptures. Let your imagination ROLL WILD! Our first round this past summer was very successful, and there is some amazing art hung up at the rink. There’s plenty of room on the walls, and hundreds of skates just waiting for you and your ideas to be a permanent part of the Southgate Roller Rink in White Center.

Sculpture Criteria and Instructions:

– Max out your design at 4′ wide x 2′ tall
– Utilize up to (5) pairs or (10) skates
– Make it wall mountable
– Like the Native Americans with the Buffalo hunt, include as much of the roller skate as possible (ie; the boot, truck and wheels). A surplus of clay wheels are also available for use.
– Sculptures must be completed by May 9th
– Participation fee is $20 which covers skates, hanging and promotion of the May 3rd Saturday Art Walk.

The roller rink will play host to a fundraiser on May 16th benefiting WCAW to commission and install public art for White Center. This will also be an early unveiling of the art work before the Art Walk on May 19th.

Please email whitecenterartwalk@gmail.com by March 1st if you would like to participate. Skate pick up will begin on Tuesday, March 6th.

Thanks!
White Center Art Walk

(Added 7:51 pm – “The Solace of a Wounded Heart” by James C. Bassett at Dubsea Coffee)
More than a dozen venues participating this time around – and the full lineup of venues and artists can be found on the White Center Art Walk‘s website. This includes what you might call a pre-funk at the Mutant Bicycle Building – first on the list. Have fun!

Seattle’s Poet Populist – and South Seattle Community College creative-writing teacher – Mike Hickey invites you to White Center Library at 2 pm today for the workshop “The Poetry of Place: Witness the Wise Words of White Center.” He’ll read from his new book “A Dress Walked By With a Woman Inside,” as well as leading a Q/A session, and a workshop in which participants will create poetry of their own.

In the midst of the ice and snow, the advisory arrived … instead of happening tonight as usual, the White Center Art Walk will happen one week later than usual. January 28th will be the night, this time around.