This Week's Events: Sept 17 - Sept 23, 2007

Latest news on Motel #2! The constantly evolving event will again be physically open to the public, as well as streamed via webcam. The top secret location will be revealed Mission Impossible style on Friday, September 21. See below for further details.

Wednesday, September 19

The Henry Art Gallery - "A Conversation with the Collectors: William and Ruth True." In May 2004, William and Ruth True opened their exhibition space Western Bridge, sharing their collection, recent acquisitions, and commissioned installations with the public. Henry Art Gallery Chief Curator Elizabeth Brown leads a conversation with William and Ruth True about recent exhibition 'Mouth Open, Teeth Showing,' their collecting practices, and Western Bridge. Henry Auditorium, Henry Members FREE (Rsvp required, mike@henryart.org), $8 General, $5 Students and Seniors.

Northwest Film Forum - Today is the last day of "Strange Culture," the acclaimed and unique film by Lynn Hershman Leeson about conceptual artist Steve Kurtz, one of the founders of Critical Art Ensemble, and the dystopic events following his wife’s tragic death – ‘a tale of government overreaction that would be comic if it weren't appalling and still unresolved nearly three years later.’ Strange Culture will be screened twice at 7 and 9:15 pm. Tickets available here - $5/NWFF members, $6/kids and seniors, $8.50/general.

Thursday, September 20

Edmonds Artwalk - Galleries are open from 5-8 pm. Find maps and schedules here.

Tacoma Artwalk - Tacoma's 3rd Thursday Artwalk, from 5-8 pm. Find more information here.

Upper Queen Anne Art Walk - From 6-8 pm. Find information and schedules here.

Seattle Art Museum - Creatively Speaking lecture series presents "Sculpting the Northwest: The Artists of the West Edge Sculpture Exhibition," a unique opportunity to hear from renowned Northwest sculptors Peter Millet, Allan Packer and the collaborative artist team of Sutton-Beres-Culler. Presented in collaboration with the West Edge Sculpture Exhibition. 7–9 pm, Nordstrom Lecture Hall, Free with museum admission. To reserve your space call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121.

Northwest Film Forum - "Slideluck Potshow Seattle, Vol. II, No. 5." Members of the visual art, photography, and media communities gather to share and celebrate locally made art in one night. The show's appetizer is a potluck dinner with home-cooked delights brought by the viewers and participants themselves. The main course is a two-act slideshow projected on both of NWFF's screens, consisting of a series of short mulitmedia presentations by contributors ranging from the very accomplished to the up and coming. Socializing and potluck begin at 7 pm, slideshow begins at 8:30 pm. First come, first served in the main theater, with overflow in Theater 2.

Friday, September 21

The Frye Art Museum - "Hug" Opening Reception. Frye Members Preview beginning at 6 pm, Members Exhibition Overview at 7 pm, Community Opening from 7 to 9:30 pm with cash bar and free admission.

Saturday, September 22

Motel #2 - "MOTEL #2" begins (continuing through Fri, September 28). Motel #2 is week long endurance festival that takes place in one room of a working motel. The motel location will remain a secret until Friday, September 21. Phone 206-782-8872 on Friday for location details. You WILL be able to peer through the motel room window from the outside looking in to view the performances at any time during this week, as long as you are on good, quiet behavior. You will also be able to see the artists performing their endurance pieces live online via the magic of webcams and the Internet. Performance artists have committed to working shifts of no less than 8 hours, 24/7. Find a artist information and schedule here.

The Frye Art Museum - New exhibition "Hug: Recent Work by Patricia Piccinini" opens to the public. Fantastic and hyper-real life forms are featured in Hug, the first U.S. survey of artwork by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. Informed by recent advances in and complex questions raised by genetic research, Piccinini’s sculptures, photographs, and video installations explore new relations between humans, animals, and human-animal hybrids. An artist talk with Patricia Piccinini will be held at 2 pm. Hug runs from September 22, 2007 to January 6, 2008.

Tacoma Art Museum - "Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt" opens at TAM, the only West Coast venue of this national exhibition. This exciting show features the work of African-American quilters from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. The exhibition features fifty-one quilts highlighting some of the now famous quilters and new artists alike. The exhibition is on view September 22 through December 9, 2007.

Seattle Art Museum - "Tea Ceremony Presentation" presented by Naomi (Somi) Takemura. Experience the living art of chado, the "way of tea," in the superbly crafted teahouse on the Third Floor at SAM downtown. 2:30 pm in the Third Floor Galleries, Free with museum admission. To reserve your space call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121.

Sunday, September 23

Tacoma Art Museum - "If These Quilts Could Talk: A Community Conversation." In celebration of TAM's new exhibit "Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," visitors are invited to bring in their quilts and share the stories they hold in this community conversation facilitated by Tacoma writer Rosalind Bell. Museum admission is free to visitors with a quilt and a story to share. 2 pm.