2010 Fall Arts Guide

1. Visual Arts
2. Performing Arts
3. Film/Media
4. Written Arts
5. Art News/ Opportunites

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Visual Arts

• Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the U.S. government created the Public Works of Art Program – the first federal government program to support the arts nationally. From the Smithsonian American Art Museum comes a selection of the paintings made with the support from this program. “1934: A New Deal For Artists”* is on view from September 18 – January 9, 2011. Preview is on September 17 from 5 – 8 p.m. Whatcom Museum at the Lightcatcher. 121 Prospect Street in Bellingham. (360) 778-8930 or visit www.whatcommuseum.org.
• “Waste Not”* is a monumental installation that is a collaboration between the contemporary artist Song Dong and his mother. All of the everyday objects collected during her entire life are piled up within the frame of her house. In an interview with the artist by Sus Van Elzen (from “Dragon & Rose Garden” – “Art And Power in China”) the artist goes on to say, “However it is also a very personal history that revolves around my mother, because four years ago her husband, my father, suddenly died of a heart attack. My mother then went a little mad. She no longer wanted to leave it and only talked about her things. She lived in the middle of them, watched TV and refused to talk to anyone. Because I am an artist I had the idea of making this exhibition. Also to help my mother deal with her ties to the past.” He goes on to say that the process of putting together the installation drew her mother out of isolation and regained her interest in the world. October 2 – January 16, 2011. Vancouver Art Gallery. 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, B.C. (604) 662-4719.
• After a long time in the studio, Saya Moriyasu* bursts out with some new, fun work culled from her Pilchuk Glass Residency and experiments with two glazes. See shelves that shrink, dogs that grow and a fu dog diaspora all in her new show, titled “Charm” that she’s sharing with fellow artist Maija Fiebig. On view through October 9. G. Gibson Gallery at 300 S. Washington St. in Pioneer Square. (206) 587-4033 or go to www.ggibsongallery.com.
• Cans of Spam, Cup ‘o’ Noodles, and evaporated milk are just some of the images found in Lynne Yamamoto’s* (see review in this issue) cast porcelain sculptures evoking memories of her upbringing and family history in Hawai’i. Remains on view through September 30. Greg Kucera Gallery at 212 Third Ave. S. (206) 624-0770 or www.gregkucera.com.
• Local artist Diem Chau* gives a talk at the Gage Academy from the series “Working Artist: Reality Check” in which each artist talks about professional artist studio practice and how to get your work noticed while building a career. November 18 at 12:30 p.m. For details, contact Lauren Klenow at [email protected]. Chau also gives a lecture at Bellevue Arts Museum on Free First Friday evenings on January 7 at 6:30 p.m. Contact Patrick McMahon at [email protected]. She will also have art displayed with G. Gibson Gallery at Aqua Art in Art Miami in early December. Go to www.aquaartmiami.com.
• La Connor Quilt & Textile Museum presents a pair of exhibits that focus on the Japanese quilt. “All That Blooms” looks at the use of blossoms, flowers and plants by quilt-makers. “Japanese Textiles” shows the variety of materials used in the quilt-making process from the perspective of the quilt-maker. Both shows on view through Sept. 26. 703 A. Second St. in La Connor, WA. (360) 466-4288 or visit www.laconnorquilts.com.
• The work of Saya Moriyasu, Yuki Nakamura, Arun Sharma, Brendan Tang, Patti Warashina and others is included in “BAM Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown”*. This is Bellevue Arts Museum’s new juried exhibition competition where artists are asked to make work expressly for the show. Continues on view through January 16. Noted ceramic artist and UW Art Professor Akio Takamori was one of the judges. Also on view is “The Art of Discovery – The Northwest Art Collection of the Junior League of Seattle” which features work by Norie Sato on view till September 19. 510 Bellevue Way N.E. (425) 519-0770.
• The work of two visiting ceramic artists from Oregon, Barb Campbell and Javier Cervantes are on display through September 18. A “Kimono Textile Show” by artist Yuri Kinoshita opens September 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. and continues on view through September 26. ”Ordinary Household Gods” is a mixed media show by Tommer Peterson which opens October 2 from 6 – 8 p.m. and stays on view through November 6.The 5th Annual “KOBO Simple Cup Show”* opens November 13 from 6 – 8 p.m. and stays on view till December 5. KOBO Gallery at HIGO. 604 South Jackson. (206) 381-3000 or www.koboseattle.com.
• “Trace Series”* is a solo show of new work by Etsuko Ichikawa who uses the fire and smoke of molten glass as a paintbrush. On view until the end of this year. At Tramel-Gagne in the Design Center located at 5701 – 6th Avenue S. #105. (206) 762-1511 or visit www.tgshowroom.com.
• Cora Edmonds, photographer and founder of ArtXchange Gallery will have on display a veritable photographic quilt of images taken on her many travels around the world. On view through October 30. “Light!’* is the title of a group show that features illuminated sculpture by Elaine Hanowell, June Sekiguchi, Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn and HiHi Gallery. November 4 – December 31 with opening on November 4 from 5 – 8 p.m. “Indigo” is a two person show with U.S. artist Laura Kina and Indian artist Shelly Jyoti. January 6 – February 26. Opening reception is January 6 from 5 – 8 p.m. Jyoti’s work draws upon India’s history, immigration narratives and transnational economic interchanges. Kina looks at poly-cultural street signs of a contemporary Desi/Jewish community in Chicago. Both artists make their Seattle debut. Kina is co-curating a group exhibit entitled “War Baby/Love Child: Mixed Race in Asian American Art” for the “Wing” set for late 2011/2012. (206) 838-0377 or visit www.artxchange.org.
• The work of Ed Ou is included in a group show of contemporary photography entitled “PERSPECTIVES” on view through September 25. Foster/White Gallery. 220 Third Avenue S. (206) 622-2833 or go to www.fosterwhite.com.
• “Wings” is a group show on the history of flight features the work of Paul Horiuchi, Wada Sanzo and many others. Open on First Thursday on October 7 from 5 – 7 p.m. Show is up till October 9. Art Resource Gallery at 625 First Ave., #200. Call (206) 838-2639 or visit www.SeattleArtResource.com.
• Pojagi Now is a group show of Korean wrapping textiles from both American and Korean artists. Picture stained glass transformed to cloth with unique patchwork design. When exposed to light, the colors dance. Through Sept. 19 in the Guest Gallery of Columbia City Gallery in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle. 4864 Rainier Ave. S. (206) 760-9843 or www.columbiacitygallery.com.
• “Revealing the Root: Moku Hanga by Eva Pietzcker” is the latest show at Cullom Gallery. Through October 9. This German artist seeks “to reconnect to the root and reveal a vital energy” as embodied in “foundational elements of life, like stone, waves, or mountains.” 603 S. Main (206) 919-8278 or www.cullomgallery.com.
• The work of stained glass artist Joby Shimomura is included in a group show entitled “Three Different Views of Nature” at Alchemy Gallery through September. 619 Western Avenue on the 2nd floor. (206) 719-3769. Open First Thursdays from 6 – 9 p.m. or by appointment.
• Z.Z. Wei’s paintings of Northwest landscapes and backroads are on view through Oct. 4 at Patricia Rovzar Gallery. 1225 Second Ave. (206) 223-0273.
• The current trend towards abstraction is shown in contrast to the use of the figure in a group show of photography entitled “Contemporary Works from the Monsen Collection” on view through Nov. 28 in the North Galleries of the Henry Art Gallery. The work of Weng Fen is featured. Also in the works is an exhibition of photography by the Seattle Camera Club, a turn-of-the-century photographers group started by Dr. Kyo Koike and other Japanese Americans. 15th Ave. NE & NE 41st St. (206) 543-2280 or visit www.henryart.org.
• “From Edo To Tacoma – Three Eras of Japanese Woodblock Prints: Edo, Meiji, and 20th Century Works” remains on view through February 13, 2011. Free Third Thursday takes place on September 16 from 5 – 8 p.m. ”Know More Art Sunday Lecture Series happens every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Topics include “Japanese Buddhist Sculpture” on October 3, “Japanese Court Culture and Elite Arts” October 10, “Zen Buddhism and the Culture of Tea” on October 17 and “Ukiyo-e: Pictures of the Floating World” on October 24. Tacoma Art Museum is at 1701 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. (253) 272-4258 or www.tacomaartmuseum.org.
• The Burke Museum mounts their first major exhibition of their international textile collection showing work from the peoples of the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands in “Weaving Heritage: Textile Masterpieces From the Burke Collection”. October 2 – February 27, 2012. (206) 543-5590 or go to www.washington.edu/burkemuseum.
• Paul Komada has a show of paintings and fiber art at Gallery4Culture. November 5 – 24. (206) 296-8674 or go to www.4culture.org.
• Work by Paul Horiuchi is included in a group show of paintings by Northwest masters. October 14 to November 5. Opening on November 11 and on view till December 23 is “The Tradition Continues: A Centennial Celebration of the Life and Art of George Tsutakawa.” Also on view is new sculpture by Gerard Tsutakawa. Opening reception is November 11 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (206) 622-7243 or go to www.woodsidebrasethgallery.com.
• “Tenuous Truths” is group show on view till October 2 featuring the work of Eric Montoya, Yun H. Chang, Piper O’Neill and Rajiv Kapoor. Artswest Gallery in West Seattle. (206) 939-0339 or www.artswest.org.
• “New/Old: Recent Acquisitions of Chinese Painting” is on view through October 31. Ping-Kwan Wong emigrated from Hong Kong to Seattle in 1996. He used the McCaw Foundation Library at Seattle Asian Art Museum for years to study calligraphy and classic poems. He created hundreds of bookmarks featuring famous Chinese poems and well-known sayings before passing away in February of 2010. A small show of his bookmarks will be on view through October 2010 in the library. Also “First Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. feature programs that connect your family with the arts and cultures of Asia. Free and no registration is required. Set to open November 18 and remain on view through July 17 of 2011 is a show of “Paintings by Wang Huaiqing”. 1400 Prospect in Volunteer Park. (206) 654-3100 or www.seattleartmuseum.org.
• “Order and Border” is an on-going exhibit on the third floor World Textiles Gallery at Seattle Art Museum downtown. The selection from SAM’s permanent collection puts stripes in the spotlight with Japanese bedcovers and undergarments, a meditation cloth from Laos, an African teacher’s disguise and items from many other global cultures. Also worth noting, a series of tea ceremony demonstrations in the teahouse on the third floor. Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. and Sept. 19 at 2:30 p.m. Instructors are Bonnie Soshin Mitchell, Mitsuko Soki Gale and Naomi Somi Takemura. Free with museum admission but seating is limited so registration is suggested. Call (206) 654-3121 or visit seattleartmuseum.org to register.
• “A Refugee’s Journey of Survival And Hope” is the latest show to open at the “Wing”. See life through the eyes of a refugee through personal stories, photographs and multimedia. Show continues on view till Dec. 12, 2010. “Cultural Transcendence” is a group show at Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience curated by Lele Barnett that “explores the importance of technology in our modern experience and technology’s influence on contemporary installation art.” Show continues through Sept. 18. “Paj Ntaub – Stories of Hmong in Washington State” remains on view through Oct. 17. A presentation entitled “The Unique Hmong Culture” happens on September 18 at 4:30 p.m. “Sacred Seattle” is a new exhibit opening September 16 from 6 – 8 p.m. It traces spaces, places and paths where Asian Pacific Americans both belong to and long for the sacred. Seattle artist Romson Regarde Bustillo coordinates a workshop on how to create Fiesta Masks on September 18 at 1 p.m. Calligraphy artist Chiyo Sanada shows you how to create sumi gift bags on November 20 at 1 p.m. Go to www.wingluke.org or call (206) 623-5124.
• Iyoko Okano’s Japanese calligraphy is on view in the Edmonds Arts Festival Museum through Oct. 30. Located at the Frances Anderson Center at 700 Main St., in Edmonds. Call (425) 771-1984 or visit www.eaffoundation.org.
• Seattle-raised artist Roger Shimomura keeps busy with four one-man shows around the country. ”Yellow Terror” is at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts in Michigan September – October. “Minidoka on my Mind” is at the Gardner Art Gallery at Oklahoma State University September – October. “Three Print Suites on the Internment” is at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota September – October. Finally “An American Knockoff” is at the Flomenhaft Gallery in New York City October – December. Go to www.rshim.com for more information.
• Iyoko Okano’s Japanese calligraphy is on view in the Edmonds Arts Festival Museum through Oct. 30. Located at the Frances Anderson Center at 700 Main St., in Edmonds. Call (425) 771-1984 or visit www.eaffoundation.org.
• Seattle-raised artist Roger Shimomura keeps busy with four one-man shows around the country. ”Yellow Terror” is at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts in Michigan September – October. “Minidoka on my Mind” is at the Gardner Art Gallery at Oklahoma State University September – October. “Three Print Suites on the Internment” is at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota September – October. Finally “An American Knockoff” is at the Flomenhaft Gallery in New York City October – December. Go to www.rshim.com for more information.
• “Dropping the Urn (Ceramic works, 5000 B.C.E.-2010 C.E.)” is the title of an exhibit by contemporary Chinese photographer/ceramic/installation artist Ai Weiwei now on view through October 30 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland. Through October 30. (503) 223-2654 or www.museumofcontemporarycraft.org.
• Fans of Japanese Pop culture, anime, and manga won’t want to miss “Aki Con 2010”. This festival includes 24 hour anime viewing, panels, workshops and more. Coming November 5 – 7 at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel. For details, go to www.akicon.org.
• Susie Lee, who received the 2010 Stranger Genius Award in Visual Art recently completed a project at the Washington Care Center. Based on Goya’s “black” paintings, the artist got to know residents and then did a video portrait of each. 2821 South Walden Street. Call (206) 725-2800 to see if the portraits are still on view.

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Performing Arts

• Those girls are at it again! SIS Productions presents the 18th installment of “Sex in Seattle” entitled “An Everyday Kind of Love” set through October 9. Come see what your favorite female characters are up to now in this quirky comedy about today’s Asian American women, their lives and loves. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. Hugo House on Capitol Hill. 1634 11^th Ave. Call (206) 323-9443 or email [email protected].
• Sadao Watanabe* (now in his mid-seventies) is revered in Japan as the elder statesman of the jazz saxophone. He started out in pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi’s band and then studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In his long and distinguished career, he has performed and explored bop, bossa nova, fusion and smooth jazz styles. In a rare Seattle appearance, he brings a young American band to Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley on September 20 at 2033 6^th Avenue. Call (206) 441-9729 or visit www.jazzalley.com. Sadao’s website is www.sadao.com.
• X, the internationally known heavy metal band from Japan stops in Seattle during their U.S. tour. October 1 at the Paramount Theatre located at 911 Pine St. Call (206) 682-1414 or visit www.myspace.com/xjapanofficial.
• Puget Sound Educational Association presents “The Third Annual N.W. Tea Festival on October 2 & 3 in the Northwest Rooms at Seattle Center. For details, go to www.nwteafestival.com.
• Eye music is a musical ensemble that performs from graphic scores. They perform September 17. Local musicians Susie Kozawa and Esther Sugai are part of this group. The Butoh dance group. Danse Perdue (Alex Ruhe, Kaoru Okumura, Vanesa Skantze) perform “Irruptions” on September 18. Local percussionist/composer Paul Kikuchi performs in a concert entitled “Flight Patterns” with the group, Open Graves along with Stuart Dempster and Jesse Olsen on October 8. All performances at 8 p.m. at the Chapel Performance Space in the Good Shepherd Building in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N. (206) 789-1939 or visit gschapel.blogspot.com.
• Seattle Theatre Group presents their 2010-11 season at various venues around the city. Some highlights – The Chinese-based “The Monkey King Adventure with Ni Hao, Kai-lan” is part of Nickelodeon’s Storytime Live!” October 23 – 24 at the Paramount. Suitable for pre-schoolers. “Global Dance Party” features young local performers in a cultural and contemporary dance performance with music from around the globe. December 3 at the Moore. “Dance This”* is the annual showcase of local teen performers from diverse communities who collaborate with nationally known guest artists and choreographers. July 8 & 9 at the Moore. The contemporary dance group Sankai Juku* led by choreographer Ushio Amagatsu returns to Seattle with “Tobari, As If In An Inexhaustible Flux”, a sequence of birth, death and rebirth into the “cosmos of life.” November 3 at the Paramount. Call (206) 812-1114 or visit STGpresents.org.
• “People Bridges” is a series of historic narratives dramatically presented by a single actor. “Street of Gold” deals with early history of Chinese Americans on September 19 at 2:30 p.m. “Music Pill” looks at Asian American music on September 26 at 2:30 p.m.”King Street” looks at the ID from the 1960’s to 80’s through its multi-cultural inhabitants on October 10 at 2:30 p.m. “Native Shores” is an introduction to the indigenous people of Puget Sound on October 17 at 2:30 p.m. “Code of Silence” showcases the story of a Japanese Kibei who served as a code-breaker for the U.S. military during WWII on October 24 at 2:30 p.m.
• Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center is a Japanese American history museum in Portland. The following tow exhibitions are on view till November 14. “Oregon Nikkei: Reflections of an American Community” and “Echoes of Struggle and Hope: 20 Years of the Japanese American Historical Plaza”. 121 Northwest 2^nd Avenue. (503) 224-1458 or email [email protected].
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s annual Time-Based Art (TBA) Festival continues through September 19. Highlights include Off site Dance Project’s (a collaboration between two choreographers from Yokohama) free performance of “On Thirteenth” on the 17^th & 18^th at 6:30 p.m. “Across The Ocean” is an artists talk with the Offsite Dance Project and Mizu Desierto on September 19 at 12:30 p.m. On the Boards.tv, presents a video of Yong Jean Lee’s Theatre Company’s “The Shipment” about how Blacks and non-Blacks look at Black American identity on September 18 & 19 at 4:30 p.m. Drum Machine, a drum circle performance by Portland Taiko and Jane Paik takes place September 17. For details, call (503) 242-1419 or visit www.pica.org.
• Filipina American actress Arielle Jacobs is part of the cast for “In The Heights”, a new musical about a community of first generation Americans in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights. Runs from September 28 – October 17 at the 5^th Avenue Theatre. 1308 5^th Avenue S. (206) 625-1900 or [email protected].
• Japanese singer Daisuke Ohi will perform with the Japanese chorus group, Uguisu Kai at Tacoma Community Center on October 3. 6501 S. 19^th St. (360) 698-5340.
• The Blue Scholars perform in City Arts Fest set for October 20 – 23 with many other performers at over 15 classic venues around the city. Visit www.CityArtsFest.com or try facebook.com/cityartsfestival for complete information.
• Earshot Jazz presents their 2010 Jazz Festival October 15 – November 7 featuring local, national and international jazz, experimental and ethnic musicians performing at various venues around the sound. Co-presented with STG on October 30 is a concert with Japanese pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto* at the Moore Theatre. Co-presented with the Crocodile Café, the Cuong Vu/Andrew D’Angelo Quartet* shares the bill with the Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio on November 1. Visit www.earshot.org or call (206) 547-6763.
• To mark the conclusion of a week-long residency at Cornish College of the Arts by French-Vietnamese jazz guitarist Nguyen Le* and his Saiyuki Trio with Mieko Miyazaki on koto/shamisen and Prabhu Edouard on tabla present a special concert with guest artist, Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone. At PONCHO Concert Hall at 710 East Roy Street on November 20 at 8 p.m. Co-presented with Earshot Jazz. Visit www.earshot.org or call (206) 547-6763.
• Some highlights of the Seattle Symphony’s new season include this. Noted cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns to Benaroya Hall to perform Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich with the symphony on December 7 at 7:30 p.m. Powerful young pianist Lang Lang, a perenial Seattle favorite returns to perform in recital on January 7 at 8 p.m. in a program of Beethoven, Albeniz and Prokofiev. “Celebrate Asia!”*, the annual concert devoted to music from Asia, is guest conducted by Carolyn Kuan and includes Soprano Sumi Jo and koto player Masayo Ishigure on January 14 at 7:30 p.m. (206) 215-4747 or www.seattlesymphony.org.
• On September 21 Ledward Kaapana & Willie K perform a concert entitled “Extreme Hawaiian” at the Triple Door. 216 Union in Seattle. (206) 838-4333.
• “Sparkle & Spice – Bollywood in Bellevue” is a benefit party for the Tateuchi Center for the Arts as sponsored by ICE (Indian Community Eastside). Comedian Dawill Nainan and Pratidhwari Dance will perform. (425) 482-0108. For more information, call Christina Greene at (425) 462-0099.
• SEED Arts presents “ARTS Gumbo 2010 – The China Experience with the Seattle Chinese Orchestra”. Expect an evening of traditional and contemporary Chinese music in an intimate setting. Call (206) 760-4285 or visit www.artsgumbo.com.
• REACT Theatre presents a performance of “Yellowface” by David Henry Hwang on October 17 at Elliott Bay Book Company. This is the OBIE-Award winning playwright’s mock documentary comedic play that looks at the controversy over color-blind casting for “Miss Saigona” and the racially motivated Federal investigation of his father. The play explores ethnic identity and what it means to be an American. 1521 Tenth. Call (206) 364-3282 or visit [email protected].
• Eye Music is a local ensemble of musicians (Esther Sugai and Susie Kozawa are members) that play music from graphic and text scores. They perform work by David Toop, Toshi Ichiyanagi and Michael Shannon. October 9, at 8 p.m. Collins Pub at 526 2^nd Avenue. (206) 623-1016.
• The Kirkland Performance center has the following events set for their new season. “Slide to Freedom” is the title of a slide guitar concert collaboration between Doug Cox (Appalachian blues) and Indian slide guitar master Salil Bhatt set for October 1 at 7:30 p.m. Their only Northwest appearance. “Hooray For Bollywood” is a dance revue of top Bollywood hits with a Vegas-style twist. Featuring authentic costumes and choreography from many regions of India. Set of October 29 at 7:30pm. Hanz Araki & The Celtic Conspiracy* in a Solstice Concert set for December 11 at 8pm. Araki is the sixth generation in his family line to play the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese flute but with a twist. He brings the music of Scotland and Ireland into his repertoire. The Chinese Acrobats Of Hebei, China bring their motion magic to the stage on May 8, 2011 for two shows at 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. 350 Kirkland Avenue in Kirkland. Visit www.kpcenter.org or call (425) 893-9900 for tickets.
• The Morning Star Korean Cultural Center* perform “Narae”, a performance of Korean music and dance at The Edmonds Center for The Northwest on November 13 at 7 p.m. (206) 251-5659 for tickets.
• The Chinese Acrobats of Hebei come to the Everett Center for the Arts on May 6, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. 410 Fourth Avenue N. (425) 275-9595.
• As part of their MBY Education Series, the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham brings Portland Taiko to perform on November 3 for two shows and the Peking Acrobats on January 11 also for two shows. 104 N. Commercial St. (360) 734-6080.
• Broadway Center for The Performing Arts in Tacoma bring the Peking Acrobats on their “Silver Anniversary” Tour on January 9 at 3 p.m. in Pantages Theatre. The Yu Wei Chinese Dance Collective will perform on April 17 at 3 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre. 901 Broadway in Tacoma. (253) 591-5890.
• Lakewood Playhouse presents “The Joy Luck Club” as adopted by Susan Kim from Amy Tan’s novel. April 22 – May 15, 2011 in Lakewood Towne Center at 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Boulevard. (253) 588-0042.
• Hahn Bin, gives a violin performance on October 13 at 7:30 p.m. KODO – Drummers of Japan* bring their giant taiko back to the Northwest on January 30 at 7:30 p.m. Bellydance Superstars present “Bombay Bollywood” on February 1, 2011 at 8 p.m. All concerts at Washington Center for the Performing Arts are located at 512 Washington Street S.E. in Olympia. Call (360) 753-8586 or go to www.washingtoncenter.org.
• The Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon* (the only one of its’ kind in the U.S.) presents their “It’s All Greek To Me Festival 2010” with a mainstage production of “Oedipus The King”* starring L.A. based actor Trieu Tran in the lead role. The play incorporates Japanese kabuki, noh and butoh movement in the production with drum excerpts provided by Portlanbd Taiko. Newly appointed director Elizabeth Huffman got the idea to create a unique fusion of ancient Greek traditions with Japanese theatrical forms while visiting the Portland Japanese Garden. On stage through Sept. 26 at Cerf Amphitheatre at Reed College in Portland at 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd. Visit www.classicgreektheatre.org for details or call (503) 205-0715 or visit boxofficetickets.com for tickets.
• Portland Japanese Garden has a “Moonviewing (O-Tsukimi) event set for September 22, 23 and 24 from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Also worth noting is a gathering of the Garden’s past and current Garden Director for the first time in its 46 year old history. ”Making History: Eight Japanese Garden Masters Speak”* takes place on October 13 at Fields Ballroom at the Portland Art Museum. From October 13 – 15, this internationally known group of nine landscape designers will participate in three days of lectures and panels. They represent a Who’s Who of the most sought-after Japanese garden designers and landscapers in the world. A must event for anyone interested in Japanese gardens and designs. www.japanesegarden.com/events or call (503) 542-0280.
• Seattle composer/musician Byron Au Yong* keeps busy. On October 2 – 3, his composition, “News for bamboo, paper and taiko” is performed by Portland Taiko as part of a concert entitled “Taiko Unleashed” with the San Francisco Taiko sharing the bill. Newmark Theatre in Portland. He will also collaborate with Seattle choreographer Donald Byrd, Director of Spectrum Dance Theatre on a new piece set for March 3 – 5 in 2011 at the Moore Theatre in downtown Seattle.

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Film/Media

• One of China’s most well known directors, Zhang Yimou (“House of Flying Daggers”, “Hero”) is back with “A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop” (see review this issue), his clever adaptation of the Coen Brothers “Blood Simple.” Opens September 10 at the Harvard Exit. At Broadway & E. Roy. (206) 781-5755.
• Mark Romanek’s film version of British writer Kazuo Ishiguro’s award-winning novel, “Never Let Me Go”* opens October 8 with Carey Mulligan.
• Set for September release is “Devil”, a film about a group of people trapped in an elevator who learn that the devil is amongst them. Taken from a story by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan as directed by John Erick Dowdle.
• “Enter The Void” set for September release follows a dying drug dealer as he goes on a hallucinatory tour of Tokyo as directed by Frenchman Gaspar Noe.
• Coming in October is “IP Man” about a martial artist who becomes a hero by standing up to the Japanese army during the Sino-Japan War. Directed by Wilson Yip and starring Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen.
• Also out in October is “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife”, a comedy about a south Asian community in suburban London. Directed by Gurinder Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham”).
• Another October release is “Today’s Special”*, an adaptation of the play “Sakina’s Restaurant” as directed by David Kaplan. The story is about a young man who reluctantly takes over his father’s nearly bankrupt restaurant.
• Also out in October is ”The Taqwacores” about a Pakistani American engineering student who joins a crowd of Muslim punk rockers in Buffalo, New York. Directed by Eyad Zahra.
• Other new foreign films playing the festival circuit include the following – “OKI’s Movie” by Hong Sang-soo looks at a South Korean woman who loves two men. Thai Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”* won the Palme d’Or Prize at Cannes. It’s a comic fable about death and rebirth.
• “A Matter of Size” is an Israeli film that played at SIFF. The film is about a fat guy who gets no respect until he starts training to be a sumo wrestler. It opens for a longer run at SiFF Cinema from October 15 – 20. 321 Mercer Street in McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. (206) 324-9996 or try [email protected].
• The documentary film about the effects of separation on a Chinese family entitled “Last Train Home” *that played SIFF returns for a longer run on October 22 at a Landmark Cinemas theatre.
• Some regular film festivals to check out include these. Port Townsend Film Festival runs from September 24 – 26. Includes “Dive!” by Josh Kunau, “Ed Hardy: Tatoo The World* by Emiko Omori, “Fumiko Hayashida” by Lucy Ostrander, Don Sellars and Fumiko Hayashida, “The Tea Master” by Aaron Au & Kimane Roy Smith, “Zombie Beach” by Mu Kesh Asopa and “When Herons Dream”* by Serge Gregory with score by Susie Kozawa and Esther Sugai. Go to www.ptfilmfest.com for details. Northwest Film Forum’s annual celebration of local filmmakers, “Local Sightings”, will be from October 1 – 7. See www.nwfilmforum.org for details. The Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival returns with its’ 15^th year with screenings at various Seattle venues October 15 – 24. Go to www.threedollarbillcinema.org for details.
• “The Harimaya Bridge” (see review this issue) directed by Aaron Woolfolk concerns a man whose father died fighting the Japanese during WW II. When his son (played by actor Danny Glover who is also a producer of the film) learns that he died a cruel, merciless death, he holds hatred in his heart for all Japanese. When his son gets a job in Tokyo, then suddenly dies in an accident – he begrudgingly goes to Japan. As time goes by, his attitude towards the Japanese begins to change. Grand Illusion Cinema. 1403 N.E. 50^th St. in the University District. Call (206) 523-3935 or visit www.grandillusioncinema.org.
• Nizo Yamamoto’s animated film, “Miyori in the Sacred Forrest”* (2007) based on the popular manga by Hideji Oda looks at issues of environmental destruction in Japan. Screens on October 7 at 2 p.m. “Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam” screens Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience at 719 S. King St. Free. Call (206) 623-5124 for details.
• Quentin Lee’s new film, “The People I’ve Slept With” stars Karin Anna Cheung. This ribald romantic comedy about a promiscuous woman was written by Koji Steven Sakai. Opens in selected theatres across the country soon.
• “Enemies of The People” is a documentary film by Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin that attempts for the first time to expose the truth about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rogue. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2010. Opens in Los Angeles on August 6 with plans underway to screen it nationally. For details, go to http://enemies of thepeople/movie.com.
• POV’s “The Betrayal” a documentary film by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath about how a Laotian family was forced to leave their homeland due to a secret war waged there by the U.S. won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Non-fiction filmmaking.
• Couch Festival Films 2010. Films must be under 6 minutes and will be screened in people’s houses. For details go to http://www.couchfestfilms.com. The Festival happens on Nov. 7, 2010.
• Some worthy documentary films by independents to keep an eye out for include the following – “Tibet in Song”* by Nagawang Choephel won the 2009 Sundance Special Jury Award. It is a celebration of traditional Tibetan folk music and the harrowing journey into the past fifty years of cultural repression inside Chinese-controlled Tibet as seen through the eyes of the director, a former Tibetan political prisoner. http://www.tibetinsong.com. “Autumn Gem- the Life of Qiu Jin, China’s First Feminist Revolutionary” is a new feature directed by Bay Area filmmakers Rae Chang and Adam Tow. Visit http://autumn-gem.com/category/media.

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Written Arts

• The Elliott Bay Book Company now situated in their cozy new digs on Capitol Hill hits the group running this fall with readings on almost every day of the week. Some highlights – Kim Fay, a former Elliott Bay employee turned her love of Vietnamese culture, people and food into a book entitled “Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam” (Things Asian Press). She reads on September 19 at 4 p.m. One hopes there will be culinary samples at this one. Historian Mae Ngai returns to Seattle with her new book “The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) on September 20 at 7 p.m. Charles Yu’s debut novel has been getting good word-of-mouth praise. He reads from “Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” (Pantheon) on September 22 at 4 p.m. Tao Lin has been hailed as “a Kafka for the iPhone generation” and this Seattle favorite brings his new novel “Richard Yates” (Melville House) to Seattle on September 26 at 5 p.m. Fatima Bhutto, poet/journalist and member of the famous Pakatani family reads from “Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter’s Memoir” (Nation Books) co-sponsored by Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas and Seattle Arts & Lectures at Town Hall Seattle on October 2 at 7:30 p.m. Located at 1119 Eighth Avenue at Seneca. NPR commentator Scott Simon reads from his book about adopting kids from China entitled “Baby We Were Meant For Each Other”(Random House) on October 3 at 2 p.m. Lan Samantha Chang who reads from her new novel “All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost” (W.W. Norton & Company) about rival students competing for a famous poet/professor’s attention and how their lives change as a consequence. Set for October 4. Angie Chua* drops by October 9 with “Quiet As They Come” (Ig Publishing), a searing debut collection of short stories that look at the struggles of several Vietnamese families haunted by the past as they attempt to adjust to a life in America. Rahna Reiko Rizzuto turns to non-fiction to explore her experience alone away from her family interviewing survivors of the atom bomb attacks in Japan in “Hiroshima in the Morning” (The Feminist Press) and how it changes her life. She reads on October 21. Yi Yun Li* reads from a book of delicately written short stories of encounters between between people in conflict on the cusp of change entitled “Gold Boy, Emerald Girl” (Random House) on October 25. Gircharan Das speaks on “The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma” on October 16 at 9:30 a.m., Madhur Jaffrey shares a new book “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka” (Knopf) on October 28 and Barbara Pollock reads from “The Wild, Wild East: An American Art Critic’s Adventures in China” (Timezone 8) in readings co-sponsored with the Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas at Seattle Asian Art Museum. All readings at Elliott Bay unless otherwise noted. Please see www.elliottbaybook.com for more details.
• Charles Yu, the author of “How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” (Pantheon) reads on September 22 at 7 p.m. Deborah Fallows reads from “Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons In Life, Love and Language” (Bloomsbury) on September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Seattle Town Hall at 1119 – 8^th Avenue.
• Sun Joo Kim reads from “The Northern Region of Korea” (UW Press) on the UW campus at Thomson Hall 317.
• The Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas present “Saturday University-Sacred Sites of Asia”, a series of talks set for Saturdays from September 25 – November 15 and January 15 – 22. 9:30 – 11 a.m. at Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. Call (206) 442-8480 or visit seattleartmuseum.org/gardnercenter for more details.
• “A Cold Wind from Idaho”* (Black Lawrence Press) is local writer Lawrence Matsuda’s debut collection of poetry that details his experience at Minidoka internment camp, the facility that most Japanese Americans from this area were sent for lock-up during WW II. For ordering information, go to www.blacklawrence.com. Matsuda visits Bainbridge Island County Libraries. On October 2 he reads at the Manchester Branch at 2 p.m. On October 10 he reads at 2 p.m. at the Bainbridge Branch. On October 29 at 7 p.m., he reads at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle. 1521 10^th Avenue on Capitol Hill. (206) 624-6600 or www.elliottbaybook.com.
• Jasmine Alinder, Associate Professor of History at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will speak about her book, “Moving Images: Photography and the Japanese American Incarceration” (University of Chicago Press) on September 23 at Elliott Bay Book Company. Co-sponsored by Densho. 1521 10^th Avenue. RSVP and more information at [email protected] or call (206) 320-0095.
• The Washington State Book Awards takes place on October 8 at 7 p.m. at Seattle Central Library. Free. Six outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2009 will be recognized.
• Poets Kazim Ali and Sarah Vap read from their new books on November 18 at 7:30 p.m. Open Books: A Poem Emporium. Free.

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Art News/ Opportunites

• Akio Takamori and Lead Pencil Studio (Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo) are two of six finalists for the 2010 Arts Innovation Award. Winner will be announced on October 7. http://www.artisttrust.org/grants/aia.
• The idea for a collective art gallery in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District neighborhood is in the planning stages. Plans call for a gallery space that will showcase visual art by new & emerging artists of color. If you want more information or want to attend a meeting, email Carina at [email protected] or log on to www.flickr.com/photos/cadelrosario.
• The Greater YMCA International offers two life-enriching journeys to Asia. More field trip and live-in experience than tourist focused, the Japan Global Food Trip will feature a group of international travelers interested in learning about food production in Japan with seminars, hand-on experience with farmers and talks. September 30 – October 14. The Thailand Trip is for young adults who wish to get to know another country, its people and culture on a day-to-day basis. Takes place next March with an orientation and introductory meeting for interested parties set for this fall. For more information on the Japan trip, call (206) 382-4362. For the Thailand trip, go to (206) 749-7554.