Visual arts
“My Corner of the World” is a show of new work by Irene Kubota on view through March 2. 2019. The artist’s look at the interaction between humans and animals has a natural unforced charm and innocence done in vibrant colors. Artist reception is Thurs., Feb. 7 from 6 – 8pm. At Bryan Ohno Gallery at 521 Main St. 206-459-6857 or try bryanohno.com.
The Friends of Asian Art Association presents a double art event. Dr. Shiang Yu Lee will give a talk entitled “The Chinese Language da Vinci Code” in which she explores the mysteries of the hidden meanings in the Chinese language. Inspired by The da Vinci Code, Lee will attempt to dig into the structure and compositions of Chinese words, moving beyond their obvious meanings to uncover their deeper implications. Also showing will be paintings by Dr. Agnes Lee that capture the meanings and feelings in Chinese essays and poems, transforming and expressing them using meticulous repetition of Chinese characters. An upcoming exhibit of her work is also scheduled during March/April 2019 at the Clarke and Clarke Arts and Artifiacts Gallery on Mercer Island. This Friends of Asian Art event takes place on Friday, Feb. 17, 2019 from 2 – 4pm. Greenlake Public Library. 7364 E. Greenlake Dr. N. Free parking. FA3 members $10 and non-members $15. Pre-register at http://friendsofasianart.org/.
“Ephemeral Panorama” is the title of Seattle artist Tara Tamaribuchi’s latest show. “I ask myself, what does it mean to travel through time in space, in the place of my ancestors, where I also am a foreigner. I make sense of this presenting work that is a metaphor for the fragmentation and hybridity of identity.” Opening on First Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019 from 6 – 9pm at CORE Gallery. Show is on view through Feb. 23, 2019. Gallery hours are Wed. – Sat. from 12 – 6pm. 117 Prefontaine Pl. S.
“Meditation/Mediation” is a Gallery Artist Group Exhibition held at Traver Gallery through March 2, 2019. Includes the work of Jun Kaneko, Hiroshi Yamano and Jiro Yonezawa. 110 Union St. #200 in Seattle. 206-587-6501 or go to travergallery.com.
Oregon artist Miles Inada is in a group show entitled “From Ignorance to Wisdom” on view from through March 16, 2019. Schneider Museum of Art at 555 Indiana St. at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. 541-552-6245 or try sma.sou.edu.
Seattle Central Community College’s M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery, Pinoy Words Expressed Kultura Arts and the Filipino American National Historical Society will host “Aming mga Pangitain” (Our Visions), an art exhibit featuring Northwest artists Raphael Laigo, Lisa Castillano Szilassy, Jeanneatte Tiffany, Sam Rodrick Roxas-Chua and Beija Flor. Feb. 4 – Feb. 28, 2019. An opening reception will be held on Wed., Feb. 6 from 5 – 7pm in the gallery. A group poetry reading by Sam Roderick Roxas-Chua, Desiree Gomez and Louie Vital will take place as well as a concert of courting songs from the heartlands and barrios of the Philippines as performed by Roger Rigor and the Barriotiques. Both reception and exhibit are free to the public. The gallery is located inside Seattle Central Community College across from the dining hall. 1701 Broadway. Gallery # and website are 206-934-4379 or http://seattlecentral.edu/artgallery/. For additional information, call 206-696-1114 or email [email protected].
“Sanctuary: Design for Belonging” looks at dozens of ideas from architects and designers on how their profession could help support immigrants and refugees. On view through Feb. 23, 2019. AIA Seattle at 1010 Western Ave. 206-496-4278.
“PERSON OF INTEREST” is the title of a group show that features a variety of interpretations and mediums focusing on the human figure. Includes work by artists Carina A. del Rosario, Jim Kurihara, Miya Sukune and many others. The show is curated by June Sekiguchi and remains on view through Feb. 8, 2019. At University House Wallingford, 4400 Stone Way N. in Seattle
“Yahaw – Together We Lift The Sky” is a year-long indigenous community-based project culminating in the inaugural exhibition at Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s ARTS at King Street Station which opens in Jan., 2019. “Yahaw” will feature the work of 200+ Indigenous creative at over 20 sites across Seattle and beyond. Curated by Tracy Rector, Asia Tail and Satpreet Kahlon. Learn more at Yehawshow.com.
Hosekibako is JCCCW’s (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington) thrift store and Japanese Resale Shop. It’s the perfect place to pick up Japanese arts & crafts at affordable prices. Items are 100% community donated and selection is constantly updated. Open Th., Fri. & Sat. from 10 am – 3pm. It is located in the East Building on the JCCCW campus. If interested in donating, call in advance at 206-568-7114 or email [email protected]. 1414 South Weller.
A JCCCW Exhibition entitled “Genji Mihara: An Issei Pioneer” is ongoing. Mihara was an Issei first-generation Japanese immigrant leader who helped to build Japanese culture and community in Seattle. Open M – F from 10am – 5pm. Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington is at 1414 S. Weller St. Free. For details, go jcccw.org.
A non-profit, the Portland Chinatown History Foundation has opened the new Portland Chinatown Museum to the public. A new version of “Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland’s Historic Chinatowns”, an enormously popular national exhibit held at Oregon Historical Society two years ago will be permanently installed in Dec., 2018 followed by a gala celebration. The museum hopes to stir up interest in preserving what’s left of the community as gentrification strips away vestiges of the original community. 127 NW 3rd Ave. 503-224-0008.
Asia Pacific Cultural Center has a show every month of a local Asian American artist every month in their gallery.4851 South Tacoma Way in Tacoma. 253-383-3900 or asiapacificculturalcenter.org.
Seattle Art Museum has the following – “Pure Amusements: Chinese Scholar Culture and Emulators”, an installation of Chinese works ranging from prints to sculpture and furnishings to ceramics. The focus is on objects created for, and enjoyed during the intentional practice of leisure. Ongoing. “Noble Splendor: Art of Japanese Aristocrats” is on view through March 3, 2019 on the 3rd floor John McCone Gallery. It explores how the imperial court nobility and the military elite significantly shaped their country’s art history. “Walkabout:The Art of Dorothy Napangardi” opens May 5, 2018 and is ongoing. Third Floor Galleries. This Aboriginal artist was born in the Tanami Desert of Australia. Her work is a spiritual map of walking with her family across ancestral land. Seattle Art Museum is located at 1300 First Ave. 206-654-3210 or try www.seattleartmuseum.org.
A new series of “Conversations with Curators” (for SAM members only) takes place on Wednesdays from Jan. 9 – June 19, 2019 at Seattle Art Museum downtown. Doors open at 6:30pm with talks beginning at 7pm. In the SAM auditorium. First in the series are the following – Feb. 20 brings Japanese/Korean curator Xiaojin Wu who looks at “The Journey of a Korean Royal Seal” and the issues of collecting and provenance. March 20 brings Deputy Director and Curator of European Painting & Sculpture Chiyo Ishikawa and Chief Conservator Nicholas Dorman who will look at three women artists and what they reveal in “There is Also, as in All Gangs, A Woman”.
Henry Art Gallery has a group show entitled “Between Bodies” through April 29, 2019. It includes sculpture, augmented reality, video, and sound-based works that delve into intimate exchanges and entwined relations between human and more-than-human bodies within contexts of ongoing ecological change. Candace Lin and Patrick Staff are among the participating artists. Located on the UW Seattle campus at 15th Ave. NE + NE 4lst Street. 206-543-2280 or try henryart.org.
Pacific Bonsai Museum shakes up this Japanese tradition with LAB (Living Art of Bonsai), an experimental collaborative for bonsai innovation This project is a re-sequencing in the order of influence between the bonsai artist, ceramicist and stand maker. The project kicks off in 2018 and continues through 2020. A video trailer from a film about this new process can be viewed at http://www.bonsaimirai.com. For more information, go to http://www.pacificbonsaimuseum.org. The Pacific Bonsai Museum is at 2515 S. 336th St. in Federal Way, WA. 206-612-0026 for information.
Portland Art Museum has the following –Sara Roby championed realism and works of art founded in the principles of form and design. A group show entitled “Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Smithsonian’s Sara Roby Foundation Collection” includes the work of Yasuo Kuniyoshi and many other great American artists and it remains on view through April 28, 2019. “The Map Is Not The Territory” on view until May 5, 2019 is a reconsideration of the art of the northwest region. This group show includes the work of Rob Rhee and Henry Tsang among others. It covers the Eastern edge of the Pacific including Oregon, Wasshington,Vancouver, BC and Alaska. Curated by Grace Kook-Anderson. View a new body of work by Portland-based artist Avantika Bawa as part of PAM’s “APEX” series. Looking at a singular Portland architectural structure, Bawa presents her ongoing series of drawings, prints and paintings of Veterans Memorial Coliseum. On view through Feb. 10, 2019. “Three Masters of Abstraction – Hagiwara Hideo, Ida Shoichi And Takahashi Rikio” looks at some Japanese modern abstract artists. Through May 5, 2019. 1219 S.W. Park Ave. 503-226-2811 or try [email protected].
KOBO at Higo at 604 South Jackson features many small arts & crafts/textile shows and activities inspired by Asia or work by Asian American artists. There is another branch of KOBO on Capitol Hill at 814 E. Roy St. 206-726-0704.
New and recent shows /activities at the The Wing include the following – “ “Lore Re-Imagined: Shadows of Our Ancestors” is curated by Chieko Phillips. It brings together three artists who make work that engages the cultural traditions of previous generations. Satpreet Kahlon uses the embroidery and textile techniques passed on by her mother and grandmother to create soft works with strong cultural subtexts. Alex Anderson uses his ceramic studies in China to probe the moral and physical decay behind seemingly flawless facades. Megumi Shauna Arai’s “Unnamed Lake” uses sashiko (Japanese hand-stiched embroidery) to reflect on the physical, mental and emotional applications of mending. Remains on view through April 14, 2019. “Wham! Bam! Pow! – Cartoons, Turbans & Confronting Hate” remains on view through Feb. 24, 2019. This is an exhibition of work by New York-based cartoonist Vishavjit Singh who wields art and humor to fight intolerance and challenge stereotypes. “A Dragon Lives Here”, part 4 of the ongoing Bruce Lee exhibition series has just opened. This concluding part hones in on Bruce Lee’s Seattle roots and how this region played a key role in shaping Lee and his groundbreaking career. Toddler Story Time set for Thursdays at 11am always has events centered around a kid’s book and an art activity afterwards. A new addition to The Wing’s daily Historic Hotel Tour is “APT 507” which is the story of Au Shee, one Chinese immigrant woman who helped build Seattle’s Chinatown. Her living room is interactive with objects meant to be felt, opened and experienced. NOW let’s look at future shows The Wing is planning this fall and into 2019. “Worlds Beyond Here: The Expanding Universe of APA Science Fiction” is a show that remains on view through Sept. 15, 2019. From onscreen actors to behind-the-scenes writers, creators, artists and animators, learn about the impact Asian Pacific Americans have had and continue to have in science fiction. A mix of literary and pop culture works helps viewers to see how science fiction reflects the times they were written in. It addresses issues related to identity, immigration and race, technology, morality and the human condition. Curated by Mikala Woodward. Includes work by Tamiko Thiel, Simon Kono, June Sekigiuchi, Stasia Burrington, relics from George Takei’s Sulu character on Star Trek, clips & stills from the film, Arrival” based on Bellevue writer Ted Chiang’s story and much more. A group show tentatively titled “Open Housing” shows how community members across the Central Area, Chinatown-ID and Southeast Seattle gather to explore how racial restrictions on where people could live shaped the Seattle we know today and set a vision for those neighborhoods for the next 50 years. March 8, 2019 – Feb. 16, 2020 in the New Dialogues Initiative area. Carina del Rosario curates an exhibit entitled “Wide Angle/Close up: A Self Portrait of the Asian Pacific Islander American Community” from May 10, 2019 – April 19, 2020. Includes photography, video, and photo-based installations by photojournalists that document the community from the inside out. Set for the George Tsutakawa Gallery. “Chinatown in the 1970s” recreates Seattle’s Chinatown in the 1970’s and explores the values and customs that continue to shape the neighborhood today. July 20, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020 in the KidPLACE Gallery. The Museum is located at 719 South King St. (206) 623-5124 or visit www.wingluke.org. Closed Mondays. Tuesday – Sunday from 10am – 5pm. First Thursday of each month is free from 10am – 8pm. Third Saturday of each month is free from 10am – 8pm.
Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park is now closed for what is projected to be a renovation and extension that will take several years.
“Key to the Collection” is a group show that opened Dec. 22, 2018 and it lets TAM show off some of the treasured gifts from their collection including their legacy of Japanese woodblock prints and various other items. “Places to call Home: Settlements in the West“ is a group show through Feb. 10, 2019 that includes representations of Western cities throughout their history and development featuring immigrant or immigrant-descended artists such as Kenjiro Nomura and Mian Situ. Familiar Faces & New Voices: Surveying Northwest Art” stays on view through the summer of 2019. This group show is a chronological walk through of Northwest art history, illustrated with the works of noted artists from each time period as well as lesser-known but just as important figures. Different works will be displayed throughout the run of this show. Includes the work of Patti Warashina, Roger Shimomura, Joseph Park, Alan Lau (full disclosure, that’s me) and many others. Tacoma Art Museum at 1701 Pacific Ave. 253-272-4258 or email [email protected] or go to www.TacomaArtMuseum.org.
“Land of Joy And Sorrow: Japanese Pioneers of the Yakima Valley” is an ongoing exhibit that traces the story of the Japanese families who settled in the Yakima valley. Yakima Valley Museum at 2105 Tieton Dr. in Yakima, WA. 509-248-0747.
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center presents the following – “Oregon Nikkei: Reflections of an American Community – ongoing. Beginning this year, visitors can see artifacts of the collection up close as the stacks will be open to see as the staff does filing. 121 NW Second Ave. in Portland. 503-224-1458 or go to www.oregonnikkeir.org.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene has the following – “Reframing the Fragments: The Best We could Do” is on view through Feb. 17, 2019. It includes works made since 2000 by artists from the Vietnamese diaspora such as Binh Danh, Dinh Q. Le and Ann Lee. Embodies the complex sensations related to remembering and forgetting, tradition and innovation and trying to make sense of fragments of memory and history. “Graceful Fortitude: The Spirit of Korean Women” is on view through May 5, 2019. It includes art created by, for and/or about Korean women in all media from the twelfth to the twenty-first century. “Reflections of the Cosmic Web: Intricate Patterns in Daoist Art” remains on view through April 7, 2019. “Vibrance and Serenity: Art of Japanese No Traditional Theatre is on view through August, 2019. It covers the history and performance of No theatre using selected prints by Tsukioka Kogyo (1869 – 1927). 1430 Johnson Lane in Eugene, Oregon. 541-346-3027.
Nikkei National Museum presents the following – The museum has numerous online exhibits as well as offsite exhibits. Check their website for details. The Nikkei National Museum is at 6688 Southoaks Crescent in Burnaby. 604-777-7000 or go to nikkeiplace.org.
Chinese Cultural Centre Museum has the ongoing exhibit “Generation to Generation – History of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia.” 555 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC. 604-658-8880. Admission by donation.
An ongoing exhibit entitled “Call for Justice: Fighting for Japanese Canadian Redress (1977-1988)” is on view at Nanaimo Museum at 100 Museum Way in Nanaimo, Canada. 250-753-1821 or go to nanaimomuseum.ca.
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco has the following. Coming soon to the Larkin St. steps in front of the museum is a giant white sculpture that turns a puppy into the size of an elephant. “Your Dog” is by Yoshitomo Nara. “Kimono Refashioned” is a major exhibition on the evolution of the Japanese kimono created by the Museum in collaboration with the Kyoto Costume Institute. It runs from Feb. 8, 2019 – May 5, 2019. 200 Larkin St. 415-581-3500.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presents the following – “Art And China After 1989: Theater of the World”. Bracketed by the conflicts associated with Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the celebratory moment of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, this survey of Chinese contemporary art looks at the bold movements that anticipated, chronicled and agitated for the sweeping social transformation that brought China to the center of the global conversation. On view through Feb. 24, 2019. 151 Third St. 415-357-4000 or try [email protected].
“Then They Came For Me” is a group show of black and white photography that documents the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It includes work by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake and many others as well as videos, drawings by Mine Okubo and documentary material of the era. Organized by Alphawood Exhibitions of Chicago, the show has also shown at ICP in New York. A Bay Area version of this show will be on view Jan. 18 – May 27, 2019 at the “Futures Without Violence” Building located in The Presidio at 100 Montgomery St.
LACMA or Los Angeles County Museum of Art has “The Jeweled Isle: Art from Sri Lanka” through June 23, 2019. This is the first comprehensive survey of Sri Lankan art organized by an American museum. 5905 Wilshire Blvd. 323-857-6010.
Ai Weiwei has new shows opening in Los Angeles. His first solo institutional show in the area is at Marciano Art Foundation’s Theater Gallery through March 3, 2019. The main piece here is entitled “Life Cycle” and looks like an inflated raft crammed with human figures with animal heads of the Chinese zodiac meticulously crafted in bamboo using Chinese kite-making techniques by craftspeople. It reflects his concern with the global refugee crisis. 4357 Wilshire Blv. 424-204-7555 or try www.marcianoartfoundation.org.
The Japanese American National Museum has the following shows – “Kaiju vs heroes: Mark Nagata’s Journey through the World of Japanese Toys” feature artist Mark Nagata’s monster’s and superheroes doing battle in an exhibit sure to captivate little and big kids everywhere. On view through March 24, 2019. Limited edition facsimiles of characters in this show fashioned in the sofubi (soft vinyl) method in Japan will be on sale in the gift shop. “Common Ground: The Heart of Community.” This overview exhibit of Japanese American history is ongoing.100 N. Central Ave. in Los Angeles. 213-625-0414 or go to http://www.janm.org.
Bay Area installation artist Masako Takahashi re-installs her colorful “PomPom” installation which was at U.C. Berkeley Library at the Textile Museum of Oaxaca. Now on view through Feb., 2019. The Museum is at Hidalgo 917, Esquincon Fiallo, Col. Oxaca Centro, C.P. 68000 Oxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico. 951-5011-104 or go to [email protected].
“Chiura Obata: An American Modern” is the first retrospective of this noted Bay area artist whose work reflected the glories of the American landscape from the Grand Canyon to Yosemite. His influence could also be felt at UC Berkeley where he had a distinguished teaching career. He also helped found art schools in internment camps during WWII. Curated by ShiPu Wang with a catalogue. The exhibition travels to the following sites. Jan. 18 – March 10, 2019 at Okayama Prefecture Museum of Art in Okayama, Japan (the artist’s hometown), June 23 – Sept. 29, 2019 at Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.
The Freer/Sackler Gallery on the Smithsonian Mall shows you how religion and art mix in “Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia through Nov. 29, 2020. 202-633-1000 or go to FreerSackler.si.edu for details.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the following – “Seeing the Divine: Pahari Paintings of North India” through July 21, 2019. Coming Nov. 19, 2018 – Oct. 27, 2019 is a major sculpture exhibition from the 18th & 19th century era in the Pacific Islands entitled “Atea: Nature And Divinity In Polynesia.” “Celebrating the Year of the Pig” and “The Tale of Genji – A Japanese Classic Illuminated” both open on Feb. 4, 2019.1000 Fifth Ave. New York, New York. Go to metmuseum.org for details.
The Rubin Museum of Art has the following shows – “Tibetan Buddhist Art” gets a full survey including offerings from the museum’s own collection and objects from the Musee Guimet in Paris, the Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions. Feb. 1, 2019 – July 15, 2019. “The Power of Intention- Reinventing the (Prayer) Wheel” brings together select examples of traditional and contemporary art to illuminate the relationship between our intentions, commitments and actions. On view March 1 – Oct. 14th. 150 W. 17th St. New York, New York. 212-620-5000×344 or go to rubinmuseum.org.
The Japan Society has the following – “Radicalism in the Wilderness: Japanese Artists in the Global 1960’s” is a look at the radical experiments of artists from 1960s Japan little known in the U.S. such as Yutaka Matsuzawa, The Play and GUN art collectives. On view March 8 – June 9, 2019. 333 East 47th St. 212-263-1258.
The Museum of Chinese in America has the following – “Radical Machines: Chinese in the Information Age” looks at the technologically crucial Chinese typewriter and the role it played in modernization and communication. Through March 24, 2019. “Interior Lives: Photographs of Chinese Americans in the 1980’s by Bud Glick” documents the street life of New York’s Chinatown during a time of major changes. Through March 24, 2019. 215 Centre St. New York, NY. 855-955-MOCA or go to mocanyc.org.
The Asia Society Museum in New York presents the following – “In Focus: A Complete Map of the World – The Eighteenth Century Convergence of China and Europe” takes Ma Junliang’s complete map of the world as the starting point to consider interactions between China and Europe during the eighteenth century. Now on view through May 5, 2019. “M. F. Husain: Art And the Nation” focuses on the artist’s mural-sized painting created for Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party rally in 1975. On view from March 5 – August 4, 2019. “Reza Arameshi: 12 Noon, Monday 5 August, 1963” is a show in which the artist Reza Aramesh examines the power balance between the captor and and captive and the aestheticization of violence in media coverage of wartime atrocities. On view from March 5 – June 9, 2019. “Masterpieces from the Asia Society Museum Collection” is a group show on view from March 5, 2019 – August, 2019.To find out more, go to AsiaSociety.org/NY. 725 Park Ave. New York City, New York. 212-327-9721 or go to www.asiasociety.org for more details.
The Noguchi Museum has the following – “Akari Unfolded – a Collection by Ymer & Malta” and Akari – Sculptures by Other Means”. Both shows up through April 14, 2019. 9 – 01 33rd Rd, Long Island City, NY. 718-204-7088.
“Art of the Mountain: Through the Chinese Photographer’s Lens” is a group show looking at how Chinese photographers perceive landscape. Now through Feb. 17, 2019 at China Institute Gallery at 100 Washington St. (visitor entrance is at 40 Rector St . on the 2nd floor) in New York. 212-744-8181 or go to www.chinainstitute.org.
Masayuki Koorida – An extensive survey & the artist’s first major exhibition in the U.S. with large scale works in marble and granite as well as smaller, playful works in stainless steel & acrylic as well as drawings. Remains on view through March 17, 2019. Tallur L. N. is an Indian sculptor who combines Indian craft traditions and novel sculptural techniques to infuse ancient iconography with contemporary meanings. “Multiplicity” is a show that has around thirty works in a variety of mediums, from carved stone and wood to cast bronze and concrete to found objects. May 5, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020. Grounds for Sculpture at 80 Sculptors Way in Hamilton, New Jersey.609-586-0616 or info@grounds for sculpture.org.
Pakistani-born artist Huma Bhabha’s rugged style of figurative sculpture working with a variety of material from clay and Styrofoam often evokes science-fictional imagery like the aliens currently on the roof of the Met. This large retrospective allows us to see the range of her interests in all phases of her career from masks to photographs and drawings. March 20 – May 27, 2019. Institute of Contemporary Art, 25 Harbor Shore Dr. in Boston, MA. 617-478-3100
Museum of Fine Arts Boston has the following – “Conservation in Action – Japanese Buddhist Sculpture in a New Light” on view through June 30, 2020. 9300 Avenue of the Arts. 465 Huntington Ave. Go to mfa.org or call 617-267-9300.
The Peabody Essex Museum presents “Empresses of China’s Forbidden City”, the first major international exhibition to explore the role of empresses in China’s Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Includes many works never seen before in the U.S. Through Feb. 10, 2019. 161 Essex St. in Salem, MA. 978-745-9500 or go to pem.org. This show moves on to the Freer/Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Mall in Washington D.C. March 30 – June 23, 2019.
Photogrpaher/video artist Rinko Kawaguchi has a video installation on view at Smith College of Art through March 20, 2019 entitled “Seeing Shadow”. It captures the sweeping motion of a flock of starlings moving in the sky above the water at Brighton Beach. A show of prints by the late Seattle artist Munio Makuuchi is set from August – December, 2019. Art historian Margo Machida will write the catalog essay. 20 Elm St at Bedford Terrace in Northhampton, MA. 413-585-2760 or go to [email protected].
The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Chinese Galleries have undergone a $2 million renovation. The new galleries opened to the public on Feb. 3, 2019. They feature a variety of works from treasures created for the afterlife to costumes of the imperial court. There will be a family festival celebrating the Lunar New Year at that time. 2500 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 215-684-7860 or go to philamuseum.org.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art has the following. “Love Affairs: The Tale of Genji in Japanese Art” through March 10. 2019. “Without Boundaries: Fiber Sculpture & Paintings by Women Artists” featuring work by Yayoi Kusama through July 21, 2019. “Emblems of a Prosperous Life: Women’s Robes of Late Imperial China (1700s-1800s) through June 30, 2018. Minneapolis Institute of Art. 2400 Third Ave. S. Call toll free at 888-642-2787.
“Being Japanese Canadian: reflections on a broken world” is a group show that focuses on the internment camp experience during WWII for Japanese Canadians. Includes the work of Lillian Michiko Blakey, David L. Hayashida, Emma Nishimura, Steven Nunoda, Laura Shintai, Norman Takeukchi. Marjene Matsunaga Turnbull and Yvonne Wakabayashi. On view through August 5, 2019. On March 7, at 11am curators of the exhibition, Bryce Kadara and Katherine Yamashita will talk about the exhibition. “Gods in Any House: Chinese New Year with Ancestor Portraits and Deity Prints” is also on view though Sept. 29, 2019. Royal Ontario Museum at 100 Queens Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Go to rom.on.ca for details.
“Ruth Asawa: Life’s Work” features almost eighty sculptures, drawings and collages of this Bay Area treasure with the highlight being a ten-foot wire piece she did for her friend and former teacher, Buckminster Fuller and her origami-like sculptures made of paper often used as models for public art commissions. Through Feb. 16, 2019. Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri. 314-754-1850.
Hito Steyerl looks at the relationship between networked technologies, image distribution and societal control. In this new commission for Serpentine Galleries, she works with technology to create a neural network that generates novel imagery and connections. Serpentine Galleries in London from March – May 2019. Kensington Gardens. 020-7402-6075.
Indonesian-born, Amsterdam-based filmmaker Fiona Tan mixes found and original footage in her work to blue categories. Here, she uses color advertising footage from Agfa to explore notions of authenticity and normalcy in West Germany. May 4 – August 11, 2019. Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany. Heinrich-Boll-Platz, 50067 Koln, Germany. +49 221-221-26165 or [email protected].
Tokyo Opera city Art Gallery has the following shows. “Naoki Ishikawa: Capturing the Map of Light on This Planet” is a survey of this Japanese photographer’s work on view through March 24, 2018. 3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo,Japan. +81- (0) 3-5353-0756.
Fukuzawa Ichiro was one of many Japanese artists who traveled extensively abroad in the early twentieth century with a seven year stint in Paris where he was influenced by Max Ernst and other Surrealists. In his painting and writing, he was a vigorous supporter of avant garde movements on his return. Almost ninety works in this retrospective attest to his transcultural range full of social critique and humor. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. March 12 – May 26, 2019. 1-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. +81 3-5777-8600.
Kichizaemon Raku is the 15th head of the respected Raku family of tea bowl craftsmen. He found a kindred spirit and inspiration in the work of the eccentric abstract painter Wols. His work is featured alongside some of the work by Wols that inspired him. The result are artworks as tea bowls rather than artistic tea bowls. “Raku Kichizaemon x Wols” on view through March 31, 2019 at the Sagawa Art Museum. Go to www.sagawa-art-museum.or.jp for details.
“Mingei: Another Kind of Art” is a group show showing objects of the Japanese folk art movement accompanied by videos of production processes and interviews with their creators. Through Feb. 24, 2019. 21_21 Design Sight: Tokyo Midtown Garden. Go to www.2121designsight.jp for details.
Dogo Onsen 298 is in its fourth edition and is on view through Feb., 2019. It’s a public bath in Matsuyama that allows artists to make installations within its walls and is considered one of Japan’s “three ancient hot springs” dating as far back as the 8th century Man’yoshu. With works by Chie Matsui, Aquirax Uno and Naho Ishii. 6 – 8 Dogo Yunomach, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. 089-907-5930.
“The Breathing of Maps” is a group show on view through March 3, 2019 co-curated by Mark Teh of Malaysia. This show bings together artists and scholars from Southeast Asia and Japan to examiner history, culture and politics through the unique prism of maps. With lectures, workshops and performances. Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media at 7-7 Nakazone-cho, Yamaguchi, Japan. +81-83-901-2222.
“Shiro e no dokei” (Longing For White) showcases the work of one of Japan’s major quilt artists, Mutsuko Yawatagaki at the Izumo Museum of Quilt Art. One is surprised to learn the popularity of quilting in Japan stems from Japanese seeing it done on the American TV series, “Little House on The Prairie” back in the 70’s. Housed in a 200-year-old traditional residence, each quilt is presented as part of an installation and complemented by imaginative flower arrangements. The artist works only from fabric salvaged from antique kimonos and obi. 330 Fukutomi, Hikawa-cho, Izumo, Shimane Prefecture. Through Feb. 26, 2019. 0853-72-7146.
“teamLab*Borderless” houses works by this hi-tech art group in the Mori Building Digital Art Museum. With computer-graphic projections of animals, plants and objects from nature to light sculptures and a forest of lamps. On view indefinitely. Aomi Station, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan. 03-6406-3949.
Monyee Chan is a Seattle-based Chinese American artist. She has designed this year’s annual Northwest Folklife Festival poster. The festival takes place May 24 – 27, 2019 at Seattle Center and the focus this year is on young people, young voices and young identities.
Performing arts
“ShowTheLove 2019” is Intiman Theatre’s annual crowdsourced fundraising campaign. The kick Off Party will have a sneak peek at Intiman’s first mainstage production of 2019 entitled “Caught” (opens officially March 7 – March 30, 2019) by Christopher Chen as directed by Desdemona Chiang. Feb. 13 at 7pm. Free. Theatre Off Jackson at 409 7th Ave. S. Go to intiman.org/showthelove to learn more. Sara Porkalob returns with a “Dragon Lady Benefit Concert”, a one night only extravaganza featuring new songs you never heard before on Feb. 18, 2019 on Capitol Hill to support Intiman’s annual “ShowThe Love” campaign. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. 21 & over, please. At Neumo’s at 925 Pike St.
Richard Nguyen Sloniker plays Mortimer Brewster in the classic black comedy “Arsenic And Old Lace” on stage now through March 2, 2019 at Taproot Theatre Company on the Jewell Mainstage. 204 N. 85th St. 206-781-9705 or go to taproottheatre.org.
“Rock of Ages” is an 80’s rock musical about a small town girl and city boy who meet on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip to pursue their dreams. Book by Chris D’Arienzo, arrangements/orchestrations by Ethan Popp and directed & choreographed by Lisa Shriver. Stars Diana Huey, Galen Disston, Sara Porkalob and others. Feb. 1 – 24 at the 5th Avenue Theatre. 1308 – 5th Ave. 206-625-1900 or try [email protected].
The Triple Door presents “Masters of Hawaiian Music: George Kahumoku Jr., Nathan Aweau & Kawika Kahiapo in a two evening concert of slack-key, side guitar, ukulele and songs from the traditional and contemporary Polynesian tradition. Feb. 22 & 23 at the Triple door at 8pm.216 Union St. 206-838-4333 or try thetripledoor.net.
UW music professor/violinist Melia Watras celebrates her new recording entitled “Schumann Resonances” with fellow musical heavyweights Richard Karpen, Cuong Vu and husband and colleague, Michael Jinsoo Lim. Wed., Feb. 6, 2019 at 7:30pm. Brechemin Auditorium in the UW Music Building on the Seattle campus. Free.
The “March Is Cabaret Month Festival” gets an opening night kickoff with an evening hosted by festival director & drag chanteuse Arnoldo! which features The Love Markets, The Sirens of Swing and Sweet Spot Combo. On Wed., Feb. 27, 2019 at 7:30pm. Arnoldo! is the founder of the Pacific Northwest Cabaret Association and festival director. He received a 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Filipino Community of Seattle for promoting culture & the arts. The concert is at The Triple Door located at 216 Union St. 206-838-4333 or go to www.tripledoor.net for details.
The Meany Center For The Performing Arts – Looking forward to the 2018/2019 season, look out for the following. Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq returns to Seattle on Feb. 8, 2019. Her vocal improvisations bridge traditional roots with contemporary culture, stirring in punk, metal and electronics. Time for Three is a ground breaking string trio that transcends tradition as well by mixing elements of pop and rock into their classical foundation. They perform on April 18, 2019. Yekwon Sunwoo won the Gold Medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He makes his Seattle debut in a program of Schumann, Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert. One performance only on Sat., May 4, 2019 at 7:30pm. All tickets now available as part of a Meany Center subscription package and remaining single tickets go on sale on August 1, 2018. You can order online at meanycenter.org or call 206-543-4880 or visit the ticket office at 41st Street between University Way NE & Brooklyn Ave. NE. tickets available via FAX too at 206-685-4141.
Local singer/songwriter Brenda Xu joins singer/songwriter Joan Osborne in a concert entitled “Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan” at the Triple Door from Feb. 17 – 19 at 7:30pm. Tickets from $35 – $45. 216 Union St. Try thetripledoor.net for details.
Seattle Opera helped to commission a new contemporary opera entitled “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs”, Apple founder. Adam Lau plays the role of Kobun Chino Otogawa. Plays McCaw Hall from Feb. 23 – March 9. Tickets vary from $25 – $335. 321 Mercer St. in Seattle Center. 206-389-7676 or try [email protected]. Future Seattle Opera productions include the following – “Rigoletto – The Cost of Corruption” August 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 23,24, 25 & 28, 2019. Yongzhao Yu makes his Seattle Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua. “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird – The Man Behind A Legend” with music by Daniel Schnyder and libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly. Plays Feb. 22, 23, 26, 29 AND March 1, 4, 6 & 7, 2020. Kelly Kuo will make his Seattle Opera debut as conductor for the orchestra for this production.
Indonesian teenage wunderkind jazz pianist Joey Alexander plays Jazz Alley with his trio from Feb. 28 – March 3, 2019. $41.00. 2033 6th Ave. 206-441-9729 or try jazzalley.com for details.
UW Music instructor and trumpet player Cuong Vu leads the Studio Jazz Ensemble and UW Modern Band in innovative big band arrangements and original compositions on Mon., March 11, 2019 at the Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater at 7:30pm. $10. 4001 University Way NE.
The UW Wind Ensemble with Seattle Symphony guest clarinetist Ben Lulich present a program of new music which includes a composition by Tian Zhou and others. Tuesday, March 12 at 7:30pm at the Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater. $10 tickets. 4001 University Way NE.
Conductor Ludovic Morlot ends his 2018/2019 tenure with the Seattle Symphony with a varied and stimulating series of concerts. Some highlights include the following – The Silk Road Ensemble (featured in a documentary film) returns with the world premiere of Kinan Azmeh’s clarinet concerto, composer/pianist Vijay Iyer’s “City of Sand”, Edward Perez’s “Latina 6/8 Suite” and a world premiere by noted composer Chen Yi. Wed., Feb. 6 at 7:30pm in the Taper Auditorium. Pianist Jessica Choe performs with Seattle Symphony with a live score performed with the screening of the film “Amadeus” on Feb. 22 at 8pm and Feb. 23 at 8pm. Avi Avital is a mandolin virtuoso who leads a group with Jessica Choe on piano through a fresh interpretation of Vivaldi and Telemann on Friday, May 3 at noon & 8pm and Sat., May 4 at 8pm. A Family Concert Series program entitled “Carnival Of The Animals” takes place on Sat. May 4 at 11am , 2018 with Pablo Rus Broseta conducting and Hannah Song on violin, Kristy Park on cello, Jessica Choe on piano and Elizabeth Morgan on piano. A Brahms Concerto Festival 1 takes place on Thursday, May 9 at 7:30pm featuring Zee Zee on piano. All concerts at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. Go to seattlesymphony.org for details.
Seattle Pro Musica specializes in the performance and promotion of modern and ancient choral music under the direction of artistic director Karen Thomas. They present a concert entitled “Pacific Voices – Choral Music by Asian and Asian American Composers” on Sat., March 9, 2019 at 7:30pm at Seattle First Baptist Church at 1111 Harvard Ave. in Seattle and again on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 7:30pm at Trinity Lutheran Church at 6215 196th St. WW in Lynnwood, WA. Composers performed are Hyo-Won Woo, Sungji Hong, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Budi Susanto Yohanes, Victor Paranjoti and A. R. Rahman of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame. Advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets or you could get them online at seattlepromusica.org.
Kevin Lin is part of the cast for the ACT LAB/Seagull Project co-production of Anton Chekhov’s ”Uncle Vanya” on stage Feb. 1 – 17 at the Falls Theatre at ACT. This classic by the Russian playwright explores a provincial family town apart by greed. Directed by John Langs. Melissa Y. Hamasaki serves as Production Stage Manager. 206-292-7676 or go to www.acttheatre.org. 700 Union St. downtown.
Minna Lee is in the cast for a new folkrock musical entitled “The Devil & Sarah Blackwater” with book by Anthea Carns, music & lyrics by Lauren Freman and directed by Madison Jade Jones & Sam Ro. When the devil comes calling to collect a debt, a budding singer must journey to hell and back with love as her only compass. Plays Feb. 1 – March 2, 2019. At the Annex Theatre at 1122 E. Pike St. #1440. Tickets at bit.ly/SarahBTickets.
“Beyond Ideas” is the title of ArtsWest’s 2018-2019 season. Some highlights include David Henry Hwang’s “M. Butterfly” set for January 24 – Feb. 17, 2019 with Tom Dang, David Quicksall and Kathy Hsieh. Julia Cho’s “Office Hour” May 2 – May 26, 2019 and Justin Huertas’s musical, “The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion” June 20 – July 28, 2019. Learn more details about the entire new season at artswest.org. ArtsWest is located in West Seattle at 4711 California Ave. SW.
Patrick Shiroishi, an L.A. based multi-instrumentalist joins Seattle bassist Abby Blackwell and Seattle trombonist/vocalist Haley Freedlund as part of the Seattle Improvised Music Festival on Sat., Feb. 9 at 8pm. Other performers include Odeya Nin, L. A. based vocalist and Holland Andrews/Ambrosia Bardos/Ebony Miranda. At the Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center on the 4th floor at 4649 Sunnyside n. Go to [email protected] for details.
“In The Heart of America” is Naomi Wallace’s Obie-winning play about love and war. Characters include a Palestinian woman, her marine brother and American lover and the ghost of a Vietnamese mother whose infant daughter was killed at My Lai. Directed by Amanda Friou and stars Asialani Holman as the Vietnamese mother. Plays March 6 – 17 at the Jones Playhouse on 4045 University Way NE. $10 & $20. 206-543-4880 or try artsuw.org. Tickets can also be purchased in person at ARTSUW Ticket Office located at 1313 NE 41st St.
Zakir Hussain makes his annual visit to Seattle with his always compelling “Masters of Percussion” ensemble featuring some world-class musicians. Set for April 2, 2019 at the Moore Theatre. Presented by STG Presents. 206-812-1114.
UW theatre graduate Mikko Juan spent the fall touring Eastern Washington in Seattle Children’s Theatre production of Ramon Esquivel’s “Between and Below”. Now he returns to Seattle in the lead role in “Urinetown: The Musical”, a joint production of 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT as directed by Bill Berry. Set for The Falls Theatre from April 6 – May 26, 2019 at ACT downtown. 700 Union St.
The “Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour” with vocalist Ceceile McLorin Salvant headlining makes a stop in Seattle on April 7, 2019 at the Moore with a top roster of diverse, international talent including Yasushi Nakamura on bass. 206-467-5510.
Canadian playwright Ins Choi’s award-winning family comedy “Kim’s Convenience” (CBS television adaption was recently added to Netflix) comes to Taproot Theatre’s 2019 season titled “Family Ties”. On Stage May 15 – June 22, 2019 as co-directed by Scott Nolte and David Hsieh. A Korean Canadian family learns to live with their own faults, get along and forge ahead in this heartwarming comedy about the foibles and blessings of family. Go to taproottheatre.org for tickets. 204 N. 85th St, in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. 206-781-9705.
Indian composer Reena Esmail presents compositions merging Western techniques with traditional Hindustani instrumentation and musical themes. She brings a newly commissioned piano trio composition with Joshua Roman, David Fung and Kristin Lee. May 21, 2019 at 7:30pm.1119 Eighth Ave. Doors open at 6:30pm.
Closing Café Nordo’s 10th Season of supper-club musicals is “7th & Jackson” written by the multi-talented Sara Porkalob and set for July, 2019. Three Seattle friends haunt the speakeasys listening to jazz before WW II and share a dream to open a night club of their own. When the bombing of Pearl Harbor and rising WWII tensions tear apart homes, the friends separate but never lose sight of their dreams. Café Nordo is at 109 South Main. Go to www.cafenordo.com to find out more about their new season and how you can get tickets.
Edmonds Center for the Arts has the following set for 2019. Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performs live with the Ahn Trio on stage, “Red Firecrackers: The Legend of the First Chinese New Year” on Feb. 23 at 11am and again on Feb. 23 at 7:30pm. Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar performs on April 24, 2019 at 7:30pm. 410 Fourth Ave. N. 425-275-9595.
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma presents the following events at various venues. Their info # is 253-591-5894. Symphony Tacoma presents “Beyond The Silk Road” on Sat., Feb. 23, 2019 at 7:30pm at Pantages Theatre. Broadway Center presents sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar on Sun., April 28, 2019 at 7:30pm. Also at the Pantages Theatre.
In Portland, catch these acts from Asia in 2018/2019. The Beijing Modern Dance Theater founded in 2008 by Wang Yuanyuan bring Chinese modern dance to the stage on Feb. 20, 2019 at 7:30pm at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at 909 SW Washington.
Macha Theatre Works announces their 2018-2019 season of fearless female theatre. The final production is the World Premiere of “Sheathed”, written by local playwright Maggie Lee and directed by Macha Artistic Director Amy Poisson. A tale of an unlikely friendship texted by the bonds of honor and the terrible price of forgiveness. Movement Choreographer Alyza Delpan-Monley and Fight Choreographer May Nguyen Lee complete the production team. “Sheathed” runs from March 8 – 23, 2019 at Theatre Off Jackson at 409 – 7th Ave. S. For tickets and information, go to www.machatheatreworks.com/tickets or call 608-909-1252 or email [email protected].
Get ready for the world premiere of local playwright Susan Lieu’s performance piece “140 LBS”. A daughter investigates a mother’s death on the operating table while undergoing plastic surgery and uncovers painful truths. Directed by Sara Porkalob. Set for Feb. 7-9, 11, 14-16 at 7:30pm and Feb. 10 & 17 at 2pm at Theatre Off Jackson in Seattle’s CID. Go to https://theatreoffjackson.org/event/4778/140-lbs/ or details.
Abbey Arts presents Seattle singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama who headlines a bill with Lenore on Feb. 15, 2019. Fremont Abbey at 4272 Fremont Ave. N. Go to www.fremontabbey.org/artsconnect.
Degenerate Art Ensemble’s latest performance of dance, theater, live music and cinematic video entitled “Skeleton Flower” premieres its first full production at Seattle’s Erickson Theater (across from Seattle Central Community College) from Feb. 13 – 16, 2019. Also released at the same time will be the audio cd and a virtual reality film made with VR filmmaker Mischa Jakupcak and Zoo Break Productions. Shows at 7pm with a 9:30pm show added on Friday and Saturday. The story is autobiographic and draws on the dancer’s experience as a survivor of personal and ancestral trauma and how art becomes the healer. 1524 Harvard Ave. For more details, go to http://www.degenerateartensemble.com.
“Devi” is a new adaptation by Northwest South Asian theatre company Pratidhwani conceived with over 40 actors and dancers in partnership with ACT Theatre’s ACTLab set for April to May, 2019 in The Allen Theatre at ACT. Go to www.acttheatre.org or call 206-292-7676 for details.
Some of the upcoming concerts Earshot Jazz is planning for 2019 include the Japanese pianist/composer/multi-instrumentalist Satoko Fujii & her Trio and New York-based guitarist/composer Miles Okazaki and his group “Trickster”. Okazaki grew up in Port Townsend. Miles Okazaki Trickster which features Matt Mitchell, Anthony Tidd & Sean Rickman will perform on April 13, 2019. Satoko Fujii Trio with Natsuki Tamura and Alister Spence will perform on May 7, 2019. For more information on future concerts, go to earshot.org for details.
Portland-based theatre/media artist Dmae Roberts has put together a theatrical project entitled “Here On This Bridge – The __Ism Project” which presents short monologues by people of color that could help build bridges between divided communities. Final performances are Feb. 7 – 10 at the Boiler Room Acting Studio at Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall at 1620 S.W. Park Ave. in Portland. For tickets and information, go towww.theatrediaspora.org or www.mediarites.org.
Lauren Yee’s “Cambodian Rock Band” with songs by Dengue Fever as directed by Chay Yew will be performed March 6 – Oct. 27, 2019 at the Thomas Theatre as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This musical play tells the story of a young woman trying to piece together her family history thirty years after her father fled Cambodia. 15 South Pioneer St. in Ashland, Oregon. 1-800-219-8161.
Portland-based Chamber Music Northwest has announced that its new artistic directors will be the husband/wife team of Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim. The two will succeed David Shifrin after his final Summer Festival in 2020. Both are recognized performers and experienced music presenters.
“The Tashme Project” is a new play by Jukie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa culled from years of interviews with Canadian Nisei about the WWII Japanese Canadian internment camp experience. On stage through Feb. 10, 2019. The Factory Theatre at 1125 Bathurst St. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 416-504-9971 or try factorytheatre.ca.
On the Boards has announced twelve artists/companies selected for the 2019 NW New Works Festival set for June 12 – 16, 2019. Among the names are Dakota Camacho, a rapper/hip hop dancer/performance artist, choreographer/dancer Imana Gunawan, flautist/taiko player Leanna Keith and dancer/choreographer Naomi Macalalad Bragin. Congratulations to all!
Film and Media
In Tang Dynasty China, a demon cat appears, causing a series of strange events. The Chinese poet Bai Leitan and Japanese monk Kukai join forces to investigate a strange death following the trail left by the cat. Director Chen Kaige’s (“Farewell My Concubine”) latest is a lavish production years in the making. Screens Feb. 5 – 10 at various Puget Sound theatres that are part of Faraway Entertainment chain including the Varsity on University Ave. in Seattle’s University District. 4329 University Way N.E. 206-632-2267.
The filmed performance of Korean pop supergroup BTS’ entitled “BTS World Tour Love Yourself in Seoul” broke box office records when it screened in Jan. Now for all you K-Pop fans who missed it and due to demand, two additional screenings are set for Feb. 9 & Feb. 10 at 11am. Screens at various Puget Sound theaters. Advance tickets and details at www.FanthomEvents.com or LoveYourselfinSeoul.Film.
“Migration is Natural” is a short animated film about the immigration journey of Jess X. Snow’s family and how the discovery of art can help create a new home for migrant communities when borders divide and fail. Screens on Thurs., Feb. 7 from 6 – 8pm. At 4Culture at 101 Prefontaine Pl. S. 206-263-1588.
Sunrise Inc. and Fanthom Events bring the hit Japanese Mecha Anime entitled “Mobile Suit Gundam NT” to Seattle movies theatres for one night on Feb. 19 in an English dubbed version at 7pm. Get tickets at www.FanthomEvents.com or at participating local theater box offices.
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival takes place Feb. 21 – 24, 2019 on Seattle’s Capitol Hill at Broadway Performance Hall and Northwest Film Forum. Opening night party with Ruby Ibarra and Jyun Jyun at Washington Hall. For complete details, go to seattleaaff.org.
Upcoming films at Northwest Film Forum include the following – Takashi Miike burst upon the international film scene with “Audition”, a well crafted “J-horror” film about a widower looking for a new wife. Advised by a film company colleague to stage the search as an audition for an acting job, the suitor finds a woman to his liking but looks can be deceiving. Feb. 14 – 17, 2019 at 7:30pm. Bi Gan’s debut 2015 film entitled “Kaili Blues” traces a small town doctor’s journey to a village where he looks for his brother’s abandoned child and the missing former lover of his office colleague. Along the way, he encounters a town where time stands still. Screens Wed., Feb. 20 at 7pm and Tues., Feb. 26, 2019 at 7pm. The theater also plans to screen Bi Gan’s latest epic entitled “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” at some future date. Northwest Film Forum is located at 1515 12th Ave. on Capitol Hill. 206-329-2629.
Grand Illusion Cinema has the following –Another Sammo Kam-Bo Hung feature “Pedicab Driver” from 1989 has a poor pedicab driver who must avenge the death of friends by a gangster and fight for the girl he loves. Screens Feb. 6, 8, 10 & 14. Mamoru Hosoda’s latest animated film “Mirai” screens Feb. 8 – 14. 1403 NE 50th St. 206-523-3935.
The 14th annual “Children’s Film Festival Seattle” returns Jan. 24, 2019 – Feb. 9, 2019 to the Northwest Film Forum. More than 150 films from 40+ countries will be screened. Highlights include Priya Ramasubban’s “Chuskit” (India) in which a feisty paraplegic girl rebels against family and village traditions in a Himalayan village to fulfill her dreams of going to school and a program of all Japanese-language shorts presented in association with Tokyo’s KINEKO Children’s Film Festival. Full festival schedule and ticket links will be posted after Dec. 5, 2018. Go to www.childrensfilmfestival.org for details.
The closing night film for SIFF’s “Noir City 2019 Film Festival” is Sam Fuller’s “Crimsom Kimono” in which James Shigeta nabbed a Golden Globe Award. The film follows two L.A. cops hunting the killer of a stripper in Little Tokyo and a romantic triangle that ensues when both cops fall for a key witness. 6:15pm pre-show burlesque performance by Valtese. The film screens at 6:30pm. Thursday, Feb. 21. SIFF Cinema Egyptian at 805 E. Pine St. 206—324-9996.
A new cyberpunk film from Director Robert Rodriguez, produced and co-written by James Cameron entitled “Alita: Battle Angel” based on the manga “Gunnm” by Yukito Kishino tells the story of a female cyborg discovered in a scrap yard by a scientist who has no memory of her past life but possesses incredible martial arts skills. It gets a wide release in local theatres on Feb. 14, 2019.
SIFF Uptown hosts a Saturday Morning Cartoon program with coffee & donuts and a post film discussion, All ages welcome. Some films to look forward to in this series include the following – “Window Horses: The poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming” is a story that tells what happens when a young Canadian poet of Iranian/Chinese ancestry leaves her sheltered Vancouver BC home to perform at a poetry festival in Iran. It’s her first trip abroad and what will she discover. Screens March 30, 2019. Voices provided by Sandra Oh, Ellen Page and and Shohreh Aghdashloo. 511 Queen Anne N. 206-324-9996.
Mungau Dain who made his debut acting in the Oscar-nominated film “Tanna” produced by Martin Butler and Bentley Dean died unexpectedly still in his mid-twenties from an untreated leg infection.
The written and spoken arts
Seattle Public Library’s “2019 Seattle Reads” event which takes place in April has selected the graphic memoir by Thi Bui entitled “The Best We Could Do” which details the experience of Vietnamese immigrants settling in a new land.
Open Books has the following events:
A group reading with poets Geneve Chao, Wendy Chin-Tanner, Sarah Mangold & Jane Wong is set for March 17, 2019 at 4:30pm. Open Books is a poetry only bookstore located in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood at 2414 N. 45th St. 206-633-0811.
Elliott Bay Book Company continues to sponsor readings in their Capitol Hill bookstore as well as co-producing events all over the city. Below you will find a partial listing of some of their events. Events are at the bookstore located at 1521 Tenth Ave. unless otherwise noted. Duncan Ryuken Williams talks about his new book entitled “American Sutra” which looks at the government persecution of Buddhists in the Japanese American internment camps during WW II. On Thurs., Feb. 14 at 7pm at the book store. Former UW graduate student Mia Ayumi Malhorta returns to Seattle to read from her debut book of poetry “Isako Isako” about how the Japanese internment camp experience affected her family. She will be joined at Elliott Bay by local poets Gabrielle Bates and Jane Wong. Mon., Feb. 18 at 7pm. Michael Ondaatje reads from “Warlight”, his latest novel of war, longing and betrayal against the backdrop of WWII Britain. On Tues., Feb. 26 at 7pm at Microsoft Auditorium at Seattle Public Central Library. 1000 Fourth Ave.
Science author Michio Kaku addresses the topic, “Our Future Beyond Earth” on Wed., April 10 at 7:30pm. Seattle First Baptist Church at 1111 Harvard Ave. Presented by Town Hall Seattle. 206-652-4255 or [email protected].
Congratulations to Shankar Narayan, Putsata Reang and Michael Smeltzer who joined a select group of Seattle area writers who were chosen to be part of the 2019 Jack Straw Writers Group as curated by poet Kathleen Flenniken. The group will be doing numerous readings and workshops throughout the year around the Puget Sound.
Hugo House, that venerated Northwest center for writers and poets re-opens in brand-new digs with expanded space but in the same location. Catch their readings and celebrate their new space. Bay Area writer Vanessa Hua, author of the novel “A River of Stars” and a short story collection, “Deceit And Other Possibilities” comes to Seattle to read as part of the Hugo Literary Series with an all-star line-up of Benjamin Percy, Keetje Kuipers and Sassy Black on Sunday, March 10, 2019. She will also be teaching a class at Hugo House entitled “How to Fund Your Writing Habit” starting on March 16, 2019. 2019 dates for “Word Works: Writers on Writing” will feature craft talks by Andre Dubus III on March 9, 2019, Min Jin Lee on May 2, 2019 and Steve Almond on May 21, 2019. Lee, who wrote the novel “Pachinko”, a powerful family saga of Koreans living in Japan will speak to the way in which our faith in the world and in our writing can open our work to new horizons. Also with the opening of the new Hugo House, the writing center rolls out a new series of classes/workshops with a varied number of subjects taught by a talented group of writers like Nisi Shawl, Sonora Jha, R. O. Kwon, Anne Liu Kellor, Michelle Penaloza, Richard Chiem, Diana Xin, Anglela Garbes, Lora Shinn, Aimee Bhausar and Shankar Narayan. 1634 – 11th Ave. 206-453-1937. Go to hugohouse.org to find out more.
Seattle Arts & Lectures returns with their always stimulating series of writers, poets and a new journalism series. As part of the Poetry Series, acclaimed poet Kimiko Hahn will come April 25, 2019 for a program entitled “Poems For The Planet” which will include her and a group of friends. It’s a celebration of both Earth Day & National Poetry Month with eco-poetics as a mode of creative resistance. Visit or call for more information at 206-621-22.
“My Brother’s Husband: Vol. 1 & 2” (both volumes on Pantheon) by Japan’s Gengoroh Tagame (translated by Anne Ishii) is the winner of the inaugural GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize as administered by the Global Literatures in Libraries Initiative. This is the first prize to recognize publishers, translators and authors of books in English translation for young adult readers. The story centers around the gay Canadian husband of the late brother of a Japanese man and the reception he receives when he visits the family in Japan. Also on the shortlist were the following titles – “The Secret of the Blue Glass” (Pushkin) by Tomoko Inui (translated by Ginny Tapley), “Rasha” (Penguin Random House India) by Mohammed Zatar Igbal (translated by Arunava Sinha) and “Bronze And Sunflower” (Candlewick) by Caowen Xuan (translated by Helen Wang).
Below is a partial list of new books by or about Asian Americans and new titles on Asia. If you are interested in reviewing any of them, please let us know –
“Territory of Light” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) by Yuko Tsushima as translated by Geraldine Harcourt tells the story of a young woman left by her husband who struggles to start a new life in Tokyo with her two-year old daughter. In the months to come, she must confront what she lost and what she has become.
“Solo – A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One” (Knopf) by Anita Lo. This acclaimed chef shows you how to yourself by preparing delicious, accessible food to keep your singled life empowered and on track.
“King of Joy” (Soft Skull) by Seattle writer Richard Chiem is his first novel after his acclaimed book of short stories. It is an imaginative meditation on emotional survival, isolation and the beauty and limitations of human connection.
“When I Found Grandma” (Groundwood) by Saumiya Balasubramaniam and illustrated by Qin Leng. This is a charming look at how a grandchild and grandparent navigate cross-cultural differences and find the bond of love.
“Betraying Big Brother – The Feminist Awakening in China” (Verso) by Leta Hong Fincher looks at the feminist movement in China and how it could reconfigure that country and the world.
“An American Family – A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice” (Random House) by Khizer Khan. A story of family and faith written with a poet’s sensibility, this Muslim American father tells his timeless immigrant story that led from from Pakistan to America.
“Dreamers – How Young Indians Are Changing the World” (Harvard) by Snigdha Poonan. More than half of India is under the age of twenty-five. The author traveled through the small towns of Northern India to investigate the phenomenon that is India’s Generation Y.
“Invocation of Beauty – The Life And Photography of Soichi Sunami” (Cascadia Museum of Art) by David F. Martin. This is the catalog for a recent exhibition on this early Seattle Camera Club member who went on to become the staff photographer at the Museum of Modern Art and a pioneer photographer of early American dance.
“The Village By The Sea” (NYR Books) by Anita Desai is a classic survival story of teenagers living in both village and city and how their bond pulls them through difficult times.
“People Like Us – The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door” (The New Press) by Sayu Bhojwan looks at how immigrant Americans are changing the political landscape, promoting reform and providing a voice for our multi-racial country.
“The End of the Moment We Had” (Pushkin) by Toshiki Okada as translated by Sam Malissa. Two short stories look at characters bound by a generational hunger for human connection and reveals an unsettlingly honest voice in contemporary Japanese fiction.
“You’re Safe With me” (Lantana) by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Poonam Mistry. A modern fable that reads like a folktale that illustrates the importance of motherly love amongst animals in a forest.
“The Unpassing” (Farrar Straus & Giroux) by Chia-Chia Lin traces the tragic journey of a Taiwanese immigrant family struggling to make a new home in Alaska.
“Kaya’s Heart Song” (Lantana) by Diwa Tharan Sanders and illustrated by Nerina Canzi. This book is a lesson on mindfulness set in the jungles of Malaysia where a little girl discovers her own song.
“Friend of My Youth” (NYR Books) by Amit Chaudhuri looks at the city of Bombay and the nature of identity and the passage of time.
“Moth And Wasp, Soil And Ocean – Remembering Chinese Scientist Pu Zhelong’s Work for Sustainable Farming” (Tilbury House Publishers) by Sigrid Schmalzer and illustrated by Melanie Linden Chan. This book tells the story of a pioneering environmentalist in rural China who helped develop sustainable agriculture without pesticides.
Bellevue-based writer Ted Chiang is back with another stunning collection of stories entitled “Exhalation” (Knopf), each tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions. It covers a twenty year period with some rare classic work and new stories as well. His work has won every fantasy and Sci-fi award including the Hugo, the Nebula and Locus Awards.
In “Internment” (Little Brown), Samira Ahmed fights against Islamophobia and complicit silence in a futuristic novel when all Muslims are herded into internment camps.
“Monsters I Have Been” (Alice James) by Kenji C. Liu is a book of poems that uses existing texts and remixes them to investigate the relationship between toxic masculinity and the forms of violence it promotes in society.
“Time for Bed, Miyuki” (Princeton Archtectural Press) by Roxane Marie Galliez and illustrated by Seng Sounratanavanh is a picture book story about family, nature and love that serves as a welcome companion to your own children’s bed-time journey.
In “Soft Science” (alice James) by Franny Choi, the poet uses the myth of the cyborg to explore queer, Asian American femininity.
“The Pilipinx Radical Imagination Reader” (Philippine American Writers And Artists Inc.) edited by Melissa-Ann Nievera-Lozano and Anthony Abulencia Santa Ana. A Collection of a multiplicity of voices from the Philippine diaspora exploring visions we carry for our communities in this historical moment.
“Girls of Paper and Fire” (Little Brown) by Natasha Ngan is a richly textured fantasy novel about a lower caste girl who must serve a king but when love intervenes, how far will she go for justice?
In “Mitochondria Night” (Coffee House), poet Ed Bock Lee turns his analytical lens to trace paths through time, genealogy, geography and deals with issues of war, generational trauma and colonialism.
“Tales of Japan – Traditional Stories of Monsters and Magic” (Chronicle) with illustrations by Kotaro Chiba drawn from the works of folklorists Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, these tales are by turns terrifying, exhilarating and poetic.
“Conversations in Maine: A New Edition” (University of Minnesota) by Grace Lee Boggs, JHames Boggs, Lyman Paine and Freddy Paine. After the Detroit Rebellion, two veteran activist couples get together to re-think the fundamentals of activism. An essential text for a new generation of radicals.
“You’re Snug With Me” (Lantana) by Chitra Soundar & Poonam Mistry is a lavishly illustrated picture book depicting the beauty of the polar region.
“The Gilded Wolves” (Wednesday Books) by Roshani Chokshi is a new young adult series about heist and adventure set in Paris, filled with opulent balls, succulent sights and a brazen group of teens.
“Dragon Dancer” (Lantana) by Joyce Chng and illustrated by Jeremy Pailler tells the story of a Chinese festival and what it symbolizes for Chinese communities as told through the eyes of a dragon dancer.
“Stone House on Jeju Island – Improvising Life Under A Healing Moon” (Seoul Selection) by Brenda Paik Sunoo. A Korean American woman challenges us to reimagine our definition of “home” as she moves from Southern California to an island off the tip of South Korea and re-examines her own life.
“The Paper-Flower Tree-A Tale From Thailand” (Enchanted Lion) by Jacqueline Ayer. What happens when an old peddler visits a small village with a tree of paper flowers? When he leaves a gift of one of the flowers to a little girl, will her life change?
“Oculus” (Graywold) by Sally Wen Mao is a book of poems that explore history and the future informed by science, history, the natural world and the character of actress Anna May Wong.
“Thirty Minutes Over Oregon – A Japanese Pilot’s WWII Story” (Clarion) by Marc Tyler Nobleman and Illustrated by Melissa Iwai. This picture book based on a true story recounts the incident of a Japanese pilot who bombs the continental U.S. during WWII and comes back 20 years later to apologize.
“The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali” (Scholastic) by Sabina Khan. Unable to come out to her conservative Muslim parents, an American teenager keeps a secret. When discovered, she is sent into exile back to Bangladesh. When and where does she find the courage to take control of her future?
“The I Wonder Bookstore” (Chronicle) by Shinsuke Yoshitake. In this charming illustration of the love of books, the author imagines a small bookstore which is a place of magical delight for bibliophiles.
“Toddler Hunting And Other Stories” (New Directions) by Taeko Kono as translated by Lucy North. Reflecting off mirrors of fantasy, reality, pain and pleasure, this Japanese writer doesn’t flinch as her detached gaze catches the beauty as well as the grotesque elements of the human condition.
“Riding A Donkey Backwards – Wise and Foolish Tales of Mulla Nasrudin” (Candlewick) as retold by Sean Taylor & the Khayaal Theatre and illustrated by Shirin Aol. Middle eastern tales of a famous trickster/storyteller beloved all over the Middle East.
“Learning To See” (Morrow) by Elise Hooper is a biography told in novel form about photographer Dorothea Lange, the woman who revealed the real America with her searing, uncompromising lens (including documentation of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII).
“Gondra’s Treasure” (Clarion) by Linda Sue Park and illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt is a cute picture book about a baby dragon who carries traits of both her parents yet carries her own true personality as well.
“Game of Stars” (Scholastic) by Sayantani Dasgupta. A fantasy novel about a teenage girl who journeys to the kingdom beyond to battle her father and discovers what it really means to be a hero.
“American Sutra: A Story of Faith And Freedom in the Second World War” (Harvard University) by Duncan Ryuken Williams tells a religious history of Buddhism in Japanese America during the WWII internment experience.
“Ghost Work – How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass” (HMH) by Mary L. Gray and Siddharth Suri. An anthropologist and a computer scientist team up to unveil how services delivered by tech companies can only function smoothly thanks to the judgement and experience of a vast, invisible human labor force. Often underpaid and overworked, the authors show how this work force can create opportunity rather than misery for those who do it.
“The Handsome Monk And Other Stories” (Columbia) by Tsering Kondrup as translated by Christopher Peacock. A collection of one of the most critically acclaimed authors in Tibet today. With a distinct voice rich in black humor and irony, he describes the lives of Tibetans living within contemporary China.
“Too Young To Escape – A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited With Her Family” (Pajama Press) by Van Ho and Marsha Forchuk Skyrypuch. A young adult story of a girl left behind in Vietnam who waited to be reunited with her immigrant parents and the experiences she went through.
“The Karachi Kitchen – Classic and Contemporary Flavors of Pakistan” (Wise Ink) by Kausar Ahmed beings you a new world of flavor through the culinary arts of a multi-cultural region that sits at the intersection of South Asia.
“North Korean Art: Paradoxical Realism” (Seoul Selection) by BG Muhm is the catalog for “Imagined Borders”, an exhibition held at the 2018 Gwangju Biennale. A close-up look at the “Socialist Realism” of North Korean art.
“Farmer Falgu Goes Kite Flying” (Karadi Tales) by Chitra Soundar and Kanika Nair is a whimsical tale of a little girl who learns how to fly a kite on a windy day.
“The Bear and The Paving Stone” (Pushkin) by Toshiyuki Horie as translated by Geraint Howells. In three stories that probe the unavoidable connections of our past, the author creates a haunting world of dreams and memories where everyone ends up where they began.
“Here And Now And Then” (Mira) by Mike Chen. In this fantasy novel, a seasoned operative must live two lives in two different centuries and bridge this monumental divide to make things right in the universe.
“Bronze and Sunflower” (Candlewick Books) by Cao Wen Xuan as translated by Helen Wang. When a city girl becomes orphaned, the poorest family in the village takes her in and a traumatized boy and a lonely girl become the best of friends.
“Politics of Seeing – Dorothea Lange” (Prestel) is the catalog for a major retrospective of this major 20th century photographer who used her work as a political tool to effect change.
“My Grandma And Me” (Candlewick) by Mina Javaherbin as illustrated by Lindsey Yanbrey. A charming tale of a little girl’s memories of her Iranian grandmother.
“Anyone Will Tell You” (Sibling Rivalry) by Wendy Chin-Tanner. This Oregon-based poet and graphic novelist explores and subverts form as an expression of the relationships between gender & identity, parent and child, self & the other, humanity & the environment and earth & the cosmos.
“The Banished Immortal – A Life of Li Bai” (Pantheon) by Ha Jin. Novelist/poet Ha Jin looks back at the life of this major Daoist poet of the Tang Dynasty whose uncompromising attitude towards life produced some of the most enduring verses in the world.
“Farmer Falgu Goes to the Kumbh Mela” (Karadi Tales) by Chitra Soundar and Kanika Nair. A picture book that exposes kids to a Hindu festival as a village farmer goes to the city to see the event but somehow keeps missing the highlights until…. With vivid artwork enhancing the festive atmosphere.
“Hybrida” (Norton) by Tina Chang is an engrossing new collection of poems that confront the complexities of raising a mixed-race child in a post-Trayvon Martin era.
Akashic Books celebrates the career of Los Angeles-based writer Nina Revoyr (“Southland”, “Wing Shooters”) by releasing her latest novel “A Student of History” as well as reissuing her 1997 debut novel entitled “The Necessary Hunger”. “A Student of History” examines the toxic ruling-class legacy of prejudice and entitlement in the city of angels. “The Necessary Hunger” is a story about women’s basketball, class, racial identity and friendship. Go to AkashicBooks.com for details.
“Long River” (Tin Fish) is a book of poems by Chinese poet Yang Jian. In a country “hellbent” on industrial progress, the words of this poet is the voice of conscience. Translated by Ye Chun, Paul B. Roth & Gillian Parrish.
“John Okada – The Life & Rediscovered Work of The Author of No-No Boy” (UW Press) edited by Frank Abe, Greg Robinson, and Floyd Cheung. Through a mosaic of different perspectives, these essays put the flesh back on the bones of this iconic pioneer Asian American writer.
“Émigré” (Tin Fish) by Geneve Cho is a defiant reply to this administration’s anti-immigrant stance. In numerous languages, the poet preserves the voice of emigrant history.
News/Opportunities
A Mellon Gateway Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Art is being offered to a young or emerging artist from “Historically Underrepresented Groups” by Brown University. The recipient will be given significant financial support for two years with a teaching commitment of only one course a year, allowing them time to build their career. After two years, they will start in an Assistant Tenure track position in the Visual Art Department, teaching foundational and upper-level courses to undergraduate students. If interested, try apply.interfolio.com/55258.
Brenda Wong Aoki and Center for Asian American Media have received a 2018 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission grant in the “Musical Theatre and Spoken Word” category. It will allow Wong Aoki and composer/musician husband Mark Izu time to create one of their most elaborate, multi-media productions in San Francisco tentatively titled “J-Town, Chinatown, Our Town”, a work about personal and community history in the Bay Area. Other recipients of this grant include musician/performer/composer Dohee Lee who will present a mythological performance ritual and composer Huang Ruo who will work with the Del Sol String Quartet to compose work inspired by Chinese immigrant poetry in a piece entitled “Angel Island Oratorio”.
Friends of Asian Art Association is an all-volunteer organization that connects its members and the community to educations, cultural and social events tied to Asia and its diverse art forms and culture. Enjoy year-round activities and meet new friends who share similar interests by becoming a member. All are welcome to the activities but members get special discounts and perks. Go to [email protected] for details.
