Award and Exhibit Honoring Pierce County Artists, Join us for Opening Reception

Left: “Strata Discs” by Mindy Barker. Right: “White Ashes 2” by Kenji Stoll. Photo by Kris Crews.

Join us for the opening reception of the 2017 GTCF Foundation of Art Award Exhibit. The award winners will be present, along with live music, appetizers, and the premiere of a video highlighting past award recipients sharing stories and lessons from working as artists in Pierce County.

OPENING RECEPTION
Third Thursday, September 21, 2017
5 PM – 9 PM – Free and Open to Public
Spaceworks Gallery
950 Pacific Ave. Suite 205, Tacoma WA
Event on Facebook

“Papillon” by Todd Jannaush. Photo by Kris Crews.

“Papillon” by Todd Jannaush. Photo by Kris Crews.

“EncourageTits!” by Saiyare Refaei. Photo by Kris Crews.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this award, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation has honored ten Pierce County visual artists with a prize, and opportunity to participate in the 2017 exhibit. On display at the Spaceworks Gallery, the exhibit includes artworks from this year’s winners, along with all the past winners. The exhibit runs September 4th through October 19th, 2017.

More Exhibit Information

GTCF Honors 10 Pierce County Artists with 10th Foundation Of Art Award

Tacoma, WA – Greater Tacoma Community Foundation will honor ten Pierce County visual artists for the 10^th Foundation of Art Award in recognition of the growth of the local arts community since the Award’s inception. This year’s awardees span a wide range of artistic mediums, from painting and sculpture, to fabric and letterpress.

The following artists will showcase their work at a dedicated Spaceworks Gallery show and receive $1,000 each: Mindy Barker, Heather Cornelius, Todd Jannausch, Janet Marcavage, Gillian Nordlund, Nicholas Nyland, Chandler O’Leary, Saiyare Refaei, Kenji Stoll, and Chandler Woodfin. The awardees’ art will be on display at Spaceworks Gallery from September 4 to October 19, 2017.

Spaceworks Spotlight – Write253

The kids from Baker Middle School 5^th period writing program wanted to measure up against high schoolers in the local poetry competition Louder Than A Bomb. They felt they had what it takes but didn’t have the field trip program in place. However, they were so determined that they organized a team, one girl stepped up as the leader, and they signed up to participate on their own. They were the first and only middle school to compete against high schoolers. During the competition one student froze but his teammate came up and read his poem for him and, empowered by his friend, the young poet was able to finish his part.

Susan Surface Curates Brooklyn/Tacoma Project

Poster for “Generis 01T: ZIP CODE”

“Tacoma is to Seattle as Brooklyn is to Manhattan” is a notion locals have been floating for about a dozen years to communicate something about our art scene. Sure, Tacoma may lack the canned-sardine density of artists and exotic flavors that its counterpart has – but a talented creative base definitely exists here and is thriving in a focused, forceful, non-exclusive, collaborative way that cultural observers have taken note of.

2014 Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party & AMOCAT Arts Awards

Presented by the Tacoma Arts Commission and Spaceworks Tacoma

Thursday, October 2, 6-9pm
Tacoma Post Office Building
Awards start 7:45, Post Hall (4th floor)

Get out and have some fun while helping us kick off Tacoma Arts Month in style. Enjoy a stellar line-up of entertainment, art exhibitions, appetizers, dessert, and no-host bar. Help us honor the 2014 AMOCAT Arts Award winners and funding recipients. It’s all free and open to the public – pack up the family, invite your friends and come help us celebrate!  RSVP here, find it on Facebook, or just show on up.

Experience this giant line-up of happening in the newly-renovated Tacoma Post Office Building and help us honor the 2014 AMOCAT Arts Award winners and funding recipients.

The night’s arts and entertainment includes:
• Music by Speed Queen
• Exhibits of work by Jessica Spring and The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation’s Foundation of Art Award honorees
• Pop-up exhibits of work by Beautiful Angle, Isaac Olsen, Alice Di Certo, Kristin Giordano, The C.L.A.W., and Poly Rev
• Okinawa Taiko Drums
• Tintype photo booth by Kyle Dillehay
• Mini-theater performances by Working Class Theater
• Open studios of Abby Kok, Alana Tamminga, and Katlyn Hubner
• Trash Fashion Runway by Tinkertopia and Friends
• Poetry by Tacoma Poet Laureate Lucas Smiraldo
• Screenings of short films by Kat Ogden, Nick Butler, Kris Crews, Kate Walker, and The Grand Cinema

2014 AMOCAT Arts Awards, starts at 7:45 in Post Hall (4th floor):

Arts Patron – ArtsFund
Community Outreach by an Organization – Asia Pacific Cultural Center
Community Outreach by an Individual – Jessica Spring

2014 Tacoma Arts Commission funding recipients:
Arts Anchor Fund
The Grand Cinema, Hilltop Artists, Museum of Glass, Northwest Sinfonietta, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Tacoma Opera, Tacoma Symphony, Tacoma Youth Symphony Association

Arts Projects
Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Children’s Museum of Tacoma, DASH Center for the Arts, Fab-5, Fort Nisqually Foundation, King’s Bookstore, Local Life, Monkeyshines, MLKBallet, Northwest Repertory Singers, Classical Tuesdays in Old Town, Puget Sound Poetry Connection, Second City Chamber Series, Sister City Council of Tacoma, Tacoma Concert Band, Tacoma Maritime Fest, the BareFoot Collective, University of Puget Sound, Washington State Historical Society

Tacoma Artist Initiative Program
Sean Alexander, Carla Barragan, Bill Colby, Alice Di Certo, Kyle Dillehay, David Domkoski, Oliver Doriss, Josie Emmons Turner, Sarah Gilbert, Erin Guinup, Meghan Mitchell, Mark Monlux, Kat Ogden, Scott Scoggin, Erik Steighner, Noah Struthers

Event Sponsors
Click! Cable TV, The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Tacoma Weekly, Northwest Public Radio, KPLU, Weekly Volcano, Premier Media Group, Exit133

Questions? Inquiries? 
Call Naomi Strom-Avila 253.591.5191

Watch “artTown” Documenting Tacoma Artists

Impressive new TV series of documentary-style spotlights on Tacoma artists and entrepreneurs. Watch it on cable, or online!

The City of Tacoma’s Media and Communications Office – in partnership with its Community and Economic Development Department’s Arts Program – announces the launch of “artTown,” a cultural documentary-style TV initiative exploring Tacoma’s emergence as a major creative hub in the Pacific Northwest. The quarterly series offers segments featuring diverse perspectives on a variety of creative disciplines. The show launches today – you can view anytime online or watch tonight at 8 p.m. on TV Tacoma.

“In developing the concept for ‘artTown,’ we wanted to offer a more holistic look at creativity in Tacoma,” said Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride. “In addition to what people traditionally think of as ‘creative,’ such as fine art, music or dance, we also plan to spotlight other creative areas of interest that have really flourished in our city like food, fashion, innovative education practices, architecture and more. You’ll see some of that in this first episode.”

The inaugural episode features:

music composed by local artist Isaac Solverson

J.D. Elquist and Travis Pranger from Feather and Oar

Pacific Avenue Streetscape artists Elizabeth Conner and Daniel Martin

graphic designer Art Chantry and letterpress artist Lance Kagey of Beautiful Angle

Metro Parks historian Melissa McGinnis

Tacoma School of the Arts instructors Robin Jaecklein and Kareem Kandi

Arts EnviroChallenger teaching artist Meredith Essex

illustrator and designer Sean Alexander

glass artist Sarah Gilbert

dance choreographer Carla Barragan

jazz musician Kareem Kandi

Old Town Dock public artist Chandler O’Leary

and much more….

“Foundation of Art Award” Reception, Nov. 30, 5-7p.m.

A paper sculpture by Jessica Spring.

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation (GTCF) invites you to join in celebrating its fourth annual Foundation of Art Award. The Community Foundation, in conjunction with Spaceworks Tacoma and sponsor Safeco Insurance, is hosting an exclusive exhibit featuring works by each of the 2011 Foundation of Art Award nominees. The three-month exhibit, running from early November through January in the Chamber of Commerce Building at 11^th St. and Pacific Ave., will showcase work by Jennifer Adams, Sean Alexander, Nick Butler, Lynn DiNino, Oliver Dorris, Kristin Giordano, Ellen Ito, Matt Johnson, Rick Lawson, Nicholas Nyland, Elise Richman, Peter Serko, and this year’s winner, Jessica Spring. Congratulations to these outstanding Tacoma artists!

"Hanging Sphere" by Kristin Giordano.

In addition to the exhibit, The Community Foundation will host a reception on November 30, 2011, from 5-7p.m.  The highlight of the reception will be the unveiling of Jessica Spring’s art work, Ingrained, which was created for this award. Spring is an amazing letterpress artist and printmaker, and a co-founder of one of Tacoma’s favorite art extravaganzas, Wayzgoose. You can find out more about the opening here.

Glass art by Oliver Dorris.

In 2008, The Community Foundation established the Foundation of Art Award to recognize the positive influence art and culture has on the local community and economy. This annual $7,500 prize honors professional artists living and working in Pierce County, and includes a commission for an original work of art. Previous recipients are Chris Sharp (2008), Jeremy Mangan (2009) and Lisa Kinoshita (2010). To learn more about the 2011 Foundation of Art Award nominees and to view their portfolios, please visit: www.gtcf.org/artgallery. And come join us in honoring the artists on Nov. 30!

"Whiskas" by Nicholas Nyland.

The Community Foundation is a philanthropic organization that has been serving Pierce County since 1981, “collaborat[ing] with individuals, businesses and community partners to initiate change and develop solutions to longstanding challenges.”