Arts and Civic Engagement

November 12-15, 2008 | Seattle, WA

 

Attending the conference? Download know-before-you-go information.

Explore Seattle and beyond with your choice of arts tours on Friday and Saturday. Two separate tours will run each afternoon; please select your first choice for each day on your registration form.

Friday November 14

Tour 1 | Visit Pilchuck + Hedgebrook SOLD OUT
This bus tour will take us to two renowned arts organizations. Pilchuck Glass School is a world-class center for glass art founded by Dale Chihuly with an artist-in-residence program and extensive workshops and classes. Hedgebrook is a retreat for women writers authoring change, and has provided residencies to more than 1000 women in all writing genres, from around the world, over the last 20 years. Located on Whidbey Island, Hedgebrook is situated on 48 acres of forest and meadow facing Puget Sound.

Tour 2 | Seattle Studios + Lofts + Galleries
Begin at the studio of Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace, followed by a tour of the Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts – which houses 50 artists and their families as well as 27 commercial arts entities, including some of the most prestigious galleries in Seattle – with TK’s director Cathryn Vandenbrink. Then explore Seattle’s gallery scene through Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood, led by artist residents from TK.

Saturday November 15

Tour 1 | Tacoma: Art + Urban Renewal
Tacoma’s arts scene is a model for the role of artists and arts institutions in urban renewal. Housed in a striking building distinguished by its iconic 90-foot-high cone, the Museum of Glass features ongoing glassblowing demonstrations in the Hot Shop Amphitheater, 13,000 square feet of gallery space, a hands-on art studio available for visitors of all ages, a theater, and a Museum Store. The Museum’s Hot Shop hosts artists-in-residence from around the world, and we will be joined by their residency coordinator and artist-in-residence Corban Walker. Walk across the picturesque Thea Foss Waterway on Chihuly’s Bridge of Glass to the Tacoma Art Museum, known for its imaginative pairings of exhibitions. On display during the conference will be What Is a Trade? Donald Fels and Signboard Painters of South India, large-scale paintings that explore trade and globalization in India; and Oasis: Western Dreams of the Ottoman Empire from the Dahesh Museum of Art as well as works from the permanent collection.

Tour 2 | Seattle Public Art
Since 1973, Seattle has proudly supported public art with its 1% for Art program. The city’s collection includes nearly 400 permanent public artworks: from Richard Serra’s Wake to Buster Simpson’s Beckoning Cistern, Akio Takamori’s Three Women to Jonathan Borofsky’s Hammering Man. Led by a guidefrom the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, explore the public art of Seattle, from the famous to the infamous.

  

The Alliance is grateful to Hedgebrook, celebrating its 20th anniversary, for hosting the 2008 Conference through staff and logistical support. The 2008 Conference is supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Ford Foundation.