Bloglander

Though it's still a little early for work here to begin on the Inlander's big Fall Arts issue (on stands Sept. 18), the Spokane Arts Fund has for weeks been focusing on a big, first-of-its-kind arts event set for October: Create Spokane Arts Month. 

With a purpose — to celebrate and showcase our region's creative minds and to encourage appreciation and participation in the arts — and a logo nailed down (designed by local arts familiar Tiffany Patterson) focus is shifting toward encouraging the public to nominate major contributors to the Spokane arts community for the first Spokane Arts Awards.

The deadline for nominations is Sept. 8, at midnight, and it's really easy to do. Simply go to the Spokane Arts website and fill out this form to nominate an individual in one of four categories: leadership, collaboration, inclusion and imagination.

Here are descriptions of the ideal candidate for each award category as defined by Spokane Arts:

Leadership — excellent stewardship of resources, positive and consistent advocacy, a role model for others in the arts, a venture culturalist

Inclusion — enacting just and diverse community, building bridges across divides, proactive approach to accessibility and inclusion

Collaboration — creating and supporting partnerships, sharing resources, finding shared solutions, brings new meaning to the phrase “democratic participation”

Imagination — an energizing and inspiring presence, jaw-dropping creativity, a sky’s the limit approach, excellent execution of innovative ideas

The organization encourages nominators to consider people from a range of backgrounds, with distinct or broad ties to the local art scene. Nominees could be educators, artists, volunteers, an organization, community leader, donor, business or other entity. After filling out some basic contact info, the nomination form asks for a short 5-10 sentence paragraph explaining why the person or organization being nominated should be recognized in a respective category. 

Looking for ideas or inspiration? Click through past arts and culture coverage in the Inlander here.

Recipients of the Spokane Arts Awards are to be recognized at the Spokane Arts Awards Costume Ball celebration on Oct. 30 at the Davenport Hotel, the culminating event for Create Spokane Arts Month. 

Sorry to be a downer, but summer is already more than halfway over, which may be news to those who haven't bothered to keep track. There are less than six short weeks from now until Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of the season. What have you done so far to enjoy the warm weather, outdoors and summer living in the Inland Northwest? Don't forget that our big Summer Guide issue has lots of suggestions for exploring the outdoors, arts, music, theater and food scenes, as well as lots of events for families to enjoy.

Yet if you've been too busy to flip through the Inlander's online or weekly print edition of the community events calendar, there's a chance you've missed listings for the many local, outdoor concert and film series (most listed here are free). There's no better time to enjoy what's otherwise an indoor activity — here's a round-up of what we know of happening around the region.

MUSIC

Manito Park Bench Cafe | The quaint, seasonal cafe hosts free, live music every Friday night, from 6-8 pm, through Aug. 22. It's all ages but those of age can enjoy a beer/wine garden serving No-Li brews. 

Riverfront Park Fountain Cafe | The park's newest food stop hosts free, live music every Wednesday night, from 6-8 pm, through Aug. 20. 

Sandpoint Summer Sounds | The Park Place stage in downtown Sandpoint hosts free, live music for the annual Summer Sounds concert series on Saturdays, from 4-6 pm, through Aug. 30. 

Rock the Nest | The return of Kendall Yards' outdoor, summer concert series on Wednesday nights is set for July 30, at 7 pm, and live local bands perform weekly through Aug. 20. 

Browne's Addition Summer Concerts | This annual outdoor series is on Thursday nights, from 6-8 pm, through Aug. 28, at the Coeur d'Alene Park gazebo.


Summer Concerts at Riverstone | The Coeur d'Alene Arts & Culture Alliance host a free, Thursday night concert series in Riverstone Park, from 6:30-8 pm, through Aug. 28. 

Performers on the Patio | Enjoy live music and the scenic vistas of Arbor Crest Winery's Cliff House Estate grounds, during two ongoing, summer concert series. Thursday's Performers on the Patio concerts, from 5:30-7:30 pm, offer free admission, and run weekly through Sept. 25. Saturday's Concerts on the Cliff series are $8/person, with music from 5:30 pm to dusk, through Sept. 28. Remember, because it's at a winery, these shows are only open to ages 21 and up. 

Outdoor music this summer isn't limited to these series. There's also concerts at the Gorge Amphitheater, the upcoming Festival at Sandpoint, Northern Quest's outdoor summer concerts, the Spokane Symphony's special summer concerts, Schweitzer's Fall Fest during Labor Day weekend and several other local festivals. For the most updated info, make sure to keep up with the Inlander's weekly print and online music listings.

FILM

Spokane Valley Summer Movies in the Park | Outdoor screening at dusk, with free crafts and activities in Mirabeau Meadows Park starting an hour before the show. July 25, Despicable Me 2; and Aug. 22, Frozen.

South Perry Summer Theater | Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for The Shop's annual (free) summer tradition of projecting movies from its parking lot onto the side of Casper Fry restaurant. Movies start at dusk, every Saturday through Aug. 23. July 26, The Lego Movie; Aug. 2, Raiders of the Lost Ark; Aug. 9, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Aug. 16, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; Aug. 23, Frozen.

Friends of Pavillion Park Movies in the Park | All screenings (free) start at dusk and are free to the public. Pavillion Park movies: July 26, Turbo; Aug. 2, The Princess Bride; Aug. 9, Star Trek Into Darkness; Aug. 29, Brave. Half Moon Park movies: July 25, How to Train Your Dragon; Aug. 16, The Croods. 

Airway Heights Moonlight Movie Series | Screenings (free) start at dusk in the outfield of Martella Ball Field at Sunset Park. July 25, National Treasure; Aug. 8, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2; Aug. 29, Free Willy.

Spokane County Parks Swim and a Movie | The Northside and Southside Family Aquatics Facilities host a two-hour evening swim, followed by a family film screening. Gates open at 6 pm; movies start at dusk. $2-$3. Aug. 2, The Lego Movie; Aug. 16, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.

THEATER

Tomato Plant Girl | An outdoor theater performance on the lawn of the University of Idaho's Hartung Theater, featuring a script geared toward younger audiences. Picnic meals are welcome and encouraged. Showing July 24-26, and July 31-Aug. 2 at 7 pm. $5/youth ages 16 and under; $15/adults. (208-885-6465)  

Shakespeare in the Park | Montana-based Shakespeare in the Park travels around the Western U.S. every summer, performing free plays to the public. This year's Spokane stop is a performance of "As You Like It," on Sat, Aug. 23, at 5 pm, in Liberty Lake's Pavillion Park.

If you're an artist in the Inland Northwest, you should know about Terrain. And if you don't, here's the skinny: The evolving arts festival has traditionally taken place on one night in October in downtown Spokane and features an enormous amount of visual arts, music, performances and more.

So, there is still time to get your work on the walls at Terrain. Submissions close at midnight on Aug. 1, so head on over to the Terrain site to learn what you need to do.

Also, all the art is for sale. Last year's show saw almost $8,000 in sales in that one night.

Here's more about submission guidelines and other cool Terrain info we mentioned way back in May when, uh hum, you could have got your submission in.

Terrain is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 4 at the Music City Building.

For more than a decade, the Tinman Gallery (811 W. Garland Ave.) has been an arts and culture business fixture in the Garland District, as well as to the greater Inland Northwest arts community, showcasing fine art by the region's top artists.

Yet all good things must come to an end, and yesterday Tinman Gallery owner and longtime arts supporter Susan Bradley announced that this month's is the last show and art sale at the gallery before she officially retires at the end of July. The gallery-wide sale, titled "Tinman's Greatest Hits," features artwork Bradley has collected over the past 11 years by the following artists: Harold Balazs, Mel McCuddin, Kay O'Rourke, Ric Gendron, Ken Spiering, Timothy Ely, Virginia Carter, Stan Miller, Marianne Figgins, Charlie Palmer, Ilse Tan, Len Heid, Kathleen Cavender, Scott Kolbo, Melissa Cole, Val Pate, Gay Waldman, Sheila Evans, George Flett, Kevin Red Star and Terrence Guardipee.

Bradley says it wasn't easy to decide to move on from the gallery, but she wants to spend more time with her husband who retired last October, and also plans to focus more on the four arts nonprofits for which she serves as board member: the Spokane Art School, MAC Foundation, Artist Trust and the Garland Business District.

"It's a difficult decision because I really loved helping the artists get their works out there," Bradley says. "I have really appreciated getting to know the artists and the people who came in to buy the art."

This morning marked the first day of the final show and sale, and already half a dozen pieces have been sold. Bradley estimates about 100 or so pieces she's bought for the Tinman's collection are offered for sale — artwork she personally doesn't have room to hold on to. Many of the artists included in the show aren't extensively producing and showing as they once were, so Bradley considers it a "last chance" for collectors to purchase their work.

Along with the artwork, the gallery's inventory of bestselling, art-related and children's books, handmade candles, greeting card and other gift items is on sale for 50 percent off original prices.

As far as the future of the Tinman Gallery space, located adjacent to the Spokane Art School's headquarters, Bradley says she'll announce its future planned use in the coming week.

"Tinman's Greatest Hits" started today, July 8, and continues through July 26. The gallery is open Tues-Fri, from 10 am-6 pm, and Sat, from 10 am-4 pm.

On Saturday, Wall Street, just south of Riverfront Park, was transformed into an outdoor market of goods for Terrain's Bazaar. Vendors, mainly local and regional artists, sold paintings, prints, sculptures, clothing and jewelry, as bands performed on a main stage. A beer garden sat across from the main stage, while across the street were food trucks. 

Attention all young artists: Here's a chance to have your art incorporated into the mural project we wrote about in this past week's issue.

The Spokane Urban Murals Painting Collaboration invites you to share your picturesque visions during the upcoming painting project. Artists ages 6-10 are encouraged to create any form of unique art displaying an interpretation of Spokane’s slogan, “Near Nature - Near Perfect.” All submissions should be mailed to Ink Art Space by June 30. The piece should be submitted with the following information: the young artist's first name and last initial, age and a parent's email address.

The artwork will be evaluated by artists on the SUMAC team and used as a source of creative inspiration for the mural under the Howard Street underpass. Following the close of the project, the artwork will be shown at Ink Art Space and in an online gallery.

Find more information about the project here.

The theme of the SFCC graphic design student portfolio show is all about fresh meat.

“We know it’s hard to break into the design industry, and each year there are new graduates from our program and other schools flooding the area looking for jobs,” says Liorah Wichser, student art director for the event. “The professionals may see us as 'fresh meat' to the industry, so we decided to go with that for our theme. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and as a result, we’re having more fun.”

In a twisted way, the best choice for the mascot was Bovine the cow.

“We’re all a bit of Bovine on the inside,” says Mickenzie Burns, student event manager. “Starting as a fresh slate, molded and painted over and over again until, with one last coat of fresh paint, we’re pushed out into the world for all to see.” Covered in typography, she swung by the Inlander for a photo op, only to get a flat moments later. But a quick stop at Golden Rule brake and she was good to go.

Check out the Grade A stuff this Friday, June 6, starting at 5 pm at Hamilton Studios, 1427 West Dean Avenue. 

You've still got a few days to submit a logo to the Spokane Arts Fund for their first annual Create Spokane Arts Month, a celebration in October dedicated to creativity and art in the Spokane community. The inaugural event is set to include more than 50 different events and expects to draw as many as 30,000 attendees. The logo will be used for advertising the event, on both their website and any print media produced.

Executive Director Shannon Halberstadt says the logo they are looking for needs to reflect the creativity in the Northwest, and illuminate the culture and individuality of the Spokane area. The contest will favor new and emerging artists as competitors, as entry is free and anyone has the opportunity to submit their design. A committee will review the entries, and the winner will be awarded with $200 and a profile on the Create Spokane website with an optional link to the designer's own website.

Contest rules include:

1. The logo should have the phrases "Create Spokane" and "Arts Month" somewhere. The URL www.createspokane.com is optional but encouraged.
2. Entries should be submitted to [email protected] with the subject line "Arts Month Logo Contest." Full name, phone number and email address is also required.
3. Entries need to be high quality JPEG or EPS files.
4. Digital files should have the entrant's last name attached.
5. The artwork submitted needs to be original.
6. There is a maximum of three entries per competitor.
7. Contest submissions must be received no later than May 31 at 5 pm.

Create Spokane will feature activities and events put on by partners backing the project, an open studio series with local artists, writers and musicians, and a fun, fabulous costume ball at the end of the month where various creators in the community will be celebrated with awards. All events are open to the public, and we'll have more about it in the coming months.

A while ago we told you about applications for Terrain’s new event, Bazaar, which is coming up on June 21. And we now know a lot more about what to expect: Like Terrain, it’s got beer, music and a focus on local artists. Like Terrain, it’s appearing an at otherwise-empty location for just a single day before evaporating into the mist.

But the fun is in the details, and — as its organizers have found — Bazaar is an entirely new beast. The format is more of a carnival/marketplace, with artists selling a variety of items — visual art, prints, photography, jewelry, soaps, paper goods, etc. — from more than 50 decorated booths. The idea is getting more young (read: not rich) people involved with buying local art, so most of the items are less than $100.

The setting is outdoors at the old Wonder Bread Factory, located just north of Riverfront Park on Post Street between at Broadway and Mallon. Organizers were looking for an urban spot close to downtown that would fit with their longtime goal of turning unused spaces into something alive. It could get warm out on the pavement, so they’re working on tents and shade.

UPDATE 5/31: The location has been moved, organizers announced, after a final contract with the property owner couldn't be settled in time. Bazaar will now be held downtown at 200 N. Wall Street, near Riverfront Park. (The poster has also been updated.)

The live music lineup includes: Manatee Commune, Emby Alexander, Mama Doll, Water Monster, Mallows, Teen Blonde, Pine League and Cloak & Dagger. Get more details and updates here.

We don’t know all the vendors, but they’ll include the Inlander’s own art director, Chris Bovey, with his series of Spokane-area landmark prints.

The booths are all spoken for at this point, so artists who want to participate will have to patiently wait for next year. Applications are live for Terrain, though, through Aug. 1.

Two years ago, a group of local designers launched a branding project for some of their favorite Spokane neighborhoods. Tonight, it returns with new neighborhoods and the addition of beloved parks as The Hoods 2.0. The show is hosted by Fellow Coworking and Luke Baumgarten, who wrote about the first iteration of the project back in 2012 when he was a staff writer here at the Inlander.

The new neighborhoods include: Cliff/Cannon, Manito/Cannon Hill, Riverside, Northwest, Grandview/Thorpe and Kendall Yards.

The parks include: Manito Park, Cliff Park, Franklin Park, Holmberk Park, Shadle Park and Linwood Park.

Place is a powerful influence in art of all types, partially because it’s a fun challenge. The character of a place is by nature communal, because it’s based on the impressions of many people and defined by the ways those impressions overlap. It takes into account history and expectations, because when we become familiar with a place we can see its long arc of change.

This also makes it controversial, which is partly why people seem to never tire of discussions about our city and our neighborhoods. (Both recent commentaries we’ve had about “Spokane” as a concept — here and here — drew dozens of comments. And the first Hoods show was not without some controversy.) In every city, there’s a constant conflict between the official vision for what a place should be — defined by neighborhood councils, city leaders, visitors bureaus — and the full picture of what it is right now for all the people living and working there.

It’s something we’ve been thinking about a lot here at the Inlander with our Sprague Avenue project. We were interested in Sprague in the first place because it’s a thread between so many diverse stories. In some ways, it’s an attempt to deconstruct the common idea of “East Sprague.” If you haven’t read Thom Caraway’s poem for our Sprague project, you should do that.

It’s also the theme of a series of local landmark prints Inlander Art Director Chris Bovey has been doing on the side for the past year. Here’s one of his latest ones — which is not part of the Hoods 2.0 show, but maybe 3.0 will include areas just outside Spokane proper: