Centrum Welcomes the Second Cohort
of Artists Preparing for Yəhaw̓ Show
“The Creator has left the sky too low. We are going to have to do something about it, and how can we do that when we do not have a common language? …We can all learn one word, that is all we need. That word is yəhaw̓ – that means to proceed, to go forward, to do it.”
Pictured above: Carving in process by Ixtli White Hawk
Yəhaw̓ is an open call exhibition celebrating the depth and diversity of Indigenous art made in the Pacific Northwest. The exhibition will take place in February, 2019 at King Street Station, Seattle, WA.
The project is curated by Asia Tail, Tracy Rector and Satpreet Kahlon and sponsored by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. Centrum is providing the participating artists the time and space to create work for the show. This month we welcome the second cohort of indigenous artists:
Ixtli White Hawk
Fern Renville
Stephanie Reidl
Roquin Siongco
Aaron Parker
Tyera Pete
Jessie Young
Jessie Young is a choreographer, performer, photographer and teacher living in Brooklyn, originally from Port Angeles, WA. Most recently her work has been presented by New York Live Arts as a 2017-18 Fresh Tracks Artist in Residence, at Danspace Project and Brooklyn Studios for Dance, where she was an Artist-in-Residence through Fall 2018. She has performed and collaborated with artists including Abby Z and the New Utility, Khecari Dance Theater (Chicago), The Seldoms (Chicago), The Moving Architects (Chicago) Nico Brown, Sara Gurevich and The Space We Make; she is currently working in collaboration with Julie Mayo and Stephanie Acosta . She received her BFA from the University of Utah and MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
Anne Simernitski
Anne Simernitski began her career as an artist back in high school when art history was part of her graduation program. Devoted to working in the arts, Anne Simernitski continued studying at the Louvre Museum School, Paris, France and later moved on to the Sorbonne Nouvelle University where she earned her BA in History of Art. She additionally earned a diploma in graphic design and multimedia at the IFIP College, Paris.
The French native’s artworks range from poetic paintings and abstract collages to illustrations. She uses a unique technique of latex and metallic paints, collage on canvas and routinely practices encaustic and acrylic.
Her relationship with Centrum began in 2009 when she completed the Artist Trust EDGE Professional Development Program offered by Artist Trust. She is going to complete her sixth Port Townsend residency this year where she finds a unique opportunity to work in collaboration with other artists.
Ian Guthrie
Ian Guthrie is primarily a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, though he has become increasingly interested in interdisciplinary elements, particularly spatialization and interpretive movements with performers.
Stylistically, he is particularly interested in imitating and incorporating natural sounds and music from indigenous cultures into his classical training to send universal and environmental messages. His first work fully delving into this was Indidgery for small orchestra, which mused conventional instruments to imitate wilderness areas as well as indigenous instruments like didjeridus.
Nicole Blair
Nicole Blair is writing a book about the roots of Americana music, a project that started with a Popular Culture conference presentation entitled “Roots and Wings: Emily Dickinson and Lucinda Williams.” In that paper, she argued that Dickinson expressed views regarding everything from love to war in a uniquely female American voice—one that had not been heard before.
Originally from Laurel, Mississippi, she made her way to Washington state after marrying a man from Tacoma, WA. She earned a Ph.D. in Modern British Literature from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Graduate-Level certificate in Blues Studies from Delta State University. She is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Washington, Tacoma where she’s been teaching since 1995.
Julia Freeman and the Curator’s Summit
When Julia Freeman was here as an artist in residence in the spring of 2018, she had several conversations with former Residency Program Manager, Martha Worthley, about how Centrum could support Northwest artists. They spoke at length about the Emerging Artist Residency. (Julia has nominated several artists for the residency.) The conversation morphed to her work as a curator at the Alice Gallery in Seattle. She said that curators never have a chance to get together to talk about their work, so they decided to make that possible with a “Curator’s Residency.” This first group comes with with Julia this December to have the time and space to explore ideas.
2017 Centrum Resident Publishes Graphic Novel, WaterShed
Melanie Stevens, 2017 Centrum Artist in Residence, just wrote to us to announce the publication of her graphic novel, WaterShed. Of her time here she says, “Being in Port Townsend for that month enabled me the kind of introspection and artistic reflection that made this book possible. . . . It was an integral foundation to what is now my current artistic path and practice.”
Congratulations and many thanks to Melanie!