A Friend Of Teen Artists Spokane Man Encourages Local Talent, Offers Arts Scholarship

With his paintings arrayed before him on the stage of The Met, 18-year-old Ian Hodges talked about Spokane.

“There’s not much to the city that really gets me going,” said Hodges, a senior at a Spokane alternative high school.

It’s teenagers like these Wayne Larson wants to inspire, help and eventually make comfortable as artists in his hometown.

Larson calls himself “a child of Expo ‘74.” At 15, he volunteered to help with Spokane’s world’s fair and learned he could make a career in the arts.

Two more expositions and a dozen national tours later, the 1977 North Central High School graduate returned home and started paying his debt to the city.

“Nothing speaks louder than money,” he said Thursday before interviewing five teenage finalists for a new $500 arts scholarship.

The competition is Larson’s idea. It’s also his money.

He plans to announce the winner before the Imperial Chinese Acrobats’ evening show Jan. 26 at the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center. Larson’s company, Debut Northwest, manages tours for foreign dance and acrobatics troupes.

“We’re going to get the finalists up on stage, milk the audience for applause and embarrass you in front of 700 people. That’s basically the plan,” Larson told 18-year-old Christopher Knight.

Knight had just kicked his way through a martial arts routine and performed solos on trumpet and guitar.

The Rogers High School student held his own with Larson’s banter.

“After I get famous and all that stuff, I’ll come back to Spokane, get a martial arts school going, teach band and do albums in the summer,” the young man said during his interview.

Other finalists are Jenny Hutchens, Rogers High; Brian Bowen, Shadle Park High; and Francessa Kobe-Smith, North Central High.

Watching them perform, Larson remembered what he was like in high school.

“I was always around kids like this,” he said. “I never felt I was anywhere near as talented.”

But he discovered he is good at supporting artists. As road manager for the acrobats, for example, he handles logistics for a 42-city tour with 16 people and two tons of equipment.

Larson enjoyed the students’ bald ambition.

“It’s enthusiasm that comes only from not being jaded by time,” he said. “What we’re seeing here is fresh talent before it becomes corporate talent.”

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