May brings more virtual art shows for First Friday
Last month’s Virtual First Friday was such a success, Spokane Arts and the Downtown Spokane Partnership have decided to do it again. Alright, maybe the decision was made for them, but going online for virtual art encounters is more than just safe. It’s the kind of shared experience that keeps us engaged with our creative community. It doesn’t cost a thing, and the dress code is lax: No shoes, no shirt, no problem!
Terrain Gallery will host a virtual artist reception for its new exhibition “Shapeshifters.” The four featured artists are all powerhouse painters who are rethinking the medium of painting. Their contemporary push to disrupt the Western narrative and its traditional emphasis on oil paintings on canvas is a compelling and worthy shove into the future. “Shapeshifters” explores the complicated history of painting by deconstructing the materials of the painting process or by using unconventional substrates or processes. The artists are:
Lien Truong, an assistant art professor at University of North Carolina who explores the influences that form belief systems and notions of heritage.
Elise Thompson, now based in Brooklyn and a former competitive figure skater turned fine arts painter whose works straddle the line between paintings and objects.
Mica Smith, a Cincinnati-based painter who aims to touch on what remains embedded within the subconscious mind through the result of one’s lived-in sensory experiences.
Azzah Sultan, who was born in Abu Dhabi and is a Malaysian native. Her work strives to transcend the fallacy that Muslim women like herself are oppressed by the nature of their religious customs.
Download the free app Zoom to be ready for the party. Bring your own wine and cheese (that’s a joke). Check the Terrain website at
Spokane Arts will post an online open gallery for local artists to share their works via Artsteps. Step into the nonprofit arts organization’s virtual space on Friday (or any time in the month of May) and see new work by more than 20 local artists. Find the link on Spokane Arts’
Spokane Arts also will host a virtual panel discussion titled “Creative Urgencies” to explore ideas around community-based and new media-driven art practices. Azzah Sultan, one of the artists now showing at Terrain Gallery, will be on the panel along with Spokane-based sound and visual artist Jessy Earle and Mary Welcome, a multidisciplinary cultural worker and artist-activist. Artist June T. Sanders will moderate the group discussion subtitled “Art, Networks and Collective Care,” followed by a Q&A. Find the link at
Richmond Art Collective will host an online exhibition, art sale and panel discussion titled “Processing the Now” featuring works made by collective members at their homes during social distancing. The 10-by-10-by-10-inch or smaller-sized works stem from the artists’ personal struggles or triumphs in making sense of this difficult time. Art sales will be available for pick-up via the collective’s Art Take Out service. Proceeds from art sales will support member artists, many of whom have lost significant income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To access the online sale, visit
Laboratory, the art gallery and residency program that attracts interactive artists from all over the world, will host live-artist talks starting Friday afternoon. The creative chats kick off with Selin Balci, a visual artist and biologist who creates artworks with Petri dishes filled with mold, fungi and other organisms, and refers to her work as “a living studio.” She has exhibited internationally in group and solo exhibitions. The live stream will be on Laboratory’s FB and Instagram starting at 2 p.m. Here is a link to all the current Laboratory artists discussing their interactive works: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi9VWOiqRTyYy9Ya6alEVhBZzcJbUXWHU
Spokane’s First Friday 3 Minute Mic returns in virtual fashion to Auntie’s Bookstore hosted by poet Chris Cook. All are welcome to read or listen. Join the Zoom meeting by finding the link and meeting ID on Auntie’s Facebook page. Those interested in speaking should “arrive” to the meeting 10 minutes early and send a chat to the host letting him know you would like to share. From 7-10 p.m.
Gonzaga University’s Undergraduate Exhibition is virtual this year and still beautiful. The university’s art department has created a stellar online catalog of the senior students’ thesis exhibition. Learn more about the individual artists and explore the works of graduating seniors Sophia Maggio, Alexander Lee, Bridget Foster, Finn Semling, Abigail Kirsten, Sam Baird, Alyssa Lobkov, Lily Alsept, Grace Karam and Omar Avellán. Go to gonzaga2020artexhibition.com.