We Art Tacoma

Christina Butcher is the founder of Blue Cactus Press, a small Tacoma-based press that focuses on poetry, fiction, and essays. She shares how she ventured into Tacoma’s literary and books arts scene to create books from a diverse set of authors. Currently she has a call for submissions for memoirs of women and especially women of color.

Creative Colloquy has been going strong for six years now with regular events for writers of all sorts. During the pandemic, they’ve adapted to virtual hangouts every Monday night at 7:00.

Jackie Casella and Jonny Eberle talk about the new format, and we also chat about the big questions about creating art during a pandemic. Enjoy.

Michelle Matlock is originally from Tacoma, but her career took her far. She wrote, acted, and produced her own shows in New York. She learned clowning and circus arts and eventually created a character for Cirque du Soleil that she toured for ten years.

Now she’s back in Tacoma with Circle Up Productions and “Short Bits” which has moved to virtual shows due to the pandemic. The next show is May 29.

Ingrid Barrentine joins the podcast to talk about her photography. She got the photo-bug at 19 as a hobbyist and managed to create a professional career as a photographer.

For Channel 253 this week, she set out with her camera to document Tacoma during a pandemic. We talk about what it was like to photograph an empty Tacoma.

Amy McBride, of the City of Tacoma’s Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality, joins the podcast to talk about how arts organizations and artists are doing in Tacoma during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of the ways the City of Tacoma may be able to help.

Stay safe out there, everyone.

Writer Tamiko Nimura joins the podcast today to talk about her life as a writer, writing the biography of State Senator Rosa Franklin, the first African-American woman to serve in the Washington State Senate.

We also talk about the Day of Remembrance in May, which commemorates the incarceration of Japanese-American citizens by the United States and the ways Tamiko helps raise local awareness for Tacoma’s lost Japantown.

Note—in the opening credits, we preview the show ABBA: The Concert at Tacoma Arts Live that has now been cancelled.

The You’ll Heart Tacoma sign has been making the rounds around Tacoma. It’s a mashup of the classic You’ll Like Tacoma sign from 1909 and the new 253 Heart. On this episode we dig into the backstory of all of it with Steve and John and talk about just what it takes to create a huge illuminated sign.

Photo credit Sierra Hartman, Grit City Magazine

The cast and director of Oleanna join the podcast to talk about the new show at Tacoma Arts Live. The play reinvestigates a script from thirty years ago that tells the story of sexual harassment in a university setting. We dig into this complicated script with the local actors and director who bring it to life in 2020.

Once a year, the We Art Tacoma podcast geeks out on movies. This year’s guests are Chase Hutchinson and Andrew Hammond. Chase writes for The News Tribune on film and other topics. Andrew is a sports reporter for the Trib and a movie buff. Grab your Oscar ballot and listen in!

(And don’t forget the Grand Cinema’s Film Awards Party on February 9!)

Artist Lisa Kinoshita kicked off an important discussion on Facebook when she wrote, TACOMA (POP. 213,418) NEEDS AN ARTS CRITIC.” And what a dialog ensured!

I sat down with Rosemary Ponnekanti, the last full-time art critic in Tacoma (2006 to 2017), to learn more about how she approached the job and what she would love to see for the future of art criticism in the City of Destiny.

Enjoy.