Explore: On the Block Second Saturdays
A fresh and free monthly event is coming to Cap Hill starting this Saturday the 14th: On the Block Second Saturdays. This recurring creative marketplace aims to strengthen both the economy of the neighborhood and the bonds within it, particularly among the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community. BIPOC artists have not only faced the pandemic-fueled hardships everyone’s experienced, they’ve also been historically excluded from creative spaces, making this event essential to leveling the playing field, uplifting their work, and assisting in local economic recovery. As an alliance among neighboring artists, cultural spaces, and small business owners, the mission of On The Block is to be conduit to sustainable opportunity, creative equity, and abundance from the ground up. They “believe in local art, local music, and local creativity as vital to the culture, community well-being, and public safety. On The Block is not just another marketplace or block party, it’s [their] model to invest in that belief: a hyper-local business cooperative created for and by BIPOC artists to uplift our communities and keep our shared neighborhood safe and thriving”.
On The Block Second Saturdays will showcase a selection of interactive art and live performances in addition to a vendors’ market featuring clothing inspired by local fashion, streetwear, and curated vintage. All donations, vendor fees, and sponsor proceeds will go directly to paying local artists, stabilizing neighborhood arts spaces, and supporting future events. On The Block is a collaboration facilitated by Seattle Artist Coalition for Equitable Development (Seattle ACED) and funded in part by a Neighborhood Economic Recovery Fund with fiscal sponsorship support from NW Film Forum. Founding partners include Throwbacks NW, Vermillion Gallery & Bar, Blue Cone Studios, and Forever Safe Spaces with support from NW Polite Society, Revolution Staging, and SwimTeam.
On The Block will be held every second Saturday of the month from 1 pm to 9 pm on 11th Ave between E. Pike and Pine. Set to culminate at the end of October 2022, this community-oriented marketplace is going to be a summertime Capitol Hill staple you won’t want to miss. Get more info here.
Listen: The Moth Mainstage
The Moth is true stories, told live and without notes. They celebrate the ability of true, personal storytelling to illuminate both the diversity and commonality of human experience. Their work allows people all over the world and from all walks of life: astronauts, students, a dental hygienist, a hotdog eating champion, a mechanic, exonerated prisoners, veterans, Nobel laureates and everyone in between, to share their stories on stage in front of a live audience. Through live and virtual shows, storytelling workshops, a podcast, Peabody Award-winning Radio Hour, and New York Times Best Selling books, The Moth brings the power of personal storytelling to millions of people each year—creating community and building empathy around the world.
The Mainstage is The Moth’s quintessential experience—a two-act show where five tellers and a notable host share true personal stories. This event goes beyond theater, creating a community where entertainment and enlightenment emerge. Presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures, The Moth Mainstage will take place at Benaroya Hall on May 18th. Get tickets here.
Support: Art Transforms: Creating Resilience
May is Mental Health Awareness month, offering a time to turn our focus towards building resilience in stressful times. Path with Art, an innovative local nonprofit, commits themselves to this mission this year-round by fostering the restoration of individuals, groups, and society from the effects of trauma through arts engagement and community-building. Driven by their vision to connect the individual with self, the self with community, and communities with society, Path with Art uses arts engagement to rebuild the lives of low- to no-income adults in active recovery from a myriad of traumas and challenges.
Join Path with Art at their annual fundraiser, Art Transforms: Creating Resilience, for a night of food and conversation about the impact of art on individual and community resilience, featuring Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain Podcast. This event features an art reception, dinner, and program, at which attendees will have the opportunity to hear first-hand from Participant Artists about how creativity has helped with recovery from acute, chronic, and complex trauma. Attendees will also learn the neuro and social science behind why art transforms from Mr. Vedantam while raising vital funds to keep Path with Art’s programs free and accessible. This event will take place at the Hyatt Regency Seattle on May 23rd. Get tickets here.