6:09 PM: We’re out visiting a few of the three-dozen-plus venues participating in tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk:

First stop, ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor), where, until 7 pm, you can meet artist Audineh Asaf, whose work is on display in the gallery through May 13. Her work features “a blend of materials and techniques including collage, acrylic transfer, embossment, sewing, and digital art.”

7 PM: Robert Kinsey is exhibiting, as is Emily Criswell, at Kingtide Ink (4222 SW Walker) until 8 pm:

(It’s Kingtide’s Art Walk debut!) … B Line Dot is at West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW):

Also in Admiral, you’ll find Autumn Tranquilino at West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor) until 9 pm:

And at Hawthorne Massage and Self-Care (2237 California SW) – the artist whose work is featured on this quarter’s Art Walk poster, Aude Arutunian:

Though we spent most of our time in Admiral tonight, you’ll find displays in neighborhoods from Alki to Morgan Junction – see the previews (including venues offering food and beverage specials) here!

Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 11), you can wander the peninsula, enjoying art and food/drink specials, during the first West Seattle Art Walk of spring 2024! Here’s the list of 40+ spring venues:

The Art Walk’s “official” hours are 5 pm to 8 pm, but artist receptions may start/end at different types, depending on what the venue decides, so browse the April previews here to see who you’ll find, where, and when. Spotlights include:

*West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor) hosting artist Autumn Tranquilino 5-9 pm.

*Rush Hour (4517 California SW) hosting artist David Amaya 5-8 pm.

*ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) hosting artist Audineh Asaf 5:30-7 pm.

*Canna West Seattle (5435 California SW; WSB sponsor) with artist Sarah Hie in the house and selling prints 5-8 pm. (21+ only)

*Jet City Labs (4547 California SW) hosts multiple artists/vendors during its Jet City Cauldron pop-up shop, 5-9 pm on Art Walk night.

Those are just a few of the dozens of participating venues! The second Thursday of every month is a chance to explore local businesses as well as to meet local artists, so set aside some time to enjoy the evening.

(WSB is a community co-sponsor for the Art Walk.)

5:44 PM: Until 8 tonight – and beyond, at some venues – the West Seattle Art Walk is on!

That’s Rance Holiman, showing his paintings tonight at West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor), our first stop of the night.

6:40 PM: Second stop of the night – Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor), hosting painter Michael A. Knutson:

See his new work, “lone portraits of common natural creatures set to vast backdrops.” Also while at the winery – tasting fees are waived on Art Walk night!

7:20 PM: Continuing south, it’s a group show tonight at Alki Arts (6030 California SW; WSB sponsor):

Above, that’s Rob Roy Chalmers; below, Reeve Washburn:

If you don’t get out tonight, many of the venues (and definitely Alki Arts!) show art all month … find out about tonight’s displays by going here!

This week brings the monthly second Thursday West Seattle Art Walk – this time with a bonus – a St. Patrick’s Day-themed scavenger hunt! You’ll be able to participate 5-8 pm Thursday (March 14). You’ll be asked to complete tasks and upload photos for a prize pot that’s still growing, including:

Canvas tote and t-shirt from Jet City Labs 
A piece of art from Space Gallery
A pair of wine glasses from Compass
Gift card for Northwest Art and Frame
Gift card for Talarico’s 
Dessert at Camp West
Gift certificate for Hawthorne Massage and Self-Care
Gift card for The Nook
Wine from Welcome Road Winery 
Gift card from Easy Street 
Greeting cards from Lars Gesing Art
Larry Halverson Clay mug from Alki Arts
Wine from Viscon Cellars 
Gift card for West Seattle Salon 
Gift card for Beveridge Place Pub
A bottle of Tendrills Red Wine blend from Pine Lake Cellars 
Wine from Windermere RE
Gift card for Matador 
Gift card for Sopranos Antico Pizza

Here’s the link to the page with the clues, where you’ll submit your photos once you’ve solved them on Thursday night! (And go here for even more reasons to enjoy Thursday night’s Art Walk.)

Still time to bundle up and get out to see art tonight!

Photographer Iris Margell is one of the West Seattle High School students showing their work tonight at West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW) during the January 2024 West Seattle Art Walk. Magnus Payne is another student artist showing work there until 8 pm:

WSHS musicians are providing the soundtrack:

Toward the south end of tonight’s Art Walk (see the map/list of venues here), Alki Arts (6030 California SW) also has a reception until 8 pm:

Above, Kate Flückinger Petty; below, Brooke Borcherding:

Those are just two of dozens of places you’ll find art and/or food and drink specials on the second Thursday of every month – find highlights for each month here. (WSB is a community co-sponsor of the West Seattle Art Walk.)

One week from tonight, businesses around the peninsula will be open to visitors for the holiday edition of the West Seattle Art Walk. The WSAW happens year-round, on second Thursdays, and is open right now to venues who want to sign up to participate next year – showing art, featuring artist receptions, and/or offering food/drink specials to Art Walk night visitors. If you’re a West Seattle business proprietor who might be interested in participating next quarter, you can sign up for just one quarter or for the entire year. Here’s the form (which contains more details on what participation entails).

6:22 PM: Clotho Knots is the featured artist at VAIN West Seattle (4513 California SW), our first West Seattle Art Walk stop tonight, with “abstract mixed-media collage/alcohol ink paintings,” until 8 pm. If the rain’s been keeping you home, now’s the time to head out – it’s lightened considerably, and home-grown art, music, and treats await you at many participating venues. See the list and artist info here – including the two Art of Music shows – more to come!

6:35 PM: Above, that’s Andy Officer, who’s showing his art/photography at Swan Dive (4537 California SW) tonight, also until 8 pm. Below, Leslie Jenkins is at Discovery Shop-West Seattle (4535 California SW) with watercolors:

More stops ahead!

6:57 PM: If you missed Tom Costantini – who “paints with watercolors to illustrate favorite subjects including vintage cars, homes, and furniture” – at last weekend’s Fauntleroy Fine Art Show and Gift Fair, good news, he’s at Windermere West Seattle (4526 California SW) tonight:

They’re also open for Art Walk until 8 pm.

8:29 PM: While we were out, we caught two of tonight’s musical acts, too:

That’s Caitlin Patterson – who’s also a teacher at Madison Middle School – performing at West Seattle Realty (WSB sponsor), accompanied by Marshell Lombard. They were part of The Art of Music. Below, Better As Brass performed outdoors in front of KeyBank:

Kevin Freitas from Better As Brass says they’re still seeking more percussionists – BetterAsBrass@gmail.com if you’re interested! Meantime, the extra-festive holiday Art Walk will be December 14th/

6:29 PM: The sky’s clear and it’s as good as a fall night gets for seeing art …

Florence Weintraub is one of the artists we’ve met so far tonight while visiting a few West Seattle Art Walk stops. You can meet her and see her work at the Discovery Shop (4535 California SW) until 8 pm tonight. Here’s a verse she wrote, featured on the Art Walk website:

OLD WOMAN JOURNEY

monologue, catalogue
chronicle of the times
of my mind
landscape mind
with this earth
now
containing all that has ever been
my mind
our minds
vastness filled
with unexplained jewels
beyond our knowing

See the Art Walk venue list – from North Admiral to Morgan Junction – and artist spotlights here, and remember that until 7:45 pm you can catch three free Art of Music performances too!

6:47 PM: As noted in our preview, some participating venues have more than one artist. Among them, this week’s Alki Arts pop-up, curated by Diane Venti, at California/Oregon – we met some of the featured artists tonight, including Joanne Shellan:

And Debbie Bianchi:

The Alki Arts pop-up is open until 8 pm tonight for Art Walk, and then continues daily through this Sunday, 11 am-6 pm.

7:06 PM: Also participating tonight – Doris Goulet, with cards, at Verity Credit Union (4505 California SW):

Doris is no stranger to The Junction – she owned the craft store Friends and Company for a dozen-plus years until closing in 2010 – that’s the spot where Click! Design That Fits used to be, now Seattle E-bike. Her cards are made from beeswax and napkins, and she scours stores looking for the perfect napkins to use! She’s at Verity tonight until 8.

ADDED 8:56 PM: Verity also hosted one of tonight’s Art of Music performances – we recorded a bit of Lana Sparks‘ mini-concert:

West Seattle Art Walk happens on the second Thursday every month, year-round, so set your calendar for the next one, November 9th.

Beautiful night to go out and enjoy art, food, and drinks! The West Seattle Art Walk is on – venues, artists, and food and drink specials are all listed here. Our first stop:

Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) is hosting the work of artist Jenna Brechbeil, “showcasing a new collection of modern watercolor paintings on wood panel.” Viscon Cellars also offers a wine special for Art Walk night – tasting fees waived.

ADDED 6:12 PM: We just stopped at Doll Parts Collective (4832 California SW) and met 14-year-old crocheter Violet McKernan.

Here’s some of her work:

Violet, a Chief Sealth International High School student, just started crocheting around Thanksgiving last year and discovered she was good at it and loved doing it. If you don’t get to Doll Parts tonight, Violet’s work will be on sale there all month!

ADDED 6:33 PM: We went to The Admiral District to visit West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor), where artist Jan Brown is showing her work tonight:

She told us she has paintings in multiple genres – including work inspired during the pandemic, when people asked her for paintings they could use as backdrops during Zoom meetings! West Seattle Realty has snacks, too, if you stop by tonight.

7:04 PM: Tonight’s two Art of Music performances are still under way – we went to CAPERS (4525 California SW), where you’ll find Guitar Gil:

He’s there, and Trevor Ras is at Welcome Road Winery (California/Charlestown), until 7:45 pm.

7:44 PM: Our last stop, Verity Credit Union, where the passing of the Art Walk leadership torch continues:

Last night when we introduced you to new Art Walk director Mia Manzulli (above left), we noted that she and outgoing longtime Art Walk leader Reeve Washburn (above right)would be hanging out tonight to talk with any and all community members who came by. And many did!

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Back in May, the call went out for a new West Seattle Art Walk director, to transform the year-round, peninsula-wide event – from a volunteer-powered WS Junction Association side project into a standalone nonprofit.

Now, the new director is in place: Mia Manzulli. And you can meet her during the September Art Walk tomorrow night. In advance of that, we sat down with her to talk about what’s ahead.

The West Seattle Art Walk dates back at least 17 years – we found a mention of “revived” art walks organized by Junction businesses in fall 2006. The basic current premise is simple – businesses stay open late on the second Thursday evening each month, hosting an art display, often with the artist there to talk with visitors. The Art Walk is enhanced by participating food/beverage venues offering specials that night. Participating venues sign up quarterly.

The longtime West Seattle Art Walk coordinator is Reeve Washburn, who will join Mia at Thursday night’s meet-and-greet. They’re working together until September 30th, and then Mia goes solo.

She’s an East Coast native who’s lived in West Seattle for a year, moving here with her husband because of his job. They have family on the West Coast and have settled in comfortably. “It feels like we’re finally home!”

Her background is in teaching, writing, and editing, but she has art chops, working as an art coordinator at schools, working with visual-arts programs. Having enjoyed that kind of work, she thought the Art Walk role “looked really interesting.” It’s an opportunity to not only make that transition into a nonprofit organization happen, but also potentially to fold in other events under the same umbrella, for example, the West Seattle Art Hop.

During their transition work together, Mia and Reeve have met with other Art Walk organizers around the city, and she says that was enlightening in an unexpected way – they learned that the West Seattle Art Walk already has more organizational strengths, such as the “library” of artists that businesses can contact as potential exhibitors, rather than constantly launching their own searches. That also results in an array of potential poster art from which to choose each quarter. “Other art walks don’t have that.” And the West Seattle Art Walk doesn’t have to scrounge for participants – businesses often reach out to them, expressing interest in being part of it. “That says a lot about the community here,” Mia observed. “So many artists here, so much potential.”

What’s she going to tackle first, on the path to Art Walk transformation and growth? “Signage and wayfinding – people don’t necessarily know who’s where, or even that the Art Walk is happening.” So consistent signage for participating venues will be a step toward that. Rethinking the Art Walk map will be another step. Right now there are paper maps printed well in advance, not reflecting last-minute changes. “We’ve got to think about the map as an app – get it to be more useful, interactive, tech-savvy.” A bit of website streamlining is likely, too.

Going back to her roots in education, she would like to see more youth involvement in the Art Walk, from student exhibitors to improved connections with schools. She welcomes new volunteers, too – roles include photography and neighborhood coordination. (By the way, as noted when recruiting began, her job is a volunteer position for starters, too.)

And she would love to hear your ideas. Thursday night’s meet-and-greet is one opportunity – you’ll find Mia and Reeve at Verity Credit Union (4505 California SW) 5 pm-8 pm. If you can’t catch up with them then, you can email Mia with your thoughts, volunteering inquiries, etc. – mia@wsartwalk.org.

Most importantly – she hopes you’ll just get out on Art Walk night and explore! The new director says the Art Walk’s value is in supporting artists and getting people into local businesses, “making supporting businesses part of your daily experience.”

This month’s West Seattle Art Walk, coming up Thursday (September 14th), again features The Art of Music, this time with two free mini-concerts.

That’s Trevor Ras, who will perform at Welcome Road Winery in South Admiral (California/Charlestown). At CAPERS in The Junction (4525 California SW), you’ll see and hear Guitar Gil:

Both performances are 6 pm to 7:45 pm Thursday, and you can find out more about the musicians by going here. They’re sponsored by neighborhood groups – the Admiral Neighborhood Association and the Morgan Community Association, with funding from the city’s Neighborhood Matching Fund.

P.S. Of course there’s non-musical art on Art Walk night too – all over the peninsula! – find those previews here.

Tomorrow night, plan to wander West Seattle and enjoy this month’s Art Walk – with the return of The Art of Music. From organizer John Redenbaugh, here’s who’s performing this time:

The next free admission Art of Music performances presented by the West Seattle Junction Association are coming up on Second Thursday Art Walk Evening June 8 at THREE locations — Paul Gerard in The Junction at Wildflour Gluten-Free Baking Co. (formerly Flying Apron); Taylor John Hardin in the Admiral District at West Seattle Grounds, and Larry Murante in Morgan Junction at Zeeks Pizza.

Performances are scheduled to begin at 6 pm and run till 7:45 pm to complement and support the West Seattle Art Walk offerings.

As for the art venues – see the list above, including venues with food/beverage specials; find detailed previews here. Art Walk hours are “5 pm until late” but individual participating businesses set their own schedules.

The West Seattle Art Walk has long been a volunteer-run monthly event under the wing of the West Seattle Junction Association. In recent years, though, it’s grown beyond The Junction – and it’s time for the organization to reflect that. So a plan has emerged to find leadership for the Art Walk who can in turn transform it into its own nonprofit org. The WSJA is getting the ball rolling by looking for someone to start as a 5-hour-a-week volunteer and grow the gig from there. Here’s the context, from WSJA:

The year-round West Seattle Art Walk provides a framework for businesses to work directly with artists to plan and host exhibits, giving the community a chance to engage with businesses and artists.

The WSAW is currently volunteer-powered, under the wing of the non-profit West Seattle Junction Association. We have four volunteer team leads (marketing, website, social, content); two neighborhood coordinators; a flexible corps of event photographers, and an Arts Council that meets once per quarter. It will be the job of the (Future) Executive Director to oversee this amazing, self-sufficient group of volunteers.

WSAW has grown past its humble roots in the Alaska Junction with only nine merchants. Today it’s a vibrant monthly event in all three Junctions, with 30–35 businesses hosting art shows, and 15–20 bars and restaurants offering specials every Art Walk night. WSAW strengthens the economic health of our businesses and brings our community together to celebrate the arts.

Our goal is to transition WSAW into its own non-profit organization so that it can continue to grow peninsula-wide. The (Future) Executive Director will guide the formation of this non-profit, as well as ensure its ongoing financial health by seeking governmental and arts funding and/or leading community fundraising for operating expenses. Initial assistance for this transition will be offered by the West Seattle Junction Association. It is our intention that the (Future) Executive Director will become the Executive Director of the new non-profit, and will draw a part-time salary.

See the full job listing, including qualifications and how to apply, here.

P.S. History trivia – the first West Seattle Art Walk was in 2006!

JUNE 16 UPDATE: The position’s been filled.