📆 On display: February 3rd – April 21st
⏰ Daily: 10 am – 5 pm
📍 Museum of History & Industry: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle
🎟 $17 — $22
When Dee Dickinson, chair of the Junior League’s Community Arts Committee approached artist Kenneth Callahan in the early 1960s about putting art in schools, he pulled two paintings out from under his bed and told her to choose one. He wanted the kids to get close to it, touch it, smell it, and have the chance to talk about what it meant to them. “If it gets dirty bring it back to me and I’ll clean it off with a raw potato,” he said.
And the Northwest Art Project was born.
MOHAI celebrates that wholehearted embrace of visual arts in 100 Years of Junior League of Seattle: Explore the Northwest Art Project, running through April 21st. While you may not be able to touch or smell the 20 pieces curated from the project, you can still lean into its spirit by bringing your curiosity and someone you know who’s down for some art discussion.
Some highlighted Seattle-based artists in the exhibit:
⛲ George Tsutakawa: Known for his elaborate bronze fountains, sculptures, and sumi drawings and paintings depicting natural scenes and environments along with sea life. He made over 70 bronze fountains during his career that can be found in the US, Japan, and Canada.
🖌️ Jacob Lawrence: Known for his bright, vibrant, angular art style depicting Black American experiences during the Great Migration, World War II, and the civil rights movement. He taught at the University of Washington from 1971 to 1985.
💡 Barbara Earl Thomas: This Seattle-based visual artist’s intricate papercuts and prints of silhouetted figures often comment on social and political issues. She experiments with layering jewel-tones and light in her pieces. Mentored by Jacob Lawrence.
🐎 Kenneth Callahan: Self-taught painter and sculptor born in Spokane, Washington in 1905. Influenced by work he saw in Mexico and Europe, his pieces draw inspiration from organic shapes and nature. His piece Crystalline World kicked off the Northwest Art Project.
Through compelling exhibits, scholarship, education, public programs, and community engagement, MOHAI bridges the past, present, and future.
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