Bridge Talks Back!

For those of you who were unable to make it to last weekend's Fremont Bridge Talks Back celebration, here are some selected images we found via the P.I.


The culmination of artist Kristen Ramirez's summertime residence in the bridge towers, sponsored by Seattle's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, featured a sound scape Ramirez arranged with various noises picked up around the bridge, and several memories and comments left by regular bridge users on a message service she created for the project.



The sound scape will play every time the bridge is raised from now until April.



And a longer audio artwork, including excerpts from messages left by the public earlier this summer, can be heard by calling 1-800-761-9941.



(All photo credit to Braden VanDragt/seattlepi.com)

Prairie Underground Sample Sale

Local designers Prairie Underground offer a Seattle-based, eco-friendly clothing line that features hoodies, dresses, tanks, and coats made from organic cotton and hemp.

Their garments are inspired by and embrace the North West's finicky weather with lots of hoods, pockets and layers that are essential for tolerating our damp climate.




Grey is pleased to be hosting an upcoming Sample Sale for Prairie Underground on Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd and 4th, between the hours of 11am and 3pm.

The bar will be open, so feel free to come on in and spend some time perusing the merchandise while enjoying one of our delicious beverages.

Check out their 2009 Fall Line for a preview of whats in store.

Ver(a)rt Gallery

Artists and Curators, this one's for you:

Ver(A)rt Gallery invites emerging and under-represented artists of all-ages to submit work for the 2010 season. Artworks in 2-D, 3-D, video and installation by emerging artists and crafters are welcome!


The gallery is located in the highly active Vera Project all-ages music venue, so get ready to be seen. Groups, individuals and curators are invited to apply with single works, themed shows or solo exhibits featuring a body of work.


Applicants are asked to send a cd of 3 - 10 images or videos (or a link to website/s) with an image list, a resume/cv or artist bio, and the completed application form.

For more information, visit Vera's Website.

Deadline: October 20, 2009



Ver(a)rt Gallery is a space for artists and curators of all-ages and practices to present their work and ideas. We are an arts laboratory, offering tools for creative experimentation and discovery to our diverse community.


Youth, emerging artists, local crafters, those experimenting in new genres of unsellable or underrepresented work, and collaborative projects are all encouraged. In order to facilitate these works, we offer opportunities to participate as an exhibiting artist, a show curator, an installer, a promoter, a submissions reviewer, or in any number of other capacities.


For those interested in taking on roles outside of their present skill range, we offer education and hands-on training, increasing arts knowledge in our community and potential for collaboration.


For these same reasons we seek collaboration with other local arts organizations and youth organizations with arts programming. We believe in the inherent value of arts participation and are here to be a means to that end.


(The above illustrations are by Michael Zimmerman... check more of his work out here)

Bumbershoot This Weekend

If you're planning on going down to Bumbershoot this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for Amy Ellen Flatchestedmama Trefsger's latest endeavor, OLDSKL TXTN.

OLDSKL TXTN is an aerial banner scheduled to fly over Seattle Center for one hour between 4 and 7pm on Saturday, September 5th.

Aerial letter banners are an antiquated format (before cell phones and online social networks) for communicating brief, succinct messages. And for this one, Flatchestedmama is combining this old school medium with the new school jargon we now relate to texting.

Aerial banners were a familiar sight during Trefsger's childhood summers spent on the Jersey shore, and while taking in recent SeaFair activites, the idea was born.

If you would like to see more of Flatchestedmama's work, check out the video and work on our website, or click on the link to her site above.

Also at Bumbershoot:



Kerfuffle (or The Uneasy Relationship Between Humanity and the Environment)

\kər-ˈfə-fəl\
Etymology: alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled

Kerfuffle is an uncompromising look at the environmental mess we have created in our world, the awkward tension the problem has created, and a search for answers in starting anew. We examine exactly how many plastic bottles the United States consumes within five minutes and the light pollution caused by the world's major economic and political centers. What does one man's garbage look like after one year's time? Should we pack our bags and relocate to the unclaimed lands of Antarctica? Or can we change our ways and grow new cities with green, living matter? This exhibition is an exploration of the challenge we face along with many creative possibilities.

Vaughn Bell
Joseph Gray
Chris Jordan
Allison Kudla
Paul D. Miller (a/k/a DJ Spooky)
Karen Rudd
Christina Seely
Brent Watanabe
Kuros Zahedi

Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA
Fidalgo and Lopez Rooms
Curated by Chris Weber and Lele Barnett

Opening: Friday, September 4, 12-7pm (FREE)
Festival: September 5-7, 2009


Happy Bumbershooting!

Fremont Bridge Project needs Volunteers

Earlier this year, Kristen Ramirez, our beloved friend and local artist, was granted the first-ever Fremont Bridge Artist Residency. Since May, she has been spending her time in the NE tower of the bridge working on the project set to launch on September 26, 2009.

Her project, funded by SDOT's 1% for the arts and Seattle's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, will be entitled Bridge Talks Back. Throughout the summer, Kristen has been collecting sounds, random memories from locals, and answers to a quiz she passed out, all to be incorporated into the project. On September 26th from 1 to 4pm, there will be a celebration on and around the bridge with a colorful procession of one hundred people with hand-painted signs, live horns in the bridge towers, decorative flags, and much fanfare.

At this point, Kristen is looking for volunteers to be involved and to help out, specifically performers interested in being apart of this event and marching in the parade.

If you want to take part in this unique and memorable event, there will be an orientation meeting on Tuesday, September 15th from 6-7pm at the Seattle Public Library Fremont Branch’s Meeting Room. All volunteers are highly encouraged to attend this orientation as important information about the event and participants responsibilities for the day will be detailed at that time.

If you are not interested in volunteering, please join us on Saturday September 26th to enjoy the festivities and witness the culmination of this exciting project!

Stay tuned for an upcoming exhibition by Ramirez here at Grey, entitled Ghosts of Commerce Past opening October 8, 2009.