
By Maeve Smith, The Seattle Medium
Free from the concerns of gallery rules and submission requirements, artists who work in all mediums recently displayed their work on the walls and bookshelves of the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library.
This was the 31st annual Southwest Artist Showcase, a non-juried art show open to anyone in the southwest Seattle community, which ranges from Alki to the Arroyo Heights neighborhoods. The show takes place every October, this year running from Oct. 7 through Nov. 4.
“It’s nice to have a place to show work that might not come out of storage,” said local artist Brian Zenk. He has been making art since 1976 and submitted to the showcase for the past three years. He tends to make multimedia sculptural works that incorporate a lot of crafting materials, such as glitter and rhinestones.
“I like to do stuff kids might like,” said Zenk.
One of his favorite parts about the showcase is the comment system. The library sets out cards during the show run so people can express their ideas about the artwork. This is one way artists can receive feedback and kind words from the community.
Other artists find different kinds of opportunities through showcasing in the Southwest Branch.
Danitra Hunter, a West Seattle preschool teacher and artist, submitted some illustrations to the recent 2023 showcase. The illustrations were part of a children’s book entitled “Pretty Birdy, I Love Myself Can You See” that Hunter has been working on since 2020.
Among the works of art for the book are coloring pages. Bean Yogi, the adult services librarian and coordinator of the showcase, offered to give Hunter’s coloring pages a spot on the library’s “coloring page wall of fame,” as Hunter called it. That allowed children to interact with her Pretty Birdy character in the library.
Yogi has been in charge of the Southwest Artist Showcase for the past two years. They hope to provide opportunities for artists whose work may never have been seen otherwise.
“If the only people who submit to our showcase, or attend our workshops, are people who are very well served in the city, or don’t have trouble accessing other art spaces, it makes me wonder if I’m doing my job,” Yogi said.
To support local artists, the library runs two workshops in collaboration with the show. These workshops take place during the course of the show run.
Yogi was particularly excited about the printmaking and watercolor workshop with local Indigenous artist Eileen Jimenez, which ran on Oct. 29. The session focused on Indigenous joy and helping people reflect on their relationship to land and Indigenous sovereignty.
“Why shouldn’t we hire and support the work of local artists of color? Why shouldn’t we really make sure that people who are sometimes isolated and marginalized in our society, like elders, have a space where they can come and really fully engage and not just be sort of afterthoughts in the programming?” Yogi said.
This year was the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic that showcase organizers have been able to provide workshops and an opening-day ceremony. In 2020 the Southwest Branch skipped the showcase because of the pandemic, and then long-time adult services librarian Jane Gibson retired. Gibson ran the artist showcase for many years.
“I don’t want to say she could run a showcase with her eyes closed,” said Yogi, “but she made it look easy.”
The showcase returned in 2021 and artists were limited from three pieces to two because of staff constraints. Yogi hopes to bring it back to three in future shows.
During Yogi’s seven years with the library, they have seen the show evolve. One notable difference Yogi is excited about is more political works filling the walls of the Southwest Branch. They point to a painting of John T. Williams, a native elder who was shot and killed by Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk in 2010.
“We really want people to see this as their showcase,” Yogi said. They are excited to see people “using it as a space to engage with their community and their neighbors on this bigger and deeper level.”
According to Yogi, the showcase was started by Christy Tyson, the adult services librarian in the 1990s. In 1993 Tyson and two others founded the Friends of The Southwest Branch, a volunteer organization. Tyson and the volunteer group began the showcase not long after and sponsored the opening-day receptions for many years following.
The Southwest Artist Showcase has closed its doors on the 2023 show run but will return next fall. “If you live in the west Seattle area and have never exhibited your work, or you do exhibit your work, it’s a great opportunity for you,” Hunter said.
Even if you do not identify as a Southwest resident, make sure to stop by next October to see all the amazing artwork.
In Hunter’s words, “do art, read books.”