Upcoming Events

May
1
to Jun 21

I'm Trying to Tell You Something

I'm Trying to Tell You Something is a visceral documentation of Intimate Partner Femicide by interdisciplinary artist Jennifer Leigh Harrison that explicates issues of erasure and denial through painting, performance, and installation. Recognized by the UN as a “shadow pandemic,” the issue is even more pressing with the current political rise of hegemonic masculinity, social control, and the dismantling of critical research, social and welfare services created to protect women.  Harrison references "patriarchal terrorism" as not being a simplification of men killing women, but a consideration of the many undocumented murders that reveal a broader issue of power and location.

The exhibition features a series of large canvases, including 1,689, which enumerates in violent and chaotic order the number of documented American women killed by an intimate partner in 2021. The death marks were made with house rags, representing domestic place and how women are treated as beneath a system still in need of legal codification and national surveillance.

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Jun
19

Survivor Art Show

The Juneteenth Survivor Showcase is a community event that gives survivors the space to share their experiences and healing journeys through creative outlets. This includes original artwork, poetry, storytelling, and other expressive forms. Held on Juneteenth, the event highlights the importance of freedom, visibility, and self-expression, particularly for those impacted by trauma.

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Jul
3
to Jul 26

East/West Batik and Beyond

Communities of Women, Craft, and Survival

Featuring Jieyi Ludden Zhou, Cheng Hao, Lanny Xiuzhu Li, Cameron Mason, Caryn Friedlander, Susan Schneider.

Including live models wearing batik fashion art at the Seattle Art Fair and a performance and talk on July 19, 7:45, at the gallery

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Aug
7

Opening: Safety/Luck

The theme combines different approaches that a culture may use to protect its citizens. "Safety" comes from the American focus on keeping its citizens protected with safety materials: caution tape, instructional signs and reflective material. "Luck" comes from the Japanese tradition of attaining luck through charms, rituals and temples. "Luck" contextualizes "Safety": while some America may be obsessed with safety, others cultures may have a different focus for protection entirely. The creator of the exhibition and lead curator, Michiko Tanaka draws from observations of growing up between Japanese and American cultures.

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Aug
7
to Sep 20

Safety/Luck

The theme combines different approaches that a culture may use to protect its citizens. "Safety" comes from the American focus on keeping its citizens protected with safety materials: caution tape, instructional signs and reflective material. "Luck" comes from the Japanese tradition of attaining luck through charms, rituals and temples. "Luck" contextualizes "Safety": while some America may be obsessed with safety, others cultures may have a different focus for protection entirely. The creator of the exhibition and lead curator, Michiko Tanaka draws from observations of growing up between Japanese and American cultures.

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Jun
7

Let's Talk About Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

CoCA + Air Water Skin Teeth present a carefully curated panel discussion about Intimate Partner Violence that is culturally sensitive, reflective of our community and welcomes all the public to participate in the conversation. We are excited to have a conversation with several local experts. Please RSVP!

Fauzia Ameeri, ReWA, Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA) Fauzia is a multilingual Domestic Violence Advocate at Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA). ReWA empowers immigrant and refugee women and families through culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Kye Robinson, Our Sisters' House, Kye Robinson is the Deputy Director of Our Sisters' House, serving Black and African American women, girls, and youth, with the goal of enhancing the lives of survivors by addressing their specific needs through culturally responsive intervention and prevention programs.

Nichelle Anderson, iNfinitely Well, FNTP, LICSW, Nichelle is a holistic health therapist, coach, consultant and Founder of Infinitely Well. She has expertise in working with survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence. Passionate about health, nutrition, and social justice, her practice is dedicated to providing services that improve the conditions of communities of color.

Patrick Martin, Lifewire, Patrick is the Director of Community Relations at LifeWire, one of the largest providers of advocacy services and shelter for survivors of domestic violence in Washington State. LifeWire works to end domestic violence by changing community beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Amanda Freeman, Ampkwa Advocacy, Amanda is a Grand Ronde Tribal member, photographer and Founder of Ampkwa Advocacy, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) through advocacy, education, and art informed by her firsthand experience.

Our host, Jennifer Harrison, LICSW is a licensed psychotherapist, social worker, and resident artist in collaboration with CoCA. She specializes in trauma, addiction, somatic work and risk management and will moderate.

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May
24

Workshop IPV Community Training with API Chaya

API Chaya empowers survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking to gain safety, connection, and wellness.  We build power by educating and mobilizing South Asian, Asian, Pacific Islander, and all immigrant communities to end exploitation, creating a world where all people can heal and thrive.

API Chaya’s Community Education Series (CES) is a collaborative educational series meant to mobilize our communities to take action against domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence

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May
3
to May 8

Artist Talk & Workshop: Jennifer Leigh Harrison

Jennifer Leigh Harrison is a Seattle-based interdisciplinary artist, social worker and psychotherapist who works with performance art, installation, critical essay, poetry and painting.  She is known for using her intuitive body and raw emotion to create large scale gestural abstract paintings.

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May
1

Opening: I'm Trying to Tell You Something

I'm Trying to Tell You Something is a visceral documentation of Intimate Partner Femicide by interdisciplinary artist Jennifer Leigh Harrison that explicates issues of erasure and denial through painting, performance, and installation. Recognized by the UN as a “shadow pandemic,” the issue is even more pressing with the current political rise of hegemonic masculinity, social control, and the dismantling of critical research, social and welfare services created to protect women.  Harrison references "patriarchal terrorism" as not being a simplification of men killing women, but a consideration of the many undocumented murders that reveal a broader issue of power and location.

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Apr
26

CoCA Members' Meeting

The CoCA bylaws call for an annual meeting of CoCA Members each year.

The primary business to be brought before the Members each year is the election of the CoCA Board. Board terms are two years, and a number of Board Members will be continuing automatically. Nominees on whom we will be voting include current Board Members whose two-year terms are expiring but wish to continue, and some new faces who we hope to welcome onto the board.

Hear the Current Board Members and the nominees talk about their ideas for CoCA going forward as we assemble a new Board that represents our membership through the election process.

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Apr
19

Artist Presentations

Hong Kong Art Professor Phoebe Ching Ying Man returns to Seattle’s CoCA to discuss her artwork, "Free Coloring: If I Were", created in response to the #MeToo movement protesting the prevalence of sexual abuse and harassment. Dr. Man’s installation asks visitors to select one of three difficult roles: bystander, perpetrator, or victim. Postcards documenting visitor’s reactions and feelings are displayed on the wall, including from the artwork’s previous incarnations in Hong Kong and Taiwan. https://freecoloringifiwere.wordpress.com/

The event also includes a performance by Jim “Jimmy” Quatier, whose work is also included in the exhibition. Quatier explores his experience as a Field Representative in the American Housing Survey while working for the Census Bureau in 2021.

A new installation of his ongoing series on the loss of public space, sous chef (Antoine Martel) will be presented as well.

The event is part of a Saturday Art Stroll organized by Kucera Gallery, with tulip flowers distributed by participating galleries along Third Avenue.

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Mar
6
to Apr 19

Byproduct & Prototype

In seeking underrepresented forms of art, Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) presents an exhibition in the spring of 2025 focusing on artwork that derives from an investigative, problem-solving, or research-based art project in contexts such as social justice, environmental planning, arts education, etc. The call is open to established and emerging artists and artist teams in any region.

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Jan
25

Artists Interpret "On The Natural"

Twelve artists from a group of 27 selected by well known glass artist Ginny Ruffner will present their work in the context of the exhibition’s title, “On the Natural,” followed by a discussion. Encompassing a range of media and styles, the work collectively explores the range of meaning in the term “natural,” from that which is naturally occurring to that which is the opposite of manmade, to a sense of the untrained, relaxed, and virtuoso.

Participating artists include David Berger, Neil Berkowitz, Susan Christensen, Joy Hagen, Steve Jensen, David Julian, Susanne Kelly, Joy Kloman, Ingrid Lahti, Andrea Lawson, Deb McCaroll, and Suze Woolf.

Open to the public. Free admission.

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Dec
5

“On The Natural” Catalog Release Party and Book Sale

As CoCA's 2024 Northwest Annual, "On The Natural", juried by Ginny Ruffner, continues into December, the catalog for the show will be released and available on First Thursday. In conjunction with the Catalog Release Party, we will offer our entire stock of CoCA Publications for sale at a 25% discount. Over 50 catalogs and occasional monographs will be on display, and David Francis has brought in a new batch of antiquarian books to sell as well. If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance to take in a great show and do some holiday shopping at the same time.

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Nov
7

Exhibition Opening: On The Natural

2024 CoCA Northwest Annual: On The Natural

Juried by Ginny Ruffner

(Seattle, WA) Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) presents the latest incarnation of its storied series exploring contemporary art in the region, the Northwest Annual, a juried group exhibition presenting a wide variety of media. This year’s 25th anniversary of the Annual, CoCA is proud to announce Ginny Ruffner as juror. CoCA received nearly 60 submissions from around the Northwest that explored themes of nature, narrative, and abstraction.

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Nov
7
to Feb 22

2024 CoCA Northwest Annual: On The Natural

Juried by Ginny Ruffner

(Seattle, WA) Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) presents the latest incarnation of its storied series exploring contemporary art in the region, the Northwest Annual, a juried group exhibition presenting a wide variety of media. This year’s 25th anniversary of the Annual, CoCA is proud to announce Ginny Ruffner as juror. CoCA received nearly 60 submissions from around the Northwest that explored themes of nature, narrative, and abstraction.

Participating artists include: Suze Woolf, anna macrae, Andrea Lawson, Lezlie Jane, Eva Skold Westerlind, Steve Jensen, Neil Berkowitz, David Berger, Hannah Salia, Joy Hagen, Renee Adams, Joy Kloman, Deb McCarroll, Nicholas Bowman, Bella Yongok Kim, Jennifer Fernandez, Tom Gormally, Susan Christensen, Mindi Katzman, Susanne Kelly, Ingrid Lahti, Madelaine Millar, Aaron Morgan, Maulsri Jha, David Julian, Jill Sahlstrom, and Hannah Newman.

Internationally recognized for her pioneering role in the glass art community, Ginny Ruffner has also expanded into public art and explored new media technology in using augmented reality. Her interest in the natural world, especially flora and gardens, anticipated the recognition of climate change in the 21st century and the need for sustainability, sequestration, and conservation.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Glass Art Society's Lifetime Award in 2019.

In selecting 37 works by 27 artists in Washington, Oregon, and Montana, Ruffner offered the title, On the Natural. The exhibition includes a rich assortment of sculpture, collage, prints, painting, sound, and mixed media works that echo each other in surprising ways; interpretations of the botanical world are especially vibrant and abundant.

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Sep
6
to Sep 28

Hiding from the Nazis: The Art of Johannes Kunst

Curated by Matthew Kangas

A new exhibition at Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) explores the aftermath of World War II in Holland and the US through the visual art of Johannes Kunst (1938 – 2017).

Focusing on one body of work by the Dutch-American artist who lived in Blaine, Washington, CoCA and Guest Curator Matthew Kangas present Hiding from the Nazis: The Art of Johannes Kunst, a survey of the paintings done later in life relating to a two-year period during World War II when the artist and his brother hid in the attic of their grandparents’ house in Opeinde to protect them from conscription into slave labor in Germany.

Alternately sad, hopeful, and terrifying, the paintings brilliantly depict how art can recapture times fraught with anxiety and terror. A parallel to the Diary of Anne Frank (whose family was hiding during the same period), Hiding from the Nazis gives us a visual representation of expressively recaptured memories, broadening our picture of wartime Holland which touched non-Jewish families (like the Kunsts) as well as Jewish families.

During a period now of renewed, sporadic global conflict, the exhibition is timely and responsive to current issues of authoritarianism, militarism, and resistance through the visual arts, recollected by a survivor who lived on to form a full career as an artist in the United States.

The exhibition runs through the end of September. A full-color catalogue will be available. More at https://www.cocaseattle.org/2024/kunst

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Sep
5

Exhibition Opening: Hiding from the Nazis

Hiding from the Nazis: The Art of Johannes Kunst

Curated by Matthew Kangas

A new exhibition at Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) explores the aftermath of World War II in Holland and the US through the visual art of Johannes Kunst (1938 – 2017).

Focusing on one body of work by the Dutch-American artist who lived in Blaine, Washington, CoCA and Guest Curator Matthew Kangas present Hiding from the Nazis: The Art of Johannes Kunst, a survey of the paintings done later in life relating to a two-year period during World War II when the artist and his brother hid in the attic of their grandparents’ house in Opeinde to protect them from conscription into slave labor in Germany.

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Aug
2
to Aug 31

Embodyment @ CoCA

As part of a new series focusing on bringing international artists to Seattle, Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) welcomes Professor Darina Alster from Czech republic in their first US exhibition, Embodyment. Alster, an artist exploring video, performance, and other visual media, is co-founder of the New Media II Studio at the Academy of Fine Art in Prague, Czechia (Czech Republic).

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Aug
1

Exhibition Opening: Embodyment

Embodyment

Darina Alster, Prague, Czech Republic

As part of a new series focusing on bringing international artists to Seattle, Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) welcomes Professor Darina Alster from Czech republic in their first US exhibition, Embodyment. Alster, an artist exploring video, performance, and other visual media, is co-founder of the New Media II Studio at the Academy of Fine Art in Prague, Czechia (Czech Republic). Embodyment opens first Thursday, August 1, 5-9 pm, with the artist in attendance. Alster will also give a performance and artist talk the following Saturday, August 3, from 1 - 3 pm, titled, Resilience. Both events are free to the public.

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Aug
1
to Sep 30

Rebecca Meloy @GMS

A Prayer for Earth

Rebecca Meloy @ Gary Manuel Salon

We are fragmenting our wild lands. The cutting of forests, clearing native plants, moving and disturbing soils, and the draining and filling of wetlands, are detrimental to our environment — to our oxygen producing native trees and plants, ground and surface water, insects, birds, animals, soil microbes — and to humans. We are a predatory species and our activities are fueling climate change that could be our demise. Our earth home is stressed.

My mark making on paper and canvas is my plea for nature’s health and our survival.

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Jul
2
to Aug 30

Chula Tupper @ Collins Pub

Love Letters

Chula Tupper @ Collins Pub

NEW WORK

  • Exploring the light and dark of the fairy tale romance.

  • During the day, roses are hand delivered just outside the castle walls.

  • At night a bewitching owl watches the swans change back to human form.

OLD WORK

To juxtapose the new artwork I chose to show some paintings done over the years, during which

I’ve been fortunate to exhibit at some great venues:

  • Rita Dean Gallery, San Diego, CA

  • Debra Owen Gallery, San Diego, CA

  • Equinox Gallery, Seattle, WA

  • Roq La Rue, Seattle, WA

  • Friesen Gallery, Seattle, WA

  • Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID

  • Brassworks Gallery, Portland, OR

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