Add your stuff to CHS
Most Commented Stories
- Design doc reveals what's next for farmers market lot and block of Broadway
- Starbucks Roy Street Coffee project to open Wednesday
- Also coming soon to former King Cobra space: Money Tree
- Brenton memorial procession - UPDATE: Memorial coverage
- Bailey Coy Books to close shop at end of month - UPDATE: Interview with owner
Recent Tweets:
CHS Sponsors
Most Recent Classifieds
-
Mode of Fitness is looking for Personal Trainers
Our staff is a dynamic group of individuals who have a passion about fitness and well-being. We are...
-
Lost black sequine beret lost on Halloween on Cap Hill
I lost my very sentimental black sequined beret on Halloween night, and I am devastated. It slipped...
-
Affordable Signage at Argon Design
Argon Design is offering well designed, affordable signage for store windows and interior walls. Visit...
Get CHS by e-mail
View by Time: |
Blitz, Capitol Hill’s Second Thursday Arts Walk, occurs next on Thursday, September 10 from 5:00 to 8:00pm. As Ellen Forney describes it:
Selected offerings from the September Blitz: "New Cityscapes" by local painter Ann Duffy: Hyperrealist snapshots in time with long stretches of empty roadway, glimpses of iconographic buildings, or humorously altered roadway signage.
Babeland "Blood and Honey," Landscapes by Airin Hail: Surreal, feminine, narrative multimedia paintings that use the language of symbols from Neolithic Eastern Europe to the Kali Temples of India. Office Nomads Photography by Stuart Upgrave: Beautiful landscapes and stunning natural portraits
 Blitz improvised poster - detail Originally uploaded by akiramorita August 13 will be the 2nd Thursday of the month, and Capitol Hill readies itself to Blitz. Grab a full venue list at http://blitzcapitolhill.com/ As in previous months, if you are seeking company, Blitz participants will gather at the Seattle Central Community College Plaza between 6 and 6:30 PM. Some highlights from August 09 Blitz include: o Arbitrary Art Grant in Art Dealing (happening at the People's Parking Lot) - Marination Mobile plans to be there as well. o Tomoko Briggs at Snowmonkey's House of Monsters (by way of Bluebird Ice Cream & Tea Parlor)  August 13th - Snowmonkey's House of Monsters - Tomoko Brigss Originally uploaded by blitzcapitolhill
o Michael Rioux portraits at Porchlight Coffee  August 13th - Porchlight Coffee Originally uploaded by blitzcapitolhill
o Digital Kitchen artists at Vermillion  August 13th - Vermillion -Digital Kitchen Originally uploaded by blitzcapitolhill 
Velocity Dance Center, a nonprofit focused on advancing contemporary dance, is hosting "Barn Raiser" Sunday at its news space in the Capitol Hill Arts Center. The event is a square dance benefit to help Velocity with the build out of its new space. You may recall that Velocity is one of the Oddfellows refugees, having been unable to come up with the rent increase imposed by Ted Schroth after he bought the building.
Here is a preview of some of the artists:
Matthew Porter at Bluebottle Art Gallery
Daniel Dean Johnston at Red Chair Salon New Works of Art by Karl Addison at Retrofit Home
Jennifer Culp at Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream and Tea Room. For a list of all participating businesses, go to the Blitz Capitol Hill Website or download the July map.
Seattlest interviewed monologist Mike Daisey and his wife/Director Jean-Michele Gregory about moving from Seattle to New York and the differences between the two cities. Daisey and his wife reminsce about Cal Anderson, Thanh Brothers Pho, Dick's, Rosebud and Vivace. Daisey declares, "I'm still a big Capitol Hill partisan."
Tuesday's night's meeting to discuss recommendations to preserve and create space for artists drew a crowd of about 100 to an unusual Capitol Hill setting for a City Council committee meeting. The Century Ballroom served as host for the event which was as much a social gathering as it was formal Council business. The purpose of the night was to publicly present the six recommendations we wrote about earlier for creating and maintaining affordable space for artists in Seattle. Councilmember Jean Godden attended the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee session and said that even though there aren't funds available to put the recommendations into action, the plan is a good start. "We have to make sure we have the money," Godden said. "But there is resolution to go ahead and at least get started. The first thing to do is find a point person to make these things happen." The "point person" Godden referred to relates to CODAC's second recommendation:...
A step toward protecting -- and growing -- Capitol Hill's arts will be taken tonight at the Century Ballroom. The venue hosts a special meeting of the City Council's Culture, Civil Rights, Health and Personnel Committee to discuss the recommendations of a volunteer board convened to help make plans that preserve elements that foster creativity in Seattle and provide resources to grow those elements. In short, tonight's meeting is about affordable space for artistic activities. The Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee (CODAC) says its goals are to:
Tonight's agenda includes a meet and greet with councilmembers starting at 5:30 PM followed by a public comment period, then the meeting with presentation of the committee's recommendations. Presenters will be Fidelma McGinn, CODAC Co-Chair and Director of Artist Trust and Randy Engstrom, CODAC Co-Chair, Director of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center and Seattle Arts Commission member. We've attached a copy of the CODAC report they will be discussing. The group has formed six recommendations:
The report describes the recommendations more fully and also has some interesting information about the arts environment on Capitol Hill including an index of nearly 200 "arts and culture-related spaces" on the Hill in section M of the report's appendix. 
Blitz - the new monthly arts walk showcasing the businesses and creative cultures that thrive on the Hill debuts tonight. Produced by the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce (CHCC), the walk includes a range of arts including visual art and music, performance art and even culinary arts. Blitz will keep the neighborhood hopping from 5:00 - 8:00 today and the event will continue on the second Thursday of each month. Over 40 Capitol Hill businesses are signed up to participate, including Hugo House, Ballard Fetherston Gallery, and Babeland. Shop owners have pulled together a wide variety of artists and performers for the kickoff event today. No gallery? No problem! Put your art on a stick and join the parade! To help celebrate the June 11 launch, Blitz is featuring an all-invited 'Art-on-a-Stick Parade.' The parade begins at the Broadway Performance Hall Plaza at Seattle Central Community College. Artists and members of the community are encouraged to join in and present their talent to the public. The parade... 
Relaunched under the helm of Ellen Forney, Blitz Capitol Hill Arts Walk debuts tomorrow June 11. In Ellen's words:
The Art-on-a-Stick Parade begins at the Broadway Performance Hall Plaza at Seattle Central Community College. Artists and members of the community are encouraged to join in and present their talent to the public. The parade will follow along a route of businesses participating in Blitz and will end at performance space/tea house, Electric Tea Garden where the artwork will be displayed. The Electric Tea Garden is also hosting the Blitz after-party, featuring DJ's and dancing. Get a list of all participating venues and more details on http://blitzcapitolhill.com/ Follow Blitz on Twitter at @blitzarts
June's venue list: 15th Ave Coastal Kitchen North Hill Bakery Red Chair Salon Cafe Ladro Pike and Pine East of Broadway Healeo Electric Tea Garden Whimsy Home Decor Bootyland The Copper Vine Aria Salon & Spa Retrofit Home Throwbacks NW The Wildrose Bar Atlas Clothing The Sew People Experiment Vermillion Grey Gallery & Lounge Hugo House B-BAM Retail Therapy Pike and Pine West of Broadway Ballard Fetherston Gallery ROSEBUD Babeland Open ‘til 9pm City Home Store Kaladi Brothers Coffee The Feed Bag Uncle Elizabeth’s Warren Knapp Gallery Zero Zero Bluebottle Art Gallery Olive and Boylston Bus Stop 9pm – close Starbucks B & O Espresso Cafe Metropolitain Shinka Tea Vino Verite The Birdhouse Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral ArtHaus Boutique Condominiums + Gallery KOBO Harem 23rd Ave The Bottleneck Lounge Thomas Street Bistro 
Tonight's May edition of the Capitol Hill art walk isn't really a "beta test" of the new event being planned for a June 11 launch. But it is the start of a ramp-up in effort, energy and participation in the monthly event that will transform into Blitz Capitol Hill Arts Walk. CHS asked the three organizers of the Blitz transition how things are proceeding on the June 11th launch and what to expect from the new effort. Capitol Hill artist Ellen Forney, Babeland marketing powerhouse Audrey McManus and graphic designer and entrepreneur Akira Morita are working on pulling together everything from a new Web site and Twitter marketing effort to old school networking and arm twisting to get area businesses involved with the new walk. First, what's going to happen at May's walk? -- the last of its kind! How did you get involved in rebooting Capitol Hill's art walk?
Akira: My interest in development on the Hill and its effects on the art scene here lead to the group that was working with Cultural Overlay District, within the Chamber of Commerce. Audrey, who's been the sole organizer for the Capitol Hill Art Walk for the last two years, was there one day and I heard her talk about the art walk and how she was looking for additional support. I felt it was a perfect opportunity to make an impact in the arts and culture on the Hill in a tangible way. Would you call it a reboot? Ellen: There's a real feeling of "Why hasn't this happened before?" It feels like a no-brainer. It's just a matter of us getting the right tone and make sure we represent what we're going for. We're looking at a lot of territory. And a lot of different kinds of places. They don't necessarily coordinate with each other very much. Volunteers are out bringing businesses in. One of the things I really want to make sure happens is that we have as many businesses and venues participating as possible. They're not knocking down the doors yet but they will be. What's your dream for the new art walk? Audrey: I dream that there is amazingly good weather! There are some great shows that are happening in June and I just know they are all going to be well attended. I dream that people will be milling about on the sidewalk, checking out their maps and bouncing from gallery, to coffee shop, to store and so on. There is so much art on the hill in tons of locations, and the Arts Walk is a great night to make it all about the art and really showcase it. I also dream of people coming from all around Seattle to check out Capitol Hill. It’s a night to celebrate and have a blast –if you go to only one show or attempt to see them all, it will be a night not to be missed! I also dream that if anyone does miss it, that they will hear all about it from friends and then kick themselves for missing out…but definitely show up for the July 9th event. Ellen: The art walk right now is fun but you really kind of have to know about it. My hope is that it's going to be like a big party. A lot of people walking around and a lot of good times. I'm really curious to see what it's going to wind up being. It's like when you get a bunch of really talented performers together and collaborate. It's been a ton of work. There's a lot of hidden organizing that goes into that. If you throw a good party at home, the guest might not know how long it took you to get ready. The first Blitz Capitol Hill Arts Walk is Thursday June 11. The new Web site hasn't launched yet but you can follow along on Facebook's Blitz Page and Twitter with @blitzarts. 
Here's the May Capitol Hill art walk roster of participating venues. If you've been following along, you will know that May marks the final 'old school' Cap Hill art walk before the big Blitz re-boot in June. We'll be posting an update on the new art walk tomorrow. Enjoy the walk!
While Ellen Forney leads a team of Capitol Hill artists, residents and business folk in redesigning Cap Hill's monthly art walk event into a bigger, better monthly event called Blitz (facebook group here!), there are still art walks to be had. Thursday night is April's big to-do. In a beta test of the new effort's organization and community skill, the Blitz group passed along this handy listing of what you will find at various Hill locations Thursday night. The map is from CHS and marks all of the locations we know of that have art on the walls and are open to be part of the night's festivities. More CHS coverage coming on what Blitz is planning for summer and a new art-focused start-up in the neighborhood but, for now, start planning your art walk. Unofficial CHS Art Walk Map Retrofit Home Artist Ellen Forney is leading a charge to re-create Capitol Hill's art walk and needs volunteers to make it happen, she says. Here's the Facebook invite for the March 31st kick-off planning event:
The Hill Poems collection features work by local poets, including Chris Dusterhoff, Erin Foran, Amanda S. Halm, Heidi Heimarck, Brian McGuigan, Michael Ricciardi, Alexandra Rossetter, Mercedes Sanchez and Monica Schley. I have a visceral reaction to open mic poetry readings the same as I do spiders: that is, I shriek, run from the building, leave the creature for someone else to deal with. (An unreasonable phobia, I know. What can I say?) However Hill Poems is a published collection, which hopefully means -- despite the ease of publish-on-demand these days (see Lulu) -- the quality of the work could be above the scenery-chewing readings of an open mic. Besides, it is about a favorite... As the connective point between Hilltop and Broadway and Pike/Pine and Seattle U., the development of 12th Ave is a critical component of the changing culture and character of Capitol Hill. It's exciting, then, to hear about some of the changes coming for 12th Ave especially when they include plans to turn a police department parking lot into a place for people to create art, work, live and still give the police officers a place to park their cruisers. Capitol Hill Housing is pushing forward a plan to convert the East Precinct's parking lot on 12th near Pine into a mixed-use, low-income housing development with retail components that emphasize the arts, culture and community. I've attached a PDF describing their efforts on 12th. Here's the current state of the location: We wrote about the revived planning about this project back in October. Now, that the effort is starting to be ramped up, you can attend a meeting of the 12th Ave Stewardship Council on Feb. 25th to get involved and learn how to support the effort. In addition to gathering support at the local level, Capitol Hill Housing has started an effort to secure federal funding to help drive the project.
I get City Council President Richard Conlin's newsletter in my email box every so often. For a policy nerd like me, it's usually pretty interesting. This time I think I found something interesting enough to share with the blog: the City Council's (recently announced) priorities for 2009.
It's all priority-worthy. The question is, can they do it? Let's see what we can do to help them out and keep them to their promise. The easiest way to do that is to tell them what you think - you can find the whole Council's contact information here.
Did anyone see this movie being filmed around Mercer and 20th last week? From 47 North Productions: "A Measure of Comfort is about a struggling writer wrestling with his changed perception of the world after a doomed relationship draws to a conclusion." Shooting apparently wrapped up last week - and the full Flickr pool is here. 
Here are the lovely felines of Capitol Hill! Thanks to everyone for sending me pics of their adorable kitties! 
This is just a sampling of the lovely felines living among us on Capitol Hill. So cute! The kitteh pics are starting to roll in, but I need MORE (please)! Send 'em my way at: m.finalanswer@gmail.com. THANKS! p.s. We'll expand to Hillpups and/or Hillcritters next, promise. 
It's no secret that I love cats. And from recent CHS comments, it sounds like lots of Capitol Hill folks love cats too. So, in an effort to wipe away some of the bad energy from yesterday's post, I propose an arts and crafts project. Send me pics of your kitties and I will put together a super cute (or super tacky) collage of the CHS Hillcats! Email: m.finalanswer@gmail.com.
Hi neighbors!
Sustainable Capitol Hill, a grassroots community group working to make our 'hood a a greener, better place, is hosting IMAGINE CAPITOL HILL: A SUSTAINBILITY FESTIVAL on Sunday July 20th from 11-4pm. We are recruiting stilt walkers for the event! http://sustainablecapitolhill.org/ If you're intersted, please contact Angela at: 206-214-1241 Thanks!
There is a cool idea being discussed tomorrow night that you art-type people ought to check out. Organizer Michael Dobbie wants to create something useful in the spaces currently emptied in preparation for the coming Sound Transit destruction/construction:
the idea is to put one of these shop fronts to community use (as a multi-use arts, cultural space) as a way to focus and organize ourselves, bringing attention to some of the issues and opportunities of change that we're facing here on the hillThe discussion is just getting started so it's a good time for great ideas. Dobbie is holding a meeting to discuss the project tonight (Thursday the 8th), 6:30p. at the Richard Hugo House.
If you love Capitol Hill, and if you love CHS, and if more offline activity means a reduction in online
activity, you may not want to encourage this. But here are two upcoming opportunities to interact with me, humble j of CHS, in the real world.
Um, if you don't get involved in Capitol Hill's community planning this week, you ain't never gonna do it. This is your time. Don't be an angry victim. Rise up, people. Demand your art, re-zoning and sidewalk repairs. Power to the people.
On April 2nd, leaders from business, culture, arts, entertainment, real estate development, public policy and residents of Capitol Hill will converge on City Hall to collaboratively envision a City that maintains, nurtures, and creates arts and entertainment facilities as the backbone to neighborhood livability and economic sustainability. April 2, City Hall Bertha Knight Landes Room, 5p-6:30p
Sound Transit is hosting an open house for the community to learn about the latest progress on the project and provide feedback on the station design and other issues. Technical staff will be on hand to answer your questions.
As the discussion around reviving/re-cycling the Capitol Hill Community Council has developed, a few voices have called out about the area's arts. This Wednesday's arts panel sponsored by the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce should be a good opportunity to build the conversation.
Panel Discussion: Call to Action! Is there room for culture & entertainment on Capitol Hill? Wednesday, January 16 5:30p – 7:00p Capitol Hill Arts Center Showroom Theatre (Main Floor) 1621 – 12th Ave (@ Pine) More from the CHS Calendar. |
