♪♪
-Hi and welcome to the show.
I'm Nancy Guppy, coming to you from one of Seattle's
great movie theaters, SIFF Cinema Downtown.
[film projector clicks]
-Ladies and gentlemen, this is Cinerama.
♪♪
-Opened in 1963 as Seattle's Martin Cinerama,
this beloved
theater was one of only three movie theaters in the world
capable of showing three-panel cinerama films.
In its 60 year history,
the theater has been through numerous ups and downs,
including nearly
being turned into a dinner theater in 1997,
before Paul Allen swooped in, bought the building,
and initiated a multimillion dollar restoration.
♪♪
After a brief shut down in 2020 due to COVID,
the Allen estate sold
the Cinerama Theater, to SIFF. And in 2023,
the newly renamed SIFF Cinema Downtown opened its doors
for business.
[film projector whirls]
♪♪
From the large curved screen,
state of the art sound system and projection capabilities,
plush seats, sparkly lighted ceiling,
and of course, that legendary chocolate popcorn,
SIFF Cinema Downtown delivers a movie going experience
like no other.
For the theater's full screening schedule,
go to siff.net.
♪♪
We've got an
excellent show for you, including:
Mini Mart City Park.
-When we found this project,
it was an old abandoned gas station
with legacy pollution 16 to 20 feet below the surface.
-Calder at SAM...
♪♪
and music
from Stereo Embers.
[rock n’ roll guitar music]
And we'll begin with Tina Garrick
Albro’s homage to Metro bus line Number 7.
[garage door sliding]
♪♪
-I grew up in Rainier Beach,
and I rode the Number 7 bus my whole life.
[bus engine rattles)
[announcement bell chimes]
I like to say
I learned about life riding the Number 7.
It’s such a long route,
and it traverses so many diverse neighborhoods.
It's a little sampling of the world
if you ride the Number 7.
Rainier Valley has changed a lot.
So I'd like to preserve a little bit of that history.
♪♪
The Columbia Hillman Arts and Culture District,
they started putting the word out
that they had these small grants.
So I decided to apply for one of the grants,
and that's how it came about.
♪♪
[paint brush strokes]
I've always made art, and I started doing it
professionally about ten years ago...
when I found printmaking.
I love that the printmaking process
is so involved and it's so meticulous.
[metal gears click]
Printmaking is really deep.
There's so many different methods of printmaking.
There’s dozens of different processes and you can combine them,
so I feel like I found my home there.
The colors worked! About 20 years ago,
I told my husband, “I need to write
a short story called ‘Riding the Number 7.’”
I never wrote that short story, but I did a series
of collagraphs, which is a kind of printmaking
of the Number 7.
I started that about five or six years ago,
and this is the way I've expressed
my story of riding the Number 7.
[brush tapping]
I set an intention
in 2021 to work bigger. (laughter) But I wasn't thinking I'd work
this big so fast.
[laughter]
♪♪
To be really honest,
I learned that I still, at my age,
like to bite off a little more than I probably should.
♪♪
Another artist said, “You should put people on the bus.”
And then I started thinking about it,
I thought, “That would be cool to put people on the bus.”
♪♪
Jayashree, I knew that her portraits
really captured people in a unique way.
-Every time I pick up the brush after the first few minutes,
something else takes over.
I stop thinking and get into that zone.
And it does feel like that
when you're a
passenger on a bus, you just get into your own headspace.
♪♪
My part in this mural was to paint the portraits.
The amazing thing was to learn about all these people.
-My dad is the last person on the bus,
and my aunt is the first person on the bus.
The driver is Leah, and she drove the Number
7 for years.
The family standing in front
of the bus are Suzy, Lew, and Mondo Banchero.
They lived
and worked in this community for several generations.
And Suzy is really special to me
because she was my second grade teacher
and we did a lot of art in second grade.
And then everyone else, I would call them
heroes on the bus
because they were all people who were so involved
in making our community a better place.
♪♪
So many of the people here really
kind of move the ball forward in our community.
Each of them has done a lot.
-So funny that I just finished
painting this and now I'm cutting it.
It's a little nerve wracking.
Ahhh!
-But if we get through it, the theory is that
it should come apart without
without any problems.
We'll see how it goes.
[electronic tool drills]
-He knows what he's doing.
If it was just me, I'd be terrified.
-Here it goes.
-There we go.
-Sweet!
-Ha!
Way to go!
[truck engine whirls]
-I’ve got plenty of room.
[power tool drills]
-Part of the arts revitalization project
was to, like,
bring some life to spaces that needed some life.
And the bus goes right by here,
so everyone riding the bus south will see it,
and all the pedestrian traffic here will see it.
♪♪
(laughing) You’re so welcome!
-Thank you. -Thank you.
-We just found out.
And so we were luckily in Seattle.
-Hi, are you related?
-Yes! -She’s your mom?!
-Oh, my gosh.
-She you wanted to see her mom's painting.
-I’m so glad you’re here!
-Captures her perfectly.
♪♪
-Yep. There she is.
-There she is.
-I'm touched.
It’s just nice to be recognized!
I'm 60.
So, thank you!
-It's just been really exciting to see what she's done
with this. I just really love,
love the mural.
-I think it's so perfect because
he rode the bus a lot.
He didn't drive.
-Without these types of things
-statues, murals- things
that help us know who we are as a community,
it would be a very boring place.
Every every other place would look the same.
♪♪
-I don't know if he ever rode the bus, so...
but it's representative that he spent 95 years
in Rainier Valley, so it makes sense.
♪♪
-I hope they say,
“Oh, it's the Number 7!”
And then they look at the people
and they think, “Who is that?”
And then they learn more about their community’s history.
I don't know where it's leading next.
It's a journey.
You know, we're we're all on some kind of bus.
I'm on mine.
♪♪
[announcement bell chimes]
♪♪
-Check out Tina's mural on the north side of
Columbia City Gallery in Columbia City, and learn more about her
art practice at tinagarrickalbro.com.
♪♪
The band
Stereo Embers went their separate ways
a few years ago, but there are rumors
of a possible reunion. Fingers crossed.
So with that in mind, here is Robb Benson, Tim DiJulio,
Ben Brunn, and Cassady Laton, from their 2017 performance
of “Wagon.”
[drum sticks click]
♪ [Wagon by Stereo Embers] ♪
[rock n’ roll music]
♪ Feeling red and green on a Saturday ♪
♪ There's an english styled rain, I don't mind it ♪
♪♪
♪ But for twenty straight days it's been dark ♪
♪ it's been dark it's been damp it's been cold ♪
♪♪
♪ It's just the way we live in the great Northwest, ♪
♪ sometimes it's a test I don't mind it ♪
♪♪
♪ But other times the mind tends to grind about hitting the road ♪
♪♪
♪ Driving the rain down the West Coast ♪
♪ down to the 101 ♪
♪ towards the sun ♪
♪ to California here we come ♪
♪♪
♪ here we come. ♪
♪♪
♪ If there's a will there's a way when it feels this way ♪
♪ another stir crazy week I could lose it ♪
♪♪
♪ Time to pack the band in a van with the band and a few ideas ♪
♪♪
♪ On the first day south we can ramble about ♪
♪ have a drink at the bar in the hotel ♪
♪♪
♪ Let every heavyhearted forecast melt with the miles ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Driving the rain down the West Coast ♪
♪♪
♪ Down to the 101 ♪
♪ towards the sun ♪
♪ to California here we come, ♪
♪ here we come. ♪
♪♪
♪ Woo Woo Woo-ooo ♪
♪ Woo woo-ooo-ooo ♪
♪♪
[cheering and applause]
-We'll keep you posted on those reunion rumors.
In the meantime, listen to more
Stereo Embers on Bandcamp.
♪♪
-SuttonBeresCuller
that's John Sutton, Ben Beres, and Zac Culler,
are Seattle-based artists who have collaborated for over
23 years.
♪♪​
SBC's projects have ranged from installations
to performance
public projects to straight up gallery shows.
But in all cases, the trio's aim
has been to engage and provoke unsuspecting audiences
with artworks that are often not what they seem.
Case in point is their latest endeavor,
Mini Mart City Park in Georgetown.
♪♪​
-Hey, I'm Ben.
Welcome to Mini Mart City Park.
Come on in.
We're a pocket park, a community center,
an environmental remediation project,
and an art gallery
based in Georgetown near the steam plant and
across the street from Boeing Field.
In our main gallery this month,
we have
“Trying to Reach You,” work by Hannah Pierce and Michael Hernandez.
Michael works in glass and neon
and Hannah works in ceramics.
This is the first time they've collaborated together
and we're really excited about the outcome.
We are part of the Georgetown Art Attack, so we have shows
every second Saturday.
We host a film series, do workshops, teach murals,
and are open for the community.
Basically, we're a flex space
that is used in many different ways.
One of the cool things about this project
is this air sparge system
that we had installed when we built the building.
When we found this project,
it was an old abandoned gas station
with legacy pollution 16 to 20 feet below the surface.
It hasn't been touched in decades.
And so what this system does is it blows air 16 to 20 feet
below the surface and that wakes up bacteria,
which is just dormant sitting there.
It eats whatever is there, which happens to be gasoline.
It off gases
it and is captured
by a series of tubes
that's sucking up the air
into a charcoal filter and out the top of the building.
So far, in two years, we've removed 200 pounds of petroleum.
And expect the system to run for another 3 to 5 years
before the soil is cleaned up.
Among the many programs and workshops
that we offer at Mini Mart City Park,
we've also partnered with Urban Artworks
to teach teens classes on how to paint murals.
They're scattered throughout the site.
We're here on the roof where we've implemented
a lot of stormwater infrastructure.
[thunder claps]
And the idea is to keep as much of the rain
off of the streets and help keep the community safe.
We have a green roof, bio retention planners...
and the idea is to keep everything on site.
We also have good news that we just acquired
this property next door,
where we're going to expand a kitchen classroom space
and then eventually we're going to implement
an artist-in-residence program on the top floor.
We've had a ton of support from the community
and the city and the state, and we'd love
to show you the space if you want to stop by.
Well, thanks for the visit today.
♪♪​
-Learn more about Mini Mart City Park,
including hours and location at minimartcitypark.com.
And see the broad range of SuttonBeresCuller
artworks at the trio's Seattle gallery, GregKucera.com.
And now a short list of art
events for your consideration.
♪♪
-In “Forces Unseen” at Harris/Harvey Gallery,
photographer Peter de Lory
captures mysterious or peculiar sights
that he encounters in his travels.
These unexpected still images
suggest the evidence of forces that are all around us, yet
which remain unseen
except for their effects on our natural world.
“Forces Unseen” runs now through January 27.
♪♪
Pacific Northwest Ballet is bringing back
their beloved rendition of “Swan Lake.”
Masterfully choreographed by founding artistic
director Kent Stowell,
this production features stunning costumes, off kilter
scenic design, and the undeniably iconic score
brought to life by the world famous PNB Orchestra.
“Swan Lake” runs for ten performances February
2nd through the 11th.
♪♪
And finally, “Calder: In Motion,”
at Seattle Art Museum features the extraordinary
work of Alexander Calder,
the American artist who revolutionized sculpture.
Ranging from the miniature to the monumental,
these 45 pieces, gifted to SAM by Jon and Kim Shirley are
being presented to the public for the very first time.
“Calder: In Motion” runs through August 4th, 2024.
♪♪
And that’s a wrap.
Big thanks to SIFF for hosting us at their newest venue.
And for a complete schedule of screenings at SIFF’s
four locations go to SIFF.net.
And thanks to you for tuning in.
Have a great week and we'll see you at the movie.
[popcorn crunching]
Mmmmm.
Chocolate popcorn.
♪ ['The Pull’ by Studio Embers plays] ♪
[electric guitar rock n’ roll music]
♪ There's a hole in the ocean ♪
♪♪
♪ slowly pulling us ♪
♪ like a carnival ride like the toy in the bathtub draining ♪
♪♪
♪ There's a hole in the ocean ♪
♪ slowly pulling us in ♪
♪ Like a carnival ride like the toy in the bathtub draining ♪
♪♪
♪ Like the first time you found love ♪
♪ like the first time you found it ♪
♪ Hey-ey-ey ♪
♪ ♪
♪♪