Register for Winter Poetry Workshops!
Join Olympia Poet Laureate Kathleen Byrd for fall poetry reading and writing workshops on the theme of eco-poetry. Workshops are free, registration required:
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January 22, 2025, 4-5:30pm Register Poetry reading session at Harbor House on Percival Landing. The selected book is Conversations with Kagawong River, by Sophie Anne Edwards. Bring a copy of the book if you can (you don't need to read the entire collection, but should have some familiarity with it). Kathleen will bring additional poems or readings to further our conversation.
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February 12, 2025, 4-5:30pm Register Poetry writing session at The Olympia Center Room 100, exploring the poetics of place. The theme is Winter/Water. Participants will be introduced to poetics of place and given opportunities to write, reflect, and share, responding to prompts that connect us to our own home place here in Olympia. We will also think about grief and hope as a collective response to climate change in our community. No prior poetry experience necessary. Be sure to bring writing materials!
Percival Plinth Project Applications Close January 6, 2025
The City of Olympia is seeking up to 18 loaned sculptures from Washington and Oregon state artists for temporary outdoor display on Percival Landing, a waterfront park at the southernmost end of the Puget Sound in view of the state capitol located in Olympia, WA. Selected artists receive a $1,000 honorarium for the one-year loan of their work and are eligible for consideration for the Peoples' Prize purchase award of up to $10,000, where one sculpture is selected for purchase by public vote and added to the City's public art collection.
Applications due January 6, 2025 by 11:45pm.
To register or for more information, please click the link after each class, call 360-753-8380 or stop by to see us at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia Street NW, Olympia.
Performing Arts & Dance
Creative Contemporary Dance, Jan 6-Mar 10
Ukulele Winter Songs, Jan 8-Feb 5
Salsa, Cha-Cha, Bachata, Jan 10-Feb 21
American Tango, Rumba, Bossa Nova, Jan 10-Feb 21
Visual Arts, & Crafts
Beginning Watercolor, Jan 7-Feb 11
Intro to Watercolor, Jan 7- 28
Pen, Brush & Ink Drawing, Jan 8-29
Life Drawing, Jan 8-22
Beginning Drawing, Jan 9-Feb 13
Winter Scenes, Jan 11
Painting People and Faces, Jan 11-Feb 15
Unleash Your Creativity, Jan 11-Feb 15
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Leonor R. Fuller Gallery Hosts 14th Annual Fine Art Postcard Exhibition
The annual Fine Art Postcard Exhibition returns to the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery for its 14th year from Jan. 6 to Feb. 7, 2025, with the theme "Forgotten Conversations". The closing reception will be held on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m.
"The postcard theme is a sort of 'ad-lib' prompt to inspire our creative community," said Sean Barnes, Gallery Director of the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery. "Each year, those who visit the exhibition can vote on the following year's theme, then I meet with the gallery committee to select one. This year's theme, 'Forgotten Conversations', was selected from last year's community suggestions. We will continue this process for the 2026 exhibition, so I encourage all to put their ideas into the suggestion box at this year's show."
The exhibition will feature postcard-sized (4" x 6") original artworks created by artists of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds-including SPSCC students, staff, and faculty. Works will be sold through a silent auction and proceeds will go towards supporting gallery programming.
New tour highlights Capitol's memorials
Tours at Capitol Campus aim to reveal the history of Washington: its cultural heritage, its form of government, and the stories that make the campus special.
The Department of Enterprise Services (DES), which stewards the Washington State Capitol Campus, has developed a new way for visitors to explore the campus: free public tours of memorials honoring Washingtonians who've served and sacrificed for our country.
Come & Experience December Holidays-themed Paintings
(Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa)
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Monday, December 16th at 10:30am
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Free and open to the public
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Olympia Senior Center, 222 Columbia Street, Olympia
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Check with receptionist for room location
Presented by Maureen Wells-Unforgettable Art Programs
Additional dates (also at the Olympia Senior Center) include:
Tuesday, January 21 at 10:30- Civil Rights/MLK
Friday, February 14 at 10:30- Valentine's Day
"Fridays at the First."
The free concerts are hosted by First Christian Church of Olympia. These noontime events continue through January 10, 2025. This is the 25th season of free concerts held in the church's acoustically excellent sanctuary. The church library opens at noon for complimentary coffee and cookies. The concerts begin at noon and last about an hour. Admission is free. The musicians gratefully accept your contributions. The historic church building is downtown on the corner of 7th Ave. SE and Franklin St. For further information, call the church at 360-943-8025.
12/20 - The Timberline High School Chamber Choir directed by Terry Shaw
12/27 - PC and J and The Band
01/03 - Briarfinch
01/10 - Dennis Hastings with David Lee Joyner
Olympia Poetry Network
Poems from the Winter Realm
It's the time of the year when we hustle full bore through shopping and baking and festivities galore. But remember to stop and make time for a treat; wander down to Traditions on 5th and Water Street for the annual OPN seasonal stew of poetic selections read by readers like you!
Bring along your favorite poems of the season; your own or others, both would be pleasin'. 6:00 on Wednesday the eighteenth of December is the time and the day you need to remember:
You're cordially invited to come and take part in a holiday celebration of the wordmasters' art.
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Wednesday, December 18, 2024
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6: 00-7:30 pm
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Season's readings by OPN board and open mic live at Traditions, the Gathering Place 5th & Water Street, downtown Olympia
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Open mic sign up starts at 5:30
Aerial silks, handstands, trapeze, juggling, and more! Circus Classes at Sparrow Studios
Register now, classes begin January 5th, 2025! Sparrow Studios is a local, recreational circus school that has been in the heart of downtown Olympia since 2015. We offer 8-week classes and instruction in trapeze, handstands, flexibility, silks, juggling, and more! BIPOC scholarships and payment plans available.
Washington Center Announces 2025 Excellence in the Arts
Award Winners: Nikki McClure and Cheryl Selby
The CENTER Stage Awards & Gala will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025. The event is a fundraiser for the Washington Center and an opportunity to celebrate local artists and supporters of the arts. "This year's gala will be a progressive evening of celebration, philanthropy, and music," says Jill Barnes, Executive Director.
During the gala, the Excellence in the Arts awards will be given to those whose work, support, and creativity help build a vibrant cultural community. This year's Achievement in the Arts awards will be awarded to Nikki McClure, a self-taught papercut artist. Nikki grew up in Kirkland, graduated from Evergreen State College, and has made her home in Olympia since 1986. Nikki creates papercuts using an X-Acto knife in a style partially inspired by Works Progress Administration posters. Barnes says, "You can see Nikki's signature work all over Olympia, marking neighborhoods and areas of town. You'll also see her books in store front windows - she's ubiquitous with Olympia."
This year's Commitment to the Arts award will be awarded to Cheryl Selby, Olympia's mayor from 2015-2023. As mayor, Cheryl was a fearless champion for the arts. She made it her mission to keep the arts front and center, even during tough times, showing how a strong focus on creativity can bring people together. During her time as mayor, Cheryl helped downtown Olympia earn its designation as a Washington State Creative District, secured the historic Armory as a Creative Campus, and led the campaign to pass the Cultural Access program, Inspire Olympia.
The CENTER Stage Awards & Gala will begin with the awards and gala at the Heritage Room and progress to Washington Center for a performance by post-modern diva Meow Meow. Meow Meow has hypnotized, inspired, and terrified audiences globally with unique creations and sell-out seasons from New York's Lincoln Center and Berlin's Bar Jeder Vernunft to London's West End and the Sydney Opera House. Performing with Pink Martini at the Washington Center in January 2024, Meow Meow stole the show with her cabaret-style guest appearance!
Community Print | Annual Procrastinator's Craft Sale!
Holiday procrastinators, we've got your back! For your shopping pleasure, we have assembled 20 amazing local craftspeople in the cozy and convivial atmosphere of 3 Magnets Brewing. The annual Procrastinator's Craft Sale is a fundraiser for Community Print, a community print studio in downtown Olympia that has offered classes and studio space for over 25 years.
Newsletter Roundup
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4Culture Public Art Calls for Artists + December 2024
Each month we send out artist calls managed by 4Culture, as well as a selection of calls submitted to us by organizations around the world. Visit our website to see all open calls, grants, jobs, and other opportunities.
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The ArCH Digest is a summary of Arts, Culture and History happenings in the greater Olympia area, submitted by the community. Please turn in ArCH Digest listings to [email protected]
Deadline Monday morning, 8 a.m.
If you know of anyone who would like to receive the City of Olympia Arts & Culture news, which includes a weekly ArCH Digest, direct them here and have them mark the Arts & Culture box.
Disclaimer: Information in the Arts Digest is not vetted through the City, nor is it endorsed by the City. The reader is solely responsible for checking background on any opportunity listed above.
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Contact
Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program & Planning Supervisor
Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation
360.709.2678
[email protected]
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