Arts in the South End: October 2024 Roundup

by Jas Keimig

Fall has officially fallen, and there’s lots to keep you South Seattleites busy in the arts and culture world. You can take in Michael Hong’s tactile, culinary-inspired sculptures or listen to the genre-bending ways of Black Violin or go check out a film at two identity-focused film festivals. The world is your oyster, and the South End has a lot to explore.

Think we missed something? Let us know at Arts@SeattleEmerald.org.

Now until Oct. 26

Koplin Del Rio, 6107 13th Ave. S.

Multimedia artist Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes’ “Arįa of the Bot and Beholder” at Koplin Del Rio brings together two facets of the artist’s sculpture practice in a thought-provoking display. (I’ll have more about this show soon!)

Oct. 3–31

Gallery 4Culture

101 Prefontaine Place S.

Michael Hong’s first solo show, “Oi-ee Moo-chim” — a reference to a Korean side dish of thinly sliced cucumbers in chile-vinegar paste — explores intimacy, food, and the immigrant experience focused through the Korean concept of 손맛 (sonmat, or “hand-flavor”). More from the event listing:

“Michael Hong showcases two bodies of work that manifest his hand-flavor through the repetition of ceramic forms: a number of abstract “self-portraits” that stand six-feet tall—Hong’s height; and a series of pots that reference traditional Korean fermentation vessels known as hangari, reimagining familiar Korean household staples and rituals through the lens of his experiences growing up in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

“Hong’s ceramics embody the complex relationship between acts of labor as a survival mechanism and coping, as observed through his mother. For him, hand-flavor is both a methodology and a site of contemplation, where the physical and the cultural intertwine to depict the complex dynamics of identity, labor, and heritage.”

Oct. 5, 5 p.m.

Renaissance Seattle Hotel, 515 Madison St.

The Atlantic Street Center is having a gala to fundraise for its organization. This Leveling Up celebration will have cocktails, dinner, and an evening of entertainment and a silent auction. When registering, make sure to sign up for its online silent auction.

Oct. 5–May 25, 2025

Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma 98402

Photographer Charles Peterson was on the frontlines of the grunge movement, capturing the bands and raucous crowds at shows and in the scene with his black and white pictures. Tacoma Art Museum’s “Charles Peterson’s Nirvana: On Photography and Performance” — based on a book of the same name — collates years of Peterson’s photography, putting the grunge movement on full display.

Oct. 8

Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St.

Violist and violinist Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus are Black Violin, a music group that draws on their love of hip-hop and classical training in a genre people have called “classical boom.” Come swoon and sway to their cross-genre songs.

Oct. 8–9

Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 2033 6th Ave.

Critically acclaimed trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Keyon Harrold is playing two days of shows in support of his recent record release, Foreverland. Mixing genres like jazz, Afrobeat, soul, and spoken word, Harrold has established himself as an exciting voice — and trumpeter! — in the jazz scene.

Oct. 9

The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave. S.

Seattle-based folk-punk, Yiddish, anti-fascist ensemble Brivele and klezmer brass band Shpilkis are celebrating the Jewish High Holidays at The Royal Room. Come through for music and a good time!

Oct. 10–20

Various locations

The Seattle Queer Film Festival has been bringing excellent queer cinema to Seattle screens for the past 29 years. For the 2024 edition, SQFF will open with Ponyboi, a film about an intersex sex worker who’s on the run after a drug deal gone wrong. Other festival highlights include centerpiece film ASOG, which follows a nonbinary Filipino teacher and typhoon survivor on a roadtrip to a drag pageant, and closing-night film Gondola, a lesbian love story set in gondolas in a small Georgian town.

Oct. 12–13

Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St.

Ever since 2001, the Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington (TACAWA) has put on a celebration of Turkish culture every October (Turkish Heritage Month). At Turkfest, there will be a marketplace, food, dancing, music, and more.

Oct. 12–26

McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St.

Jubilee tells the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers who went on tour post-Civil War and Emancipation, singing Negro spirituals to raise funds for Fisk University, which taught recently free Black Americans. This world-premiere opera follows the early members of the group and showcases 13 songs from their repertoire, like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Balm In Gilead,” “Deep River,” “Go Down, Moses,” “On Ma Journey Now,” “Wade In The Water,” “Steal Away,” and “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.”

Oct. 14, 5 p.m.

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, 5011 Bernie Whitebear Way

Oct. 14 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation is celebrating at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. There will be activities, food, music, dancing, and special guests. Organizers encourage people to “wear traditional regalia and bring a drum, rattle, flute, etc. for a jam session!”

Oct. 15–20

PACCAR IMAX Theater

200 2nd Ave. N.

The Tasveer Film Festival is the only Oscar-qualifying South Asian Film Festival in the world — and it goes down every year right here in Seattle. Now in its 19th year, organizers have curated an impressive selection of films, like Wakhri (a drama about a widowed teacher in Pakistan who becomes an influencer overnight), The Umesh Chronicles (a coming-of-age drama about the life of a young boy in a North Indian family in the ’80s and ’90s), and A Nice Indian Boy (a short film about a queer Indian man who brings his white fiancé to his traditional Indian family).

Oct. 17, 7–8:15 p.m.

Central Library, 1000 4th Ave.

Writer Angela Garbes is a genius (says me and a lot of other people). And over the next three months at The Seattle Public Library, she’s bringing together local artists and experts to discuss female middle age. According to the event description, the series will include “a book group discussion, a conversation about intergenerational care, and a talk about what we might learn from orca whales about perimenopausal and postmenopausal sexuality.” For the October edition, local writers Jane Wong and Claire Dederer will be on deck to chat with Garbes. We’re lucky we get to listen in!

Oct. 17–Nov. 3

Various locations

Seattleites can always depend on the Earshot Jazz Festival to bring some of the best local, national, and international jazz players to our stages every year. In this iteration, you have the chance to catch legendary saxophonist SKERIK, a world-premiere commissioned work from Freddy Fuego, groovy tunes from Day Soul Exquisite, and a sesh from Gabriel Teodros and Afrocop.

Oct. 17–Jan. 19, 2025

Seattle Art Museum, 1300 1st Ave.

Joyce J. Scott is a prolific artist known for her exquisitely detailed glass and beadwork. In “Walk a Mile in My Dreams,” her new show at the Seattle Art Museum, there will be over 150 of her works from the past 50 years, including sculptures, jewelry, textiles, and an original large-scale commission.

Oct. 22, 7 p.m.

Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St.

Speakers and performers like Dallas Goldtooth, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe, Delbert Anderson, Sammy Gensaw III, Black Lodge Singers, Notorious Cree, Fawn Wood, Tia Wood, and Coast Salish Canoe Families are coming together for Netse Mot, which celebrates Indigenous leadership and global unity in the face of political unrest and climate change.

Oct. 25–Nov. 9

Theatre Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave. S.

Inspired by the Underworld and the union of Persephone and Hades, Dacha Theatre has constructed an immersive theater piece disguised as a party. On its website, it asks you “to dress up, enjoy libations, dance, and help craft the narrative anew each night. Our colorful cast of deities, some familiar, some strange, will transport you to an ethereal plane where your presence will make all the difference — whether you choose to engage with them directly, or observe them from afar.” Who says partying can’t be a work of art?

Oct. 26–27

Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St.

Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is an annual celebration of life and death in Mexico, bringing together friends and family to remember those who have moved on. The Día de Muertos celebration at Seattle Center comes from a festival tradition started in 1998 in South Park that expanded to Seattle Center in 2003. This year, like in years past, the festival is inviting all to come eat, dance, sing, listen, and bring offerings to the dead.

Jas Keimig is a writer and critic based in Seattle. They previously worked on staff at The Stranger, covering visual art, film, music, and stickers. Their work has also appeared in Crosscut, South Seattle Emerald, i-D, Netflix, and The Ticket. They also co-write Unstreamable for Scarecrow Video, a column and screening series highlighting films you can’t find on streaming services. They won a game show once.