Arts in the South End: 5 Things for May 2025

Happy May, dear reader. Spring has officially sprung in all its messy weather and blossoming buds. And as our environment starts to shift, so does this arts roundup. Starting this month, our roundups are going to look a little different — instead of a huge list of events, our guides will focus on highlighting just five or six events happening in or around South Seattle every month. We're constantly inundated with so much information, so my hope is to streamline a few fun things to keep an eye on through the upcoming months. We can't do it all!

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

May 1–29
4Culture Gallery
101 Prefontaine Place S.

This month, Renton-based artist Nak Bou is setting up a solo show, "Water Shop," at 4Culture Gallery. Using a mix of acrylic paint and latex, his paintings explore the various ephemera and cultural artifacts of growing up in Cambodian enclaves in Dallas and Fresno in the early 2000s. The title of the exhibition reflects his father's store — a shop that sold filtered water, VHS tapes of Chinese martial art films dubbed in Khmer, and Khmer karaoke DVDs — that he helped run as a kid. Bou's paintings are a mix of shop signs, film posters, water jugs, and photographs, a kind of tangible memory for people to gaze at and peer into.

May 10–11
Washington Hall
153 14th Ave.

The Seattle Art Book Fair (SABF) is back once again offering the good people of Seattle tons of art books, zines, and other printed media to peruse through and take home. Last year, SABF founders Jayme Yen and Tom Eykemans told me that they founded the free fair as a way to celebrate the wealth of bookmakers and book lovers here in the city. This year, there's a healthy mix of both local and non-local exhibitors — Seattle's Paper Press Punch and Cold Cube Press are exhibiting alongside Vancouver's Moniker Press and Querétaro, Mexico's Ediciones concordia. For a more comprehensive list of exhibitors, check out the Seattle Art Book Fair's website.

May 14, 7:30 p.m.
The Royal Room
5000 Rainier Ave. S.

Some of Seattle's greatest minds are coming together on May 14 at The Royal Room to discuss the importance and history of dance in hip-hop: venerated DJ Vitamin D, Stranger senior staff writer Charles Mudede, and Seattle Central College professor Daudi Abe. Together, they'll be traversing the ever-expansive genre's dance offspring, from the "Humpty Dance" to the "Nae Nae," using video clips, hip-hop dancers, and beats. Limber up before heading out — maybe you'll want to dance too!

May 24, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Rainier Beach Community Center
8825 Rainier Ave. S.

On May 24, the Rainier Beach Business District is hosting a Walk the Block Party at the Rainier Beach Community Center to highlight the wide array of businesses and artisans in the neighborhood. The center will feature lots of local vendors, entertainers, speakers, food, music, and a farmers market, as well as a kid zone and a spot for fitness activities. It's a free event, so make sure to bring along everyone for an afternoon of family-friendly fun.

May 29–31
Kubota Garden
9817 55th Ave. S.

Choreographer dani tirrell is back with a follow-up to last year's Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS (Book I) with Book II. But instead of a regular theater setting, the performance will take place at Kubota Garden, transforming the space into a utopia if Black people were to have the space and freedom to imagine. Book II brings the energy and sensibilities of the club to the godly space of church. The performance "explores ideas around death, the afterlife, and the pageantry and parade of religious ceremony. It also examines what it means to bear witness in the streets and how to bring people to 'God' outside of a traditional church setting."