Arts & Entertainment
Art shows accepting applications; arts commission offering grants
As the season shifts toward sunnier, warmer times, artists’ creative energy begins to surge and they look for ways to share their art with others, whether it’s painting, sculpture, music, poetry, whatever.
Local arts organizations are gearing up for summer and fall events that showcase the work of artists and craftspeople, and have announced deadlines for submitting applications.
Peninsula Art League
PAL’s Summer Art Festival returns to downtown Gig Harbor July 16-17 after a two-year, COVID-induced absence. The event draws upwards of 10,000 visitors every year, making it one of the region’s most popular street fairs. Artists from throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond — including many from Gig Harbor — will show and sell their work.
Gig Harbor artist Ann Stockdale won the Best of Show award at PAL’s 2021 Open Juried Show for her painting, Four Amigos. Charlee Glock-Jackson / Gig Harbor Now
“We are so pleased to bring this wonderful event back after such a long absence,” PAL President Colette Smith said. “There really is something for everyone at the festival — art-making activities for kids, all kinds of unique art and crafts for sale, live music, food trucks and even a literary corner where local authors and book illustrators talk about their work — all in a genuinely happy, welcoming atmosphere. We’re extremely grateful to the city of Gig Harbor and to our sponsors and all the artists for supporting the festival and making it such a great event.”
Approximately 125 artists and craftspeople participate each year, selected by a jury of professional artists, art instructors and gallery owners. The jurying committee changes every year. Application deadline for this year’s festival is Feb. 28 through https://zapplication.com/.
Applications are also being accepted for PAL’s annual Open Juried Show that will take place in Sept. 9-Oct. 29 at Harbor History Museum. That show features work created by artists from as far away as Texas, New York and even Canada, selected by a juror who also chooses the artworks that will receive monetary awards during the show. More than $6,000 in prize money will be awarded in categories that include painting, sculpture and photography.
This year’s juror, Theresa Saia, is well known for her pastel, oil and watercolor paintings. Saia will also teach a workshop on “Creating Dynamic Landscapes” Sept. 10-12 at the Nichols Community Center on Fox Island. To apply for the Open Juried Show, visit https://onlinejuriedshows.com/.
Information on PAL events will be available on the organization’s website at peninsulaartleague.com.
Open Studio Tour
The annual Gig Harbor Open Studio Tour takes place Sept. 16-18 when upwards of 30 local artists welcome the public to their studios over a three-day weekend.
According to longtime participants Miriam and Dan Barnett, co-chairs of this year’s tour, it’s “… a great opportunity for local artists to connect with community members and share their talent.
“For us, it has always been financially rewarding as well,” Miriam Barnett said in an email. “We really enjoy sharing the process of how we make our pottery and jewelry with those who venture up our long driveway.”
The group is looking for new artists to participate through a two-part selection process: first through a virtual review of examples of the artist’s work, then in an in-person presentation of several actual artworks. The digital screening deadline is March 1; the in-person screening will take place March 6. For details and application forms, go to https://gigharboropenstudiotour.org/join.
Arts Commission Grants
Again this year, the city of Gig Harbor’s Arts Commission will award grants to local individuals and organizations who create events or projects that provide artistic and cultural experiences to the community. Past grant winners have produced events such as band concerts, a Make Music Day celebration, projects that provide art-making opportunities to elementary school kids and poetry readings.
The Harbor Ukulele Group performed at the June 2021 Make Music Day in Uptown. Courtesy photo
“The Creative Endeavor Grant is more than a grant, it’s a community of people passionate about supporting our arts program,” Jennifer Gabe said in an email. Gabe is the president of the Gig Harbor High School Band Boosters. “The grant has been instrumental in keeping the Gig Harbor High School band program alive during the pandemic!”
Marla Morgan, co-founder of Peninsula Hands on Art, agreed.
“The grant program is an intricate part of our funding and a critical component of keeping our wonderful artsy community vibrant and current,” Morgan said. “Without funding from grants like these, programs like Peninsula Hands On Art and many other arts organizations would not be possible. Thank you to the city of Gig Harbor and the Arts Commission.”
United by Music North America used its 2021 grant to produce Gig Harbor’s inaugural Make Music Day, the local component of an international musical celebration of the summer solstice.
“This vote of confidence for our inaugural event was like a shot of creative adrenaline in a time when making and sharing music came to be widely recognized as a great healer and source of joy,” Barbara Hammerman, president and co-founder of UBMNA, said. “The grants are a rich community catalyst for making and enjoying music, visual arts and exceptional special projects. Appreciation for a city that understands the lasting value of supporting the arts.”
Kids display the artwork they created during the Hands on Art program. Courtesy photo
Information about the Creative Endeavor grants is available on the city’s website at http://cityofgigharbor.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=787.
Application deadline is noon, March 1. Applicants are also asked to discuss their project ideas with the arts commission in an informal meeting on March 8. First-time applicants can learn more about the grants and the selection process in an online question-and-answer session with commissioners on Feb. 10.