For the past six months, Cliff Notes subscribers have gotten the smartest/coolest/nichest/most fascinating art recommendations from four of our favorite regional writers, Christine Miller, Rachel Elizabeth Jones, Sam Hiura, and Nia-Amina Minor. Check out their past picks in the Cliff Notes Archive here.
But here at Variable West we’re all about a diversity of voices, and we’re thrilled to introduce you to our next four columnists! Meet Kaya Noteboom in Oregon, Alitzah Oros in Southern California, Melika Sebihi in Northern California, and Fox Whitney in Washington.
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Read on to learn more about our new columnists.
Fox Whitney
Fox Whitney is a performance maker, choreographer, dancer, musician, filmmaker, actor and writer. He started the psychedelic transfuturist band Light Aloud in 2023 and founded the interdisciplinary performance project Gender Tender in 2012. Both Light Aloud and GT engage a team of collaborative artists trained in Fox’s methods informed by QT history and the surreal nature of transformation. Fox’s projects use tactics rooted in text, sound, dance, durational performance, and visual art to investigate the effects peaceful and violent forms of support and sabotage have on the bodies, minds, and spirits of the transgender and queer community. www.foxwhitney.weebly.com
Follow Fox on Instagram at: @fox_whitney_ @lightaloud @gendertenderforever
Alitzah Oros
Alitzah is an artist, art historian, and avid collector of earthly materials. They hold an MA in Art History with an emphasis in Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Art from Cal State Long Beach.
Melika Sebihi
Melika Sebihi (she/her) is an arts educator with a BA in Art History from Mills College, and is pursuing an MA in Museum Studies at San Francisco State University. She currently serves as an Interpretations and Outreach Associate at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where she collaborates with fellow arts educators to develop and lead inclusive public programming for Bay Area residents visiting the museum. Her writing has been featured in Variable West and the Mills College Academic Research Journal. Originally from the East Bay, she now resides in San Francisco on unceded Ramaytush land.
Kaya Noteboom
Kaya Noteboom is a writer and program coordinator for Project RED, a harm reduction and overdose prevention program. She is working on an essay collection and a MA in critical studies.