Cliff Notes
Each week, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Jaydra Johnson, Brittney Frantece, Blessing Greer Mathurin, and Quintessa Matranga pick the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast.
Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music
Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle, WA
May 17, 2025 – January 1, 2027
The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) is iconic because it celebrates otherworldly experiences & aesthetics, high-technology, and speculative genres across cultures, genders, and various other identities. They have a new exhibition opening this month that is sure to make history and music lovers swoon.
Conceived by Associate Curator Adeerya Johnson, Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music explores how integral music is to Black communion; funk and soul train parties of the ’70s, reverberations in the Blues of the early 20th century, the Spirit moving through the congregation during church services. Creating and listening to music is one of the many ways Black communities express lived experiences and deep-seated feelings. I anticipate an exhibition that is as educational as it is joyful—an immersive and resonant experience.
Opening night, May 16th, is not to be missed. The “Legacy of Jazz in Seattle” is a panel of historians and Seattle musicians, including Stephanie Johnson Toliver of the Black Heritage Society of Washington and blues and jazz musician Jacqueline Tabor. I’m definitely excited to be in the heart of such a strong, communal sonic experience.
Reflection: What genre of music do you like to experience in community with others?
Other People’s Poems: Joyce Chen
Open Books: A Poem Emporium, Seattle, WA
Occurs monthly
Who doesn’t love a good poetry reading? By playing with language and literary devices, poetry allows for a surreal experience that both feels real and out-of-this-world.
Other People’s Poems is a different experience. Each month, this reading series features poetry lovers who read works from other poets, especially poems that have significantly impacted them. It’s cool because oftentimes the readers are poets and writers themselves. What a treat it is to get into the interior of a poet’s mind to see who influenced and inspired them, to see remnants and ghosts of other writers in some of these writers we might have heard around town.
Hosted by Ally Ang and Cody Stetzel, this month’s Other People’s Poem will feature cultural critic and essayist Joyce Chen, who’s currently working on a memoir-in-essays; multi-genre writer and educator Amy Hirayama who writes about food, humor, and family/community; poet and storyteller Diana Xin, who writes stories about complicated and familiar life situations in different geographical locations—from Beijing to Boston.
Reflection: Who influences your creative practice the most?
Zahyr Lauren; The Artist L.Haz’s Black Interstellar Hazmats
Woolworth Window Installation at Space Works Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
May – June 2025
In the windows of Woolworth Department Store in Tacoma, and in partnership with Spaceworks Tacoma, Zahyr Lauren, also known as The Artist L.Haz, presents Black Interstellar Hazmats. L.Haz is most recognized for their intergalactic and futuristic subject matter, vivid geometric shapes and textures, gender inclusive fashions, and commitment to Black cultures. In this installation L.Haz brings us another way to explore Black space and earthly travels.
The installation is a multiple textile experience. The centerpiece of the installation is a set of hazmat suits fashioned with L. Haz’s designs. These full-body jumpsuits have a contrasting blue, gold, and grey colorway, symmetrical shapes and lines, and multiple textures stitched together. We are asked to imagine these hazmat suits as shields and protection for traveling Black Space Beings against systemic racism and oppression on Earth. More concretely, we are asked to imagine Black protestors wearing the suits as they face violence and harassment while standing for justice.
The hazmat suits also reflect L.Haz’s personal history with travel and migration. L.Haz honors their own familial migration from Oklahoma to Mississippi, paying special attention to Black matriarchies paving roads for future generations.
Reflection: If your family or your community needed protection, what would you provide them?