For the past six months, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Jaydra Johnson, Brittney Frantece, Blessing Greer Mathurin, and Quintessa Matranga have picked the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast!
Variable West is excited to introduce you to our next four Cliff Notes columnists! Meet Jade Ichimura in Washington, Hayashi Wilder in Oregon, Emily Small in Northern California, and Renée Reizman in Southern California.
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Keep scrolling to learn more about our new columnists!
Jade Ichimura is an artist and art historian originally from San Francisco. She previously worked at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum (2017-2019) and de Young Museum (2023-2025), where she supported the education and interpretation departments. Recently, Jade relocated to Seattle, Washington, to pursue her Master’s in Art History at the University of Washington, focusing on modern and contemporary Japanese art and technology.
As a self-taught artist, Jade has been working with different mediums for over fifteen years, including digital art, watercolor, illustration, acrylic, and colored pencil. Having a background in art, museum education, and technology, she is concerned with the role art and technology play in our culture – particularly how digital mediums will transform the landscape of art and arts spaces.
Hayashi (she, they) is an emerging artist, curator, and researcher raised by her familial matriarchy in Summerton, SC. She is most drawn to culture and art in rural communities and feels a rooted connection and commitment to her ancestral knowledge and experiences. They completed their undergraduate studies at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and is currently a candidate for a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies and a Master of Arts in Critical Studies at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She lives in Portland, OR with her life partner, dog, and bunny.
Emily Small is a writer and artist based in San Francisco.
Renée Reizman is an interdisciplinary writer and artist. She works within diverse communities to co-author stories about infrastructure and social change. Her writing appears in The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Hyperallergic, Observer, The Atlantic, Art in America, and more.
Headshot photo credit: Argel Rojo