As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back on all the writers and artists we had the privilege of working with.
We brought you fifty-two weeks of Cliff Notes, our guide with the best art in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, courtesy of our superlative writers: Fox Whitney, Alitzah Oros, Melika Sebihi, Kaya Noteboom, Jaydra Johnson, Brittney Frantece, Blessing Greer Mathurin, Quintessa Matranga, Hayashi Wilder, Emily Small, Jade Ichimura, and Renée Reizman.
Explore the full Cliff Notes archive and sign up for our free newsletter here.
Writers across the West Coast contributed critical analyses and stunning narratives about eighteen exhibitions, ranging from the final exhibition at San Francisco’s inestimable Pier 24 Photography and an intimate look at the group show of Louise Bourgeois and Isabelle Albuquerque at lumber room in Portland to Andrea Castillo’s tender and radical tribute to immigrant-run storefronts and a group exhibition in Seattle showcases the complexity and duality of Black identity.
Check out our full archive of exhibition reviews here.
Our writers had conversations with six outstanding artists, including Nia Musiba, Emily Counts, Lenworth McIntosh, Christopher Baliwas, Laura Camila Medina, and Victoria Dugger.
Dive into five years of artist interviews here.
We also published pieces in two of our favorite columns. For Pairings (art that makes us think of food and food that makes us think of art) Zeumla Barr connected the cheesy work of LeBrie Rich to snack foods. Katherine Jemima Hamilton wrote a Love Letter to Anthony White’s opulent still life paintings of mass-produced objects and icons.
We launched a partnership with Seattle’s Wa Na Wari to support Phillip Russell, our inaugural writer-in-residence. So far, Russell has written about Wa Na Wari’s annual Walk the Block celebration, their current exhibition, and contributed an interview with Victoria Dugger, whose work is currently on view.
Lastly, we held our first event and gathered on a warm summer evening in Portland to hear from some of our favorite writers and artists about how art and ecology inform their lives and work. Huge thanks to our contributors Nykelle DeVivo, Meech Boakye, Jade Novarino, Jodie Cavalier, and Monica Uszerowicz.
It’s an honor to steward these words and ideas each year, and we couldn’t do it without the support of our wonderful readers. If you want to contribute to our mission to support and empower the West Coast art world by nurturing regional communities and international conversations, you can sign up to be a monthly subscriber or make a one-time donation—both are tax-deductible!
In solidarity,
Amelia Rina
Founder & Editor in Chief