Cultural

Make no mistake: there are rich cultural offerings throughout Spokane. From the annual Gathering at the Falls Powwow to the South East Asia Cultural Association’s events featuring internationally-renowned musicians and dancers, to Fiesta Spokane (the Hispanic Heritage Festival), Unity in the Community, and so much more. These events and gatherings weave together music, food, dancing, art, storytelling, and more, creating celebrations of heritage while welcoming people of all cultural backgrounds.  

Event: Opens October 12
One Heart Native Arts & Film Festival – Love & Fury

6th Annual One Heart Native Arts and Film FestivalLOVE AND FURYOctober 12-16, 2021Featuring the critically acclaimed documentary film, LOVE AND FURY, by Sterlin Harjo. The One Heart Native Arts and Film Festival is the premier Native arts and multimedia cultural festival event in the Inland Northwest. Now celebrating its 5th year of showcasing the diversity and vitality of contemporary Native artists, One Heart continues to broaden its audience through the shared community interest and education in Native arts and film in a virtual setting.

Event: Opens October 2
Fall Fest Artist Fair

As part of this year’s Fall Fest events in downtown Spokane, Spokane Arts will be hosting an Artist Fair at the Pavilion at Riverfront Park on Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Local artists and artisans will be showing & selling their work, including paintings, photography, prints, cards, wearable, ceramics, jewelry & more! Find new artwork for your home this fall and get a head start on your holiday shopping!

Event: October 8
Bedtime Stories

The Bedtime Stories fundraiser has included prominent Northwest novelists like Charles Johnson, Tom Robbins, Jess Walter, Sharma Shields, Jamie Ford, David Guterson, August Wilson, and Garth Stein. The events also feature the presentation of the Humanities Washington Award. This year, spend an hour listening to Charles Johnson, Tiffany Midge, and Jess Walter read original works about coming Together Again. The event will feature a welcome poem from Poet Laureate, Rena Priest, testimonials from Prime Time Family Reading, and a fundraising opportunity you won’t want to miss!

Event: September 3
Steve Belzman Memorial Mural Dedication

Please join Avenue West Gallery for the dedication of our new Memorial Mural honoring  Steve Belzman, longtime contributing member of our gallery. He had such a positive influence on all our member artists and on the Spokane art scene, it is fitting that the mural dedicated to him covers a large portion of our exterior gallery wall.  Painted by local artist Aaron Smith, who is well known for his local urban murals, the mural depicts a lively kayaker racing down the Spokane River.  Funding was provided by a SAGA grant and private donations.

Artist
Mary Welcome

Mary Welcome (Palouse, Washington/Idaho) is a multidisciplinary cultural worker. As an artist-organizer, her projects are rooted in community engagement and the development of intersectional programming to address equity, cultural advocacy, inclusivity, visibility, and imagination. She brings a nuanced perspective to the contemporary field, as an organizer working in service to small towns, as a cultural producer across American geographies, and as a facilitator of place-based arts programming.

Artist
Rachael Alt

I consider myself a pixel manipulator. I specialize in digital art since I wasn’t high school. That was 30 years ago when I began my love of computer graphics.

I consider myself a pixel manipulator. I specialize in digital art since I wasn’t high school. That was 30 years ago when I began my love of computer graphics.The apps on the android play store are the main apps I use. My objective has been to produce new media using generative new media apps. I like to push the limits of the app and create things that people aren’t doing yet I guess you could say that would be influencing. I find it relaxing and calming and very exciting.