Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

Here in Washington State, we are surrounded by a vast landscape of natural resources. When you are enjoying the outdoors, do you ever wonder about the state of these resources or the role that we play in their preservation? Big River: Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin is a new book-in-progress and visual storytelling campaign exploring the Columbia River system and its expansive watersh...

What does it mean to bear witness to a city in flux, where the echoes of inequality, gentrification, and community resistance reverberate through its streets?  Author and activist Reagan Jackson's collection of essays,  Still True, poses this question and chronicles her journey into the world of journalism. Equal parts personal testament, structural interrogation, and social criticism, Jackson off...

Headlines from around the world flash on our television screens and appear on our newsfeeds, but we don't always know what life is like for journalists who often risk their lives to deliver the news.  New York Times  columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and bestselling author Nicholas D. Kristof has penned a memoir,  Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life about his four decades in and out of the newsroom —...

When given the option, most people will go out of their way to avoid risking life and limb. However, the world is full of people who face untold dangers daily, by circumstance or by choice, and walk through life with a greater understanding of death than many possess. After a career as a war reporter and examiner of dangerous occupations, Sebastian Junger would've considered himself well-versed in...

You're planning a road trip — you've got snacks, you've got directions from Los Angeles to New York, and you've got a deep sense of curiosity and longing as the home you know fades quickly into your rearview mirror. For the forty-five year old artist at the heart of Miranda July's  All Fours , the pull towards the unknown proves a little too tempting. She pulls off the highway a mere thirty minute...

Many of us have sought information about our family history, trying to solve those unanswered questions about our predecessors. In the quest for truths about others through examining their lives and lineage, we may also find truths about ourselves in the process. In his latest release and nonfiction debut,  The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit...

Our Hollowness Sings  by Ruth Dickey explores human brokenness, navigating themes of loss, grief, and the quest for healing. Through seasons of profound absence, particularly the loss of her mother, Dickey crafts a poetic journey tethered to the earth, transforming grief into affirmations and blessings. The collection celebrates the human spirit's resilience, offering striking insights into everyd...

When it comes to our own mortality, one big thing that we all share is that we absolutely have to face it and most of us have no idea how to begin. Through her work as a death doula, Alua Arthur has honed the skills to aid others in navigating these uncertain seas- from the many logistics within end-of-life care to the often unpredictable cravings for human connection and understanding. These vuln...

Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren't. In his new book,  There's Always This Year , Abdurraqib tells his story of a lifelong love of the game with a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of who we think deserves success, the tension between ex...

Growing up in the mountains of Utah, Cory Richards was constantly surrounded by the outdoors and was taught how to ski, climb, mountaineer, and survive in the wild. Despite a seemingly idyllic childhood, the Richards home was fraught with violence, grief, and mental illness. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dropping out of high school, Richards subsumed himself in the worlds of phot...

Get ready to tantalize your taste buds and elevate your cooking game. Embark on a culinary journey with  Seriously, So Good , featuring recipes crafted with love by Carissa Stanton, the creative force behind the food blog  Brocc Your Body . Originating from her passion for food and community, Carissa's philosophy centers on enjoying meals without restrictions, embracing balance, and savoring every...

What is it like to grow up as a sociopath? Is it possible to lead a normal, successful life after such an earth-shattering diagnosis? In her memoir,  Sociopath , Patric Gagne sheds light on the often misunderstood disorder. From a young age, Gagne grappled with feeling different from her peers, unable to experience emotions like fear, guilt, or empathy. This disconnect led her down a tumultuous pa...

Do you ever think of what you eat as being political?  Back in 2017, celebrity chef Mario Batali sent out an apology letter for the sexual misconduct allegations made against him and infamously included a recipe—for pizza dough cinnamon rolls. Shortly after Batali's recipe, went viral, Popular blogger Geraldine DeRuiter decided to make the recipe and then she wrote about it . Her subsequent essay,...

Go from "what the heck is this" to "how does it taste so good" in a celebration of misfit vegetables. Maybe you just discovered celery root (a lumpy, softball-sized bulb), at the grocery store. Or perhaps you received watermelon radishes in a CSA package. Did a parsnip catch your eye at the farmers' market? Even vegetables you think you know, like cabbage or brussels sprouts, will reveal next-leve...

Town Hall's 2024 Scratch Night featuring the work-in-progress of our Artist-in-Residence Maia Brown In collaboration with  Brivele bandmate, Stefanie Brendler, Maia crafts an intimate evening that dives deep into the Yiddish archives of anti-fascist poetry and song, offering a glimpse into their creative process. Maia Brown, a visual artist, Yiddish musician, and educator, brings a rich background...

Explore the life cycle of Seattle artists in a dynamic round table discussion hosted by Sarah Traver, director of Traver Gallery. Join the conversation on transforming artistic practice into a flourishing and creative career within the vibrant artistic landscape of Seattle. Esteemed artists  Esther Ervin, Henry Jackson-Spieker, Steve Jensen, Pohlman Knowles, and Jeanne Marie Ferraro all connected...

Looking back through history, it is obvious that the presence of music has had a profound impact on the daily lives of humans, our cultural rituals, and the evolution of civilization as a whole.  Yet in public discourse, we still tend to separate conversations about music from those about civics or politics. We frame music as a product for entertainment when in reality the practice of music is dee...

What do we learn when an anthropologist and a historian talk about food? Across endless eras, landscapes, and civilizations, humanity's relationship with food has played the part of one of the landmark features of culture and community. We feel this on both the micro and macro scale — from learning a recipe passed down through generations of one's own family to the excitement of exploring an unfam...

The  Village Voice  aimed to show readers something that mainstream publications wouldn't:  live theater productions climbing through the scaffolding of off-Broadway venues; moments in music from hip-hop to jazz to punk; New York City civil issues, like corrupt landlords; and global issues, like the AIDS crisis. Through decades of independent reporting and first-hand accounts within the myriad sub...

What does it mean to be a proudly queer Indigenous woman in the United States today? Sasha LaPointe, winner of the 2023 Pacific Northwest Book Award for her memoir,  Red Paint,  shares a new collection of essays that navigate the complexities of indigenous identity, challenge stereotypes, and address cultural displacement and environmental concerns.  Thunder Song draws inspiration from her family'...

If you're a part of the Seattle arts scene, chances are you've come across Tessa Hulls.  She has a hand in many local creative communities, including Seattle Arts & Lectures (where you might have spotted her illustrations on the 2021 Summer Book Bingo Card!), the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and the Henry Art Museum. She's also the lead artist in the Wing Luke Museum exhibit "Nobody Lives H...

Have you ever lost something or someone dear to you?  Though it ranges in severity and impact, loss is a shared human experience – an inevitable, inescapable part of life. Praised for her humor and sharp wit, essayist and novelist Sloane Crosley delivers her first memoir  Grief is for People , exploring how loss can take many forms. After the pain and confusion of losing her closest friend Russell...

You'd be hard-pressed to find a person whose life went unchanged in 2020, arguably one of the most consequential years in human history. It marked an unprecedented time, left indelible memories in our minds, and set off ripple effects we still feel even today. Disruption of normal life was nearly universal; however, the  ways in which we experienced disruption were varied. Acclaimed sociologist an...

Three expert guests discuss the implications of AI and the fine arts in a conversation m oderated by Steve Scher.  Scientist and founder of the Artists and Machine Intelligence program at Google,  Blaise Agüera y Arcas , will offer his "news from the front" about the latest developments in AI capabilities, and what he foresees ahead.   Alex Alben , technology executive, author, and law professor,...

Hip-hop education is more than just music; it's a dynamic tool for fostering student success and intellectual growth. James Miles, known as the Fresh Professor, is renowned for his engaging teaching style. By infusing lessons with content that's inspirational, intellectually engaging, and relevant to students' lives, Miles demonstrates how teachers can use hip-hop education to help students better...