Gallery Show Awards
Our show at Magnuson Park Gallery, “Support artists while they are alive”, was juried by 6 artists and art appreciators in the LAC community: Marina, Alison, Jess, Alaina, Yevgeniy, and Annah. This means they helped not only decide which of the (approximately) 100 submitted pieces made it into the 23-piece show, but they each got to choose their top 3 favorites to be counted towards a financial award for the artist.
Also voted on throughout the show has been three people’s choice categories: “would love to own”, “most interesting”, and “most impactful”. Each of these three winners will receive a $100 award. People’s choice voting closes after open gallery hours on October 12th (12-3pm), so be sure to pop in before then to have your votes counted!
Final calculations revealed the following jury favorite winners:
1st: “Everything is Temporary” by Dawn Hubbard, $200 award
2nd: “El Caribe (in)visible / The (In)visible Caribbean” by Jo Cosme, $150 award
3rd: “Good Enough” by Dinah J, $100 award
Keep reading to learn why the jury voted for the pieces they did and hear more about the artists.
Everything is Temporary
1st place winner “Everything is Temporary” by Dawn Hubbard, epoxy clay and resin.
Alison, one of the jurors, described “Everything is Temporary” as “an open display of emotion. […] Once you take a step closer, you notice the happy flowers blocking a face covered in sparkling tears, the web of inner dismay in the body, the melting of the rainbow onto the shoulders. A clear display that things are not always as they appear.”
Artist Dawn Hubbard explains the piece as exactly that: a representation of “my inner darkness that tries to take over during times of deep hurt and sadness. It tries to tell me that I don't want to exist, but that is always temporary and there are so many beautiful reasons to exist. Each of them should be treasured. At the same time I know this monster is always lurking so I must always be careful to remember that everything is temporary.”
This artwork is the only sculptural piece in the show not mounted to the wall, and its central place in the gallery draws in viewers, inviting them to examine the tiny little lovely details. It is a light-heartedly poignant and relatable way of tackling the notion that, as juror Marina put it, it is “difficult and stressful to get through life as an artist”, driving home the show’s thesis that we need to support artists while they are alive.
See of Dawn’s work on her Instagram: @still_dawning_ and in her “Big Pond” zine interview.
“Everything is Temporary” installed in Magnuson Park Gallery in front of work by Irene Wilde, Alana Skye Crawley, Sung I Chun, and Moon Pelton.
El Caribe (in)visible / The (In)visible Caribbean
2nd place winner “El Caribe (in)visible / The (In)visible Caribbean” by Jo Cosme, photograph.
In second place is Jo Cosme’s “El Caribe (in)visible / The (In)visible Caribbean”, a photograph printed at 39” x 27” and framed strikingly in white for the gallery. Having been taken a few weeks after Hurricane María in 2017, it is a poignant representation of the hurt, anger, and loss that come with witnessing the destruction and disrespect of one’s home. As Annah, one of the jurors, puts it, “The message and metaphor [of the piece] align with the theme of the show, which is to say that as neoliberal American imperialism flaunts its wealth and power throughout the world, oppressing and ruling the Global South, the livelihood, culture, and essence of these countries are trampled beneath them -- much like the plight of a working artist.”
Jo is a Native Boricua multidisciplinary artist who has shown work with LAC several times going all the way back to our first show in 2020. She uses photo, digital art and installations to address social issues surrounding the ongoing colonization of her Homeland, Borikén (colonially known as Puerto Rico). A year after Hurricane María, she was displaced to Seattle, WA and was shocked by how little United Statesians know about the exploitative relationship their Country has with hers. This inspired her to create works that would provoke reflections on the effects of disaster capitalism and colonialism in what textbooks call the World’s oldest Colony.
In Jo’s interview for our “Big Pond” zine, she talked about the “hurdles that come from being a displaced body while learning how to navigate networking in a second language and different culture, finding a stable job which can help support my art practice, and the isolation that comes from being from a different country.” She hopes for better representation and support for Latinx arts as well as immigrant artists in the Seattle area.
See more of Jo’s work on her Instagram: @jo.cosme, website www.jocosme.com, and in her “Big Pond” zine interview.
Good Enough
3rd place winner “Good Enough” by Dinah J.
Coming in 3rd is Dinah J’s “Good Enough”. Its effectiveness lies in the combination of the title with the simple composition and colors. Alison (juror) describes it well: “This piece is deceptively simple. The first impression is comical, even. The viewer is reminded of someone who isn't very handy, miserably trying to complete a DIY task. But then, it's questionable whether the nails are holding anything together, as would be expected of nails. The nails aren't acting in any functional manner, though they do tell a story. The botched nail job is evidence of an emotional outburst, perhaps frustration, perhaps heartbreak. And they've been left to become part of the structure they're nailed into. The nails have done their job, in the end, even if it wasn't the job you'd expect of nails.”
Dinah expands on this in their statement: “With climate change, increasing economic inequality, the rise of fascism, and the targeting of "woke" culture, the US is an increasingly inhospitable place to be as a poor and queer person. I spend a lot of time walking through the city considering the meaning and purpose of the objects around me. Why did we build it like this? This piece is from a series that contemplates the incidental collaboration of built environments as they age. We all contribute to our aesthetic surroundings, whether we mean to or not. By painting functional and defunct details, I am finding beauty in surroundings not necessarily meant to be beautiful, and asserting my own belonging in the city's collaboration of meaning-making.”
See more of Dinah’s work on their Instagram @dinahstea and website dinahj.com.
The winners of these jury favorite awards all seem to have in common that they are relatable to the viewer in some way. People crave connection, and when artists make work about what they crave, the desire gets translated visually.
Thank you for coming to view our show “Support artists while they are alive” at Magnuson Park Gallery - Sand Point Arts & Cultural Exchange. People’s choice votes are open through October 12th, and all awards will be announced during our closing reception on the 14th, 2-4pm (towards the end).
-The Living Artists Collective team