First Thursday @ Tether Gallery

Image by Dan Smith

Song of Tent City

Amazing that we pulled it off in such a short time! Thanks to the generous support and expert assistance of Dan Smith, Vanessa DeWolf, Dr. Clinton Lee Bliss, Christopher Wilson, Lyn Coffin, Mark Miner, Josie Elizabeth Davis, Jacqueline Juarez, Oakley, Jim Roe, Scott Morrow, Darren Norrington and others, the show opened to a healthy and appreciative audience on Thursday 6 January at Tether Design Gallery in Occidental Square. Many thanks to all who attended and offered support!! Representatives from Tent City 3, SHARE/WHEEL and Sprout were among those in attendance, along with 10 residents from Tent City and many friends from the art community! We were all mingling, there was no fence, and it felt natural and healthy enough. Items on display in the gallery include: (1) the ger in which I lived in Tent City and, inside it, my milk crate bed and sleeping bags and chair, (2) My Poet's Cape fanned out on the wall, (3) the Whitman quote that inspired it all painted on two blue tarps, (4) handwritten lines of my own original writing on the rafters, audio of the script and discussion between Tent City collaborators Lyn Coffin and Mark Miner (with assistance by Vanessa Dewolf), (5) six original works of art created by resident artists at Tent City 3, (6) letter-press printed broadsides with stencils of my yurt and blue smurfs (the tall community tents), (7) a sign-making station where people were welcome to think about what they truly needed and write that on a square of cardboard, (8) original sketches and hand penned letters from my time in Tent City. As a fundraising show, Song of Tent City will continue at Tether gallery for two weeks (gallery hours are M-F from 11am-5pm). Sales items include original framed works of art made by Tent City 3 residents, hand-stenciled broadsides with images of my ger and  TC3 tents and handmade Song of Tent City journals. Thank you for engaging with this art and for doing your part to ease the burden of homelessness in Seattle.

Audio Recordings of Artist Pairings
Lyn Coffin & Mark Miner Script (read by Mark & Vanessa)
Mark Miner Explains the Script
Mark Miner Talks about Tent City
Vanessa DeWolf & Jacqueline
Josie Davis & Oakley

TETHER GALLERY SHOW

	Opening: Thursday January 6, 2011 (6-8PM) Tether Design Gallery 323 Occidental Avenue South Seattle, WA 98104
	Residue from SONG OF TENT CITY, the self-designed poetry residency I began on 27 November at Tent City 3, will be installed at Tether Design Gallery in January 2011. The show opens at 6pm on Thursday 6 January for the First Thursday Seattle Art Walk. Includes installation, artifact, audio and live interaction during the opening. Get an idea of what it's like to live at Tent City. Sit inside the mini yurt I've been living in. Read poetry and handwritten journal entries written by homeless people living in Seattle. Listen to audio clips from artist collaborations between Seattle artists and current Tent City artists. Participating Seattle artists include Lyn Coffin, Josie Elizabeth Davis, Vanessa DeWolf, Ann Sloper and Sam Trout. Audio was graciously recorded and edited by the amazing, Christopher Wilson. Artists, on both sides of the fence, donated their time and efforts to this cause. All funds collected at the show will go to Tent City. Their greatest expense is transportation. When available, two bus tickets per day are provided to each camper, which helps them get to appointments and seek work. The next largest expenses are honey buckets and trash removal. 100 people live at Tent City 3. This gallery show will run through Thursday 20 January. This project received in-kind support from Tether and financial assistance from SPROUT! Thank you both.