Michelle Kumata "BIPOC on Colonialism, Nationalism, and [the harmful illusion of] White Supremacy"

Head over to Soundcloud to hear our latest episode with artist Michelle Kumata. Michelle Kumata (she, her), is a 3.5 generation Japanese American artist and Seattle native with a BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts in New York, NY. She worked as a graphic artist at The Seattle Times for over a decade and then served as Exhibit Director at Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience for 12 years. Michelle is influenced by heritage, identity and legacy. She is currently exploring the Japanese diaspora in the U.S. and Brazil through oral histories and visual storytelling. See more of Michelle’s work at michellekumata.com or follow her on Instagram @michellekumata.

In this episode from our series with BIPOC artists on Colonialism, Nationalism, and the harmful illusion of White Supremacy, we talk about Kumata’s time at Wing Luke Museum, her project on the Japanese Diaspora in the US and Brazil.

“Song For Generations”. (2019). Michelle Kumata, acrylic on canvas, 16' x 8'

We also get a deep dive into Kumata’s work "Song For Generations", and how it deals with the Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Kumata emphasizes the importance of listening to those from historically marginalized communities and really processing what is happening right now, then taking action as individuals to effect positive change. Plus, shoutouts to Wa Na Wari, and founders Elisheba Johnson and Inye Wokoma, as well as artists Roger Shimomura, Erin Shigaki, Louie Gong, and a book recommendation for everyone who is interested in learning more about Bellevue, Washington’s internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII: Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community by David A. Neiwert.

Meghan Elizabeth Trainor on "Art, AI, and Technology"

Head over to Soundcloud to listen to our fantastic conversation with Seattle-based interdisciplinary artist, writer and performer Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (not THAT one) about Computational Witchcraft, creating mythologies in order to truly own our places in spaces like tech that are historically unwelcoming to and erasing of womxn and other folxs who have been marginalized (because we have always been there, regardless of the dominant mythologies), using her project Witchcraft Memes to try to spark an interest in STEM for teens and tweens, using nurturance in community as a form of activism, her installation Elektron Oracle form the show Good Witch/Bad Witch at Museum of Museums in Seattle, curated by Bri Luna AKA The Hoodwitch, and much more.

“Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is a Seattle-based interdisciplinary artist, writer and performer.  

Trainor’s work has been shown, performed and presented at spaces that include Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; The Esther M. Klein Art Gallery, Philadelphia; Ask The Robot at The Frying Pan, New York; and 911 Media Art Center, Seattle.  

She completed her Masters at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at Tisch School of the Arts/New York University. She has been artist-in-residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Digital Performance Institute and the Janie & James Washington Foundation.

Her 2014 Pugetopolis Manifesto is included in the Feminist Data Manifest-No Playlist, Compiled by T.L. Cowan with Marika Cifor and Jessica Lapp.

She wrote The Familiar Algorhythm in 2016 which was included in the curated box-set SIGIL, a project of Sharon Arnold’s Bridge Productions.

The Hedreen Gallery at Seattle University commissioned her to create a performative response to the 2016 exhibition Robots Building Robots resulting in an audio piece called Robot Philter.

Her project #meghantrainorwitchmemes was featured in the most recent issue of continent. magazine; APOCRYPHAL TECHNOLOGIES.  

Trainor's work was included in the Danish design, technology & feminism ‘zine Wilful Technologies: Rage & Resilience edited by Madeline Balaam Lone Koefoed Hansen.  

She is currently working on Elektron Oracle, an installation for the Good Witch/Bad Witch show at The Museum of Museums gallery in Seattle. This piece grew out of her talk Witch Science on the Moon that was part of the Salish Sea Anti-Space Symposium in 2019.”

Carol Rashawnna Williams on "Art and Climate Crisis"

It is time to listen to the first episode of our Art and Climate Crisis segment with Carol Rashawnna Williams. Through her work, Williams presents climate crisis through the lens of racial inequalities. Her often-communal art experiences explore our personal relationships to the land in order to promote healing, and further our understanding and personal responsibilities—to the earth and to each other.

In addition to her creative endeavors, Williams herself is active in community-building, and has been certified through Seattle Parks & Rec as an Urban Forest Educator, spending time teaching about “…conifers, indigenous, and invasive species.”

Listen on Soundcloud, Apple Music***, and Spotify to hear us talk about all of this, her childhood in Germany and Tacoma, the changing face of Seattle, how structural inequity affects climate concerns, and what individuals can do to make a difference.