SLU Fall Arts Preview

South Lake Union’s vibrant arts scene is kicking off a new season, with exciting exhibitions and performances filling the calendar in the coming months. Here are some highlights.

We Are All Made of Light

MadArt Studio

September 4–December 1

Art and technology work together in this immersive exhibition created by Seattle-based artist Maja Petric in collaboration with Microsoft principal researcher Mihai Jalobeanu. The site-specific installation uses interactive light, spatial sound, and artificial intelligence to explore human connection, meshing together the audiovisual trails of studio visitors from the past, present, and future.

Venn Pirouettes

Winston Wachter Fine Art

September 5–October 17

Inspired in part by the formulae-covered chalkboards from his university statistics classes, trained economist and self-taught artist Michael Schultheis’ latest body of work—which includes paintings and cast bronze sculptures—employs mathematical equations and symbols to express the ways our relationships with other people influence our inner selves and the paths we take through life.

Four Seasons

Emerald City Music at 415 Westlake

September 15

Tango composer Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons in Buenos Aires, performed on strings and bandoneon concertina, serves as the focal piece for the first show in Emerald City Music’s new season. The program is rounded out with three eclectic chamber music duos: Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata performed by Chad Hoopes (violin) and Li-Tan Hsu (piano); Bottesini’s Gran Duo Concertante performed by Angelo Xiang Yu (violin) and Daxun Zhang (bass); and Wiancko’s American Haiku performed by Ayane Kozasa (viola) and Paul Wiancko (cello).

Stories

Winston Wachter Fine Art

September 21–October 27

The latest collection of paintings by artist Kate Neckel, a recent transplant to Seattle from New York City, features bold outlines and totemic symbols as an abstract reflection of the energy of her new home town and her journeys through it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Seattle Repertory Theatre

October 5–November 10

Based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel about the unlikely friendship that develops between two Afghan women in war-torn Kabul, Ursula Rani Sarma’s stage adaptation delves into the same themes of defiance, secrets and sacrifice. Directed by Carey Perloff and produced in association with San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

Borealis

Museum of History and Industry

October 11–14

The façade of MOHAI will serve as the canvas for dazzling video-mapping light installations by Northwest and international artists during this free weekend festival. Guests can stroll around the grounds enjoying the kaleidoscope of colors and live music, feast on tasty treats from food trucks and kick back with a drink in wine and beer garden.

A People’s History

Leo K. Theatre at Seattle Repertory Theatre

October 17–November 25

In his autobiographical one-man-show, author and actor Mike Daisey compares the accounts of American history found in a battered copy of his old high school textbook with those in Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking A People’s History of the United States. The series of 18 stand-alone monologues touches on everything from Columbus’ landing to today’s political landscape.

Music Café

Emerald City Music at 415 Westlake

October 26

Created to evoke the atmosphere of an intimate café, Emerald City Music’s program of 20th–century French impressionist and American composers includes Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Poulenc’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano, Schoenfield’s Café Music and others. Ian Swensen (violin), Dimitri Murrath (viola), Michelle Djokic (cello), James Austin Smith (oboe), Peter Kolkay (bassoon), and Julio Elizalde (piano) perform.

The Neddy Artist Awards Exhibit

Cornish Playhouse Gallery

November 5–January 9

The largest artist awards in Washington state, Cornish College of Arts’ annual honors recognize visual artists in two categories: painting and open medium. This show presents works by the winners, who will be announced in September.

In the Heights

Seattle Repertory Theatre

November 23—December 30

Before Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wowed Broadway with his adaptation of Quiara Alegría Hudes’ novel. Set in New York City’s largely Hispanic-American neighborhood of Washington Heights, the Tony Award-winning musical introduces a vibrant cast of characters balancing their cultural traditions and their dreams for the future. The show is produced in association with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Daedalus Quartet

Emerald City Music at 415 Westlake

November 30

Called “a fresh and vital young participant in what is a golden age of American string quartets” by The New Yorker, the foursome composed of violinists Min-Young Kim and Matilda Kaul, violist Jessica Thompson, and cellist Thomas Kraines brings new energy to classical music. The program includes Janácek’s String Quartet No. 1 (Kreutzer Sonata), Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile from String Quartet No. 1, and others.