Upcoming Visual Art Events in Spokane
Find the best upcoming visual art events in Spokane! Discover the best art gallery events, live art performances and much more from the best artists in the state! This fall and winter are packed with tons of exciting things to do, so don't miss out on any of these top upcoming art events in Spokane.
Spokane's Best Art Shows | 2022-23
CHAD “LITTLE COYOTE” YELLOWJOHN: MASKED PRESERVATION
Through Oct. 25
Check out @lil_coyote on Instagram, then check out Chad “Little Coyote” Yellowjohn’s contemporary illustrations in real life. This talented young artist, who hails from the Shoshone-Bannock and Spokane ancestral lines, is the modern face of regional arts activism, including recent depictions of various Indigenous people dancing while wearing a gas mask. In honor of Indigenous People’s Day, Yellowjohn is leading an artist’s talk and performing a ceremonial grass dance on Oct. 10 beginning at 11:30 am (weather dependent) outside Building 6.
Spokane Falls Community College Fine Arts Gallery
Open Mon-Fri from 8:30 am-3:30 pm, free
KRISTA BRAND: PERIPHERY
Through Oct. 28
For this local artist, one’s man’s trash is, indeed, treasure that’s ripe for inspiration and creative interpretation. As a multidisciplinary artist, Krista Brand is focused on exploring our relationship with urban litter and plastic waste. By incorporating materials found in parking lots, curbsides and other locales into art, such familiar throw-away objects may take on new meaning for the viewer. When she’s not making art — such as pieces displayed in her solo show this fall at Whitworth’s Bryan Oliver Gallery — Brand is an academic coordinator and art instructor at Washington State University. An opening reception (5-6 pm) and artist lecture (6 pm) for “Periphery” are set for Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Whitworth Bryan Oliver Gallery
Open Mon-Fri 10 am-4:30 pm, Sat from 10 am-2 pm, free
OPENING RECEPTIONS: IRWIN NASH & JUVENTINO ARANDA
Oct. 7
The Inland Northwest has no shortage of art museums, and these two ongoing exhibits at Washington State University’s Pullman campus are jampacked with gorgeous visuals and rich culture. “Our Stories, Our Lives: Irwin Nash Photographs” shines a spotlight on Washington’s agriculture scene and features photographs that span 11 years through the rise of labor and protest movements. Guest curator Lipi Turner-Rahman shares her process to select Nash’s photographs for the exhibit in a guided conversation. Meanwhile, Juventino Aranda showcases his art that relates to the social, political and economic struggles of late capitalism and notions of the American dream in “Esperé Mucho Tiempo Pa Ver,” which translates to “I Have Waited a Long Time to See.”
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Guided conversation 3-4:30 pm, reception 4:30-6 pm, free
KATIE CREYTS: TRAPPINGS
Through Nov. 4
Her artwork looks cute, but beware the bite of social commentary, which artist and Whitworth University arts professor Katie Creyts incorporates in a new series exploring how humans and animals interact. “We push cultural needs on the natural and alternately want authentic and idyllic nature to be available for our pleasure,” says Creyts, who layers and fuses glass together to create complex and visually compelling pieces. “My work engages this pleasure of viewing artwork, the ‘trappings’ of materials and color, animals and decoration, but visual cues are placed to prick deeper contemplation.”
North Idaho College Boswell Hall Corner Gallery
Open Mon-Thu from 10 am-4 pm and Fri from 10 am-2:30 pm, free
NEW TO YOU
Through Jan. 7, 2023
Maybe you’ve stopped by the Jundt Art Museum on Gonzaga’s campus before, or maybe not. Either way, its current exhibit, “New to You” is for all museum visitors, old and new. The show features pieces from the Jundt’s collection that have never been on display before. Even though the museum has been open since 1995, its vast collection of art is seemingly never ending, teeming with surprises in every gallery.
Jundt Art Museum
Open Mon-Sat from 10 am-4 pm, free
EMILY SOMOSKEY: SURFACING
Sept. 29-Nov. 3
Using digital collages and paint, Emily Somoskey creates art that is truly out of this world. It seems as if viewers have been taken to another plane where their surroundings don’t quite make sense. Though she’s from Ohio, the artist is currently working as a visiting assistant professor of art at Whitman College in Walla Walla. In this show, Somoskey explores the ways humans experience physical and mental space simultaneously.
EWU Gallery of Art
Open Mon-Fri from 9 am-5 pm, free
MEL McCUDDIN
Oct. 1-31
Few artists at The Art Spirit Gallery get a truly solo show; most monthly exhibits feature at least two to three artists, and sometimes four to five. But Mel McCuddin is special in many ways, including his instantly recognizable style (if you’ve exited the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, you’ve probably done so under the watchful eyes of McCuddin’s painted figures) and his longevity. McCuddin has exhibited at The Art Spirit for 25 years, since the gallery opened, and has been painting for more than twice as long. Correction: had been. McCuddin’s 2022 solo show is his last.
The Art Spirit Gallery
Open Thu-Sat from 11 am-6 pm and Sun from 11 am-3 pm, free
ORBITING MISFITS / 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Oct. 7-29
Call it a supermoon! New Moon Gallery is hosting “Orbiting Misfits,” an invitational exhibition featuring more than 70 artists from Spokane and Seattle, and curated by former Spokane artist Tim Lord, known for his fantastical paintings and eclectic style. Concurrently, the gallery is also celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a private party during the regularly scheduled First Friday artwalk (RSVP to luna@newmoongallery.art by Oct. 3 to secure your spot). The anniversary party will spill out of the Sprague Avenue gallery space and onto a newly renovated outdoor area with beverages and food available for purchase.
New Moon Gallery
Open Wed-Sat from 11 am-5 pm, free
LILA SHAW GIRVIN:
Oct. 9-March 12, 2023
The name Lila Girvin might be familiar to anyone involved with the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (back when it was the Cheney Cowles Museum) or the Spokane Symphony, both organizations for which she’s served on the board. But Girvin’s interest in the arts goes back much further and is much more personal. Girvin has been painting since the ’50s and although she has shown her work regionally, the MAC’s feature exhibit is the first time modern audiences will be treated to a large body of Girvin’s ethereal abstract paintings.
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Open Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm and third Thursdays from 10 am-9 pm
PAMELA CAUGHEY: UNFORESEEN
Oct. 7-Jan. 7
A defining moment in Pamela Caughey’s life and career involved a catastrophic 2016 fire that destroyed her Hamilton, Montana, area home and studio. Caughey has since rebuilt her art practice creating paintings with a combination of acrylic paint, wax and pigments. Caughey shares her practice with viewers via classes and YouTube videos that encourage experimentation and free-form creativity. Learn more about her process in this comprehensive exhibit initially scheduled before the pandemic shutdown.
Moscow Contemporary
Open Tue-Fri from noon-5 pm and Sat from 10 am-1 pm, free
MEGAN ATWOOD CHERRY: PRECIOUS CARGO
Nov. 29-Jan. 27
Toward the end of the semester, students and visitors to North Idaho College will get an eyeful of challenging artwork from Megan Atwood Cherry, a former NIC instructor-turned-arts program manager for the city of Moscow. Her newest series, “Precious Cargo,” combines painted wood, stone and fiber. “While the works are somewhat fraught with improvisational and urgent construction methods, the soothing of surfaces with paint suggests care, consideration, and possibly, celebration,” writes Cherry in her artist statement. Find out more by attending the free artist’s talk on Nov. 29 from noon to 1 pm, followed by a free reception.
North Idaho College Boswell Hall Corner Gallery
Open Mon-Thu from 10 am-4 pm and Fri from 10 am-2:30 pm, free
