Youth Culture

The Inlander

2008 Visual Arts Tour

by DANIEL WALTERS, CARRIE SCOZZARO and TERRY LAWHEAD

"Terrain" is an opening salvo from the Wonderground Collective - a small "guerrilla" organization dedicated to blasting Spokane's young musical and artistic talent into the public eye.  

"There's something worth talking about here," says Mariah McKay, Wonderground's 24-year-old co-founder. "People are slowly awakening to the potential of what our city has."  

While working with KYRS Thin Air Radio, McKay saw dozens of talented, passionate artists toiling away on their own little islands of creativity, most of them unaware of all the other passionate artists who were stranded on other islands. To help turn those islands into a continent, she formed Wonderground.

For Terrain's terraformers, location was key. The stop on the Visual Arts Tour had to be deep in the heart of downtown Spokane. Wonderground winnowed 40 possible locations for the event down to one: The old Sterling Bank vault on Post Street. Tom Stieritz, the building's owner, donated the space to spotlight the positive creations of the younger generation.

"It has to do with the renovation and resurrection of downtown Spokane," Stieritz says. "This was a dead area 15 years ago."

The Vault will be packed to the brim with musicians, poets, dancers and comedians performing in genres ranging from rock 'n' roll to neo-soul, from hip-hop to power pop. And those are just the performing artists. Lining the halls and walls of the vault will be paintings, photographs, videos and mixed-media conglomerations. Let's face it: The entire event is a mixed-media conglomeration.

"It's a real smorgasbord," McKay says. "Putting them all in the same level at the same time creates an interesting dynamic."

Many of the event's performers see Terrain's different styles and types of art as intertwined, crackling with symbiosis.

"I think music and visual art can go really well together," musician Dane Ueland says. Empyrean, Ueland says, has already found success by promoting art pieces at their concerts.

"It's hard enough to get people to come to concerts," says Kaylee Cole, who will be playing a mixed set with Ueland. "I'm not an artist, but I imagine that it's difficult to get to people to come to art shows."

Cole hopes Terrain's combination of music and the visual arts will meld together the audiences for both.

Artist Scott Kolbo says Terrain will bring a unique audience and viewing mindset to the artwork displayed. "What I like the most about the Terrain concept is it takes the art out of the gallery," Kolbo says. "It's not like you're going someplace just to see a work of art. It's a holistic experience."

In particular, Kolbo says he's impressed with Terrain's non-commercial feel. "It's more of a celebration of things being made than of selling them." Kolbo says. "You get the sense that they're throwing the show together for a day, and it's going to be a crazy blowout."

Both Kolbo and Ueland weren't familiar with many of the artists booked for Terrain. That's perfect, McKay says. Introducing innovators to each other is a vital aspect of Terrain. A few handshakes and "Mover, I'd like you to meet Shaker" moments and the artistic community becomes that much closer.

"There's this kind of residual roaring going on underneath the surface of Spokane," Wonderground member Ginger Ewing says. Terrain aims to expose and amplify that.

McKay says it's happening already. She says Spokane is becoming a more confident and unique city, gradually defeating its own defeatism. "Spokane's identity is becoming more infused with the sense of pride and integrity - less of a sense of being lost or just another generic American city." McKay says. "We're starting to tell our own stories and take control of them."

So perhaps Terrain is less of an earthquake or tsunami wave of creativity, but more like an inkwell. And on Friday night, dozens of diverse artists are showing up to dip their pens.

- Daniel Walters

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