Crush/Repeat 2019 – Q&A with Sarah and Makenna

April 2019

1. Is this the debut of the show?
It’s not- it’s actually our fourth show. Our first was in a friend’s basement on Beacon Hill with less than 20 artists for just one night in 2014. We popped up again in 2017 as a more public project, and we’re doing it annually now. We’ve been at Artspace Mt Baker Lofts and Love City Love, and now we’re thrilled to be at Gay City for a whole month this year- with nearly 100 artists participating.

2. What was your inspiration for the show?
There is a project that started in Philadelphia called “Fun-a-day,” which we’ve essentially copied. Participants pick a small project to repeat every day during one of the winter months, and bring it all together for a show at the end. A friend of a friend put on a Fun-a-day show in Portland, and organizer Sarah Brown was so excited about the idea that she both made art for that show and organized the first Crush/Repeat the same year in Seattle with two friends. Makenna O’Keeffe joined Sarah in 2017 and it’s been full speed ahead ever since.

We both come from DIY backgrounds and have figured out a lot on the fly as the show is grown. This is the second year we’ve been part of Art Walk, and part of the intention of that choice is to challenge the barriers that exist between the elitist, exclusive, capital A “Art” world and spaces that are welcoming and representative of a wider audience . There are many art spaces where people may not even feel comfortable walking in and viewing art, let alone be inspired to create it themselves. We try to validate all expressions of creativity and strive to build community through art in an intentionally anti-capitalist structure.

3. What can we expect to see in the show?
In preparation for this annual community event, participants of all ages and experience levels chose a small project to repeat every day during the month of March. Mediums include photography, woodworking, painting, sewing, sculpture, music, writing, video, dance, and more. Topics range from lighthearted to deeply personal, from envisioning new futures to reconciling the past. There will be a short live showcase at 7PM on opening night (4/11) for performance based projects.

The nature of the project means that we don’t know what will be seen until days before the show. We try to keep the energy flowing and put up the art as soon as possible after it’s been created in order to activate and build on what’s been called into form. This project is open to anyone, although the majority of participants have always been queer and trans people.

4. What were some of the challenges with organizing this show?
The structure of this show means that we don’t really know what exactly and how much art we are showing until days before the opening. We have some idea, but how it will all fit together is something we are always figuring out on the fly. It’s a fun roll of the dice that can be stressful at times. We’re also growing, and even as this is exciting we worry about maintaining a personal feel to the show. We both have full time jobs- Sarah is a public elementary school teacher and Makenna is an architect at a small firm who is actually co-sponsoring our show (Third Place Design Co-operative). Right now this show feels like another full time job, but we love it!

5. What were some of the things you learned while creating this show?
Even though the process is messy and hard, and there is a time about 2/3 of the way through every March where we are always convinced that everyone is going to drop out and we won’t have a show; we get to trust in our community and experience them coming through in beautiful form. The art is medicine- shaking off the stagnation of winter people are expressing so many facets of themselves and setting new phases of activity in motion. We get so much volunteer help, and this project is truly a labor of love by and for our community.

6. What do you hope people will learn from this project?
The impact of this project lies with the structure- that one person might create something small one day, but by the end of month have built a significant cumulative piece. They can then bring it to a show to join scores of other pieces by artists who have gone through the same process. Viewers feel the potential, that something huge and beautiful can be built in this collective way, that we can take this template and reuse it to create the world we want to see. This is the way we can take down capitalism and white supremacy- with repeated sustained actions by individuals joining up strategically with the repeated sustained actions of others.

7. Is there anything else you would like to add?
We got a grant from the Office of Arts and Culture this year, which we are thrilled about. Among many other things, that has allowed us to expand and offer mini-grants to low income, POC, disabled and/or QTPOC artists for art supplies. We also have workshops and a movie night this year!
Here’s the full show schedule:

Opening party:

Thursday, April 11th 5-9 PM with short performance of writers, musicians and dancers at 7pm. (Capitol Hill Art Walk)

Gallery viewing hours:

April 12th-May 4th
(Thursdays 5-7, Fridays 1-7, Saturdays 1-5)

Saturday special events:

4/13- Self portrait Salon:

Drop in between 2-4pm and we’ll have all the supplies you need to capture the essence of yours truly, with Madelena Romansic and other Crush/Repeat artists on hand for guidance as needed.

4/20- Embroidery Open House:

Drop in between 2-4pm and we’ll have all the supplies you need to get started with your own embroidery project, with Bernadette Wright and other Crush/Repeat artists on hand to help.

4/25- (6PM) Movie night:

Come see video and photography projects on a big screen, including Mocha Jean Herrup’s lectures on Taylor Swift: queer conspiracy theories, white supremacy, neoliberal feminism, and sick beats; way more fun than driving a new Maserati down a dead end street.

4/27- (2-4PM) Writing as Ritual and Magic Making:

Crush/Repeat artists Shelby Handler and Anis Gisele are poets, witches, and believers of your work. Come magic with them through free-writes and gentle, generative workshopping! Let us know you’re coming by emailing [email protected].

Closing party: Thursday, May 9th 5-9pm (Capitol Hill Art Walk)

*All events and spaces are fully ADA accessible and have a strict fragrance free policy.

Be sure to check out Crush/Repeat’s Facebook page and follow along with this years event.