Let’s kick the month off through a celebration of our Asian and Asian American community through the power of art and stories. There will be an artist talk, poetry reading, Asian treats, performances, photobooth, and karaoke! Free and open to the public. We will have limited free tickets to get free food and drinks from our local business partners: Serai Mas, Boots Bakery & Lounge, Spokane Slice, and Black Label Brewing Co.
🗓️ First Friday, May 1st. Doors at 5pm. Program kicks off with Spokane Taiko at 6pm!
- 6:00pm – Program Kickoff
- 6:30pm – Artist Talk Panel
- 7:00pm – Poetry Reading
- 8:00pm – Karaoke Time
In celebration of Asian American Heritage Month in May, we are bringing together local Asian/Asian American artists for a month-long collective art exhibit at the Saranac Building Lobby—where the marker of the historic Trent Alley/old International District can be found—to bridge our intergenerational community stories. Honoring the life and contributions of Japanese Americans in the United States, the exhibit will also feature renowned artist Patti Warashina’s piece “Woman with Pear”—a newly acquired sculpture from Marmot Art Gallery by the The Saranac Building.]
In the lobby of the Saranac Building, where the Trent Alley marker stands as a witness to Asian community history in Spokane, we’re building a bridge we can step into. Be the Bridge is a shared space where art carries what words can’t always hold. Each piece in the exhibit is its own span of memory and imagination, and together they form an arch that only exists because our voices are placed side by side. Not one artist, not one story—but a collective narrative made stronger by interconnected past, present, and future. The strength of us is together.
This year’s exhibit feature the works of Patti Warashina, Jiemei Lin, Brianna Miller, Remelisa Cullitan, Margaret Albaugh, Kiara Lime, Katrina Brown (김홍주), Lain Bundalian, and Azadeh Weber.
Learn more about the exhibit and artists here.
Our Opening Reception is also made possible by Asians for Collective Action, Arts Fund, Waters Meet Foundation, Community and Saranac Building, Avista Foundation, Gesa Credit Union, Hifumi En Society, Gonzaga University’s Office of Inclusive Excellence, Gonzaga University’s Division of Student Affairs, KH Consulting, Arcora Foundation, YWCA Spokane, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Peony Counseling, Electric Photoland, Global Neighborhood Thrift Store, Hatch Beaker + Burr.