Last year, the Yakima Arts Commission, an advisory group appointed by the Yakima City Council, developed an idea to harness the creativity of Central Washington artists to help invigorate windows of empty downtown storefronts by displaying their work as part of a new project called, \u201cWindows Alive!\u201d. Based on similar projects that have proven successful in other cities, \u201cWindows Alive!\u201d is part of an ongoing effort to bring new life and activity to Downtown Yakima.<\/p>\n
Following a submission and evaluation process that took place earlier this summer, six outstanding artists from the region were chosen to be part of the 2014 \u201cWindows Alive!\u201d exhibition, which will run from September 26th<\/sup> through January 25th<\/sup>. To kickoff the project\u2019s fall exhibition, a reception will be held on Friday<\/strong>, September 26th<\/sup><\/strong> from 4:00 pm<\/strong> to 6:00 pm<\/strong> on the first floor of the JEM Building located at 321 East Yakima Avenue<\/strong>. The six artists chosen to display their work through January 25th<\/sup> of next year will be on hand at the reception to talk about their pieces and to help explain the concept of the \u201cWindows Alive!\u201d project.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpty windows in unoccupied storefronts send a message that isn\u2019t very positive,\u201d said Yakima Cheryl Hahn who is chairperson for this year’s “Windows Alive!” project. \u201cThe idea behind \u2018Windows Alive!\u2019 is to fill those storefront windows with beautiful art and create a more engaging and vibrant environment downtown. The project also gives local artists a wonderful opportunity to showcase their work,\u201d said Hahn.<\/p>\n The six artists who were chosen for \u201cWindows Alive!\u201d, each of whom received a $250 stipend, are Lynda Adams (digital media prints), Gretchen Bartz (painting), Alice Beckstrom (glass) , Carol Fletcher (fiber art), Craig Hotchkiss (sculpture installation), and Christie Tirado (serigraphs, woodblock prints and linocuts). After the first displays complete their four-month run in January, they will be replaced with a new set of displays that will go up in February.<\/p>\n In addition to the contributions made to the project by the Yakima Arts Commission, support has also been provided by the City of Yakima, JEM Development, Inc., Stems, Gasperetti’s, Action Window Cleaning, David Lynx and the Yakima Bindery.<\/p>\n For additional information is available at www.windowsalive.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n