Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail
Jun
6
5:00 PM17:00
gallery

Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail

“Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail,” is a gallery of art entirely from incarcerated people from Whatcom County. The show is coordinated by the Whatcom Pen-Pal Project, a writing program seeking to reduce the isolation of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) by facilitating connections between the inside and the outside world. Though the gallery features a breadth of themes and displays the range of people’s capabilities, a consistent theme is Envelope Art, the longtime prison tradition of using your letters to the outside as a canvas for your work. It acts as a form of resistance to the constrictive rulings of life while incarcerated. 

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Live Talks w/ Bill Ayers & WCJ Artists, Opening of Unchained: Art From WCJ
Jun
6
6:00 PM18:00

Live Talks w/ Bill Ayers & WCJ Artists, Opening of Unchained: Art From WCJ

Join us on First Friday’s Art Walk, June 6th for the opening of Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail, organized by Unchain Whatcom, the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, and Make.Shift Art Space.

Down in the venue, we’re welcoming longtime activist Bill Ayers, coming to Bellingham from his hometown of Chicago, Illinois! Ayers, will be joined by our very own Education Director Beth Girma in facilitating live phone call interviews into the Whatcom County Jail to speak with some of the very artists that made this show possible.

$11 pre-sale and $15 (cash only) at the door. Doors at 6pm. Profits will be donated to the Unchain Whatcom Pen Pal Program, which deposits monthly commissary funds to incarcerated people in Whatcom and across WA state.

Books, such as Ayers’ When Freedom is the Question, Abolition is the Answer, as well as:
This is Where by Louise Waakaa’igan
American Precariat by the Minnesota Prisons Writers Question
A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writings from Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey
will all be available for purchase during June 6th and 7th events from Bookshucker.

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Live Readings from the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW): Opening of Unchained: Art From WCJ
Jun
7
8:00 PM20:00

Live Readings from the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW): Opening of Unchained: Art From WCJ

Join us on Saturday, June 7th for the opening weekend of Unchained: Art From Inside Whatcom County Jail, organized by Unchain Whatcom, the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, and Make.Shift Art Space. June 7th marks the opening of our new Education space, located at 205 Grand Ave, directly behind Make.Shift by the alleyway!

We will be welcoming participants and coordinators with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, an organization that fosters literary community and a devotion to art inside Minnesota correctional facilities through high-quality creative writing classes and related programming.” They seek to “empower writers, challenge stereotypes about the incarcerated population, and promote a vision of rehabilitation and restorative justice through art.” Writers, poets, and editors, Fong Lee, Erin Sharkey, and Louise Waakaa’igan will read their selected works!

$11 pre-sale and $15 (cash only) at the door. Doors at 8pm. Profits will be donated to the Unchain Whatcom Pen Pal Program, which deposits monthly commissary funds to incarcerated people in Whatcom and across WA state.

Books, such as:

When Freedom is the Question, Abolition is the Answer by Bill Ayers
This is Where by Louise Waakaa’igan
American Precariat by the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (MPWW)
A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writings from Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey
will all be available for purchase during June 6th and 7th events from Bookshucker.

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Tapestry Crochet 101
May
24
1:00 PM13:00

Tapestry Crochet 101

Saturday, May 24th from 1-3pm at MakeShift Art Space (306 Flora St.) $15 (including material fees). Facilitated by Education Director and fiber artist Beth Girma.

Learn the basics of crochet-tapestry, creating graphic designs and patterns. The workshop is beginner-friendly and will cover: reading patterns, switching colors, and creating designs. Participants will leave with a small tapestry piece of their own!

  • All ages and experience levels are welcome

  • No one is turned away for lack of funds. Additionally, sliding scale pricing is available. Please contact us first for this option.

  • Email education@makeshiftartspace.org with any questions or concerns.

  • Materials are included in the cost of the workshop.

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8 Families in Gaza Teach-in: Amplifying Their Voices
May
17
1:00 PM13:00

8 Families in Gaza Teach-in: Amplifying Their Voices

Saturday, May 17th from 1-3pm at MakeShift Art Space (306 Flora St.) $0-$15 sliding scale-pricing, with facilitator payment going to the families. Facilitated by community members from the Whatcom Coalition for Palestine.

An action-based presentation on the lives of eight families currently living in Gaza, from those connected with them in Whatcom County. Folks will also be directed in ways to take action!

  • All ages and experience levels are welcome

  • No one is turned away for lack of funds. Additionally, sliding scale pricing is available. Please contact us first for this option.

  • Email education@makeshiftartspace.org with any questions or concerns.

  • Materials are included in the cost of the workshop.

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HUES x Make.Shift Presents: Roots and Rhythms
May
16
7:30 PM19:30
gallery

HUES x Make.Shift Presents: Roots and Rhythms

WWU student club “HUES” (Honoring, Uplifting, Unheard Experiencing in Storytelling,) will be holding a unique multimedia fundraiser highlighting both local music and local BIPOC poets. As well live poetry from HUES’ own members, an open mic will also be present for others to participate in to share their own poetry and experiences.

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OPEN MIC -- Make Shift T.V: Public Access
May
10
6:00 PM18:00

OPEN MIC -- Make Shift T.V: Public Access

We’ve got something special cooked up for you this month — a one-time-only Open Mic experience closed off with a group jam sesh facilitated by the illustrious LipStitch…. And it’s all gonna be filmed!

The night will start at 6pm, as we always do, with a standard Open Mic — come with your best rendition of the Duck Song or a piece of poetry you’ve held dear to your heart for the past six years, or tell us all about how shapes are a government conspiracy to get you to do more math (all acts we’ve seen before)

Standard Open Mic will close off around the hour mark with a short set from LipStitch to get the ball rolling for the jam sesh that follows. Bring your own instruments, or use ours, and follow along with our provided Song Book!

Please note: This will be a filmed event, the edited footage will be posted online to our social accounts, including Instagram and Youtube, and will be submitted to broadcasting on local public access television, as well as FreakScene’s live broadcast. Because of the nature of this filming, Consent and Image Release forms will be provided as you sign up. Everyone who is able and willing to be recorded is encouraged to sign the form, but for those who can’t, appropriate measures will be taken to keep everyone comfortable.

6pm--9pm

All ages

Free!

Make.Shift

306 flora

NO BOOZE NO DRUGS NO JERKS

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Visual Basics: The Lips
May
10
1:00 PM13:00

Visual Basics: The Lips

Saturday, May 10th from 1-3pm at MakeShift Art Space (306 Flora St.) $15 (including material fees). Facilitated by local artist Zion Georges.

A workshop focused on drawing the shape and form of the lips using graphite and charcoal tools. We will explore ways to imply depth with drawing tools along with the anatomy and texture of lips. Participants will walk away from this workshop with completed drawings and sketches.

  • All ages and experience levels are welcome

  • No one is turned away for lack of funds. Additionally, sliding scale pricing is available. Please contact us first for this option.

  • Email education@makeshiftartspace.org with any questions or concerns.

  • Materials are included in the cost of the workshop.

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Kids Artwalk: FUTURE MYTHOLOGY
May
2
5:00 PM17:00
gallery

Kids Artwalk: FUTURE MYTHOLOGY

Future Mythology

The 8th anual collaboration between Make.Shift Art Space and students at Samish Woods Montessori! Students have imagined myths written by humans of the distant future,to explain and remeber events in human history still to come. These works are interpeted by local artists. Each artists response piece will be displayed next to the student painting that inspired it.

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OPEN MIC- FREE!
Apr
12
6:00 PM18:00

OPEN MIC- FREE!

OPEN MIC CALL! We are looking for you! Performance art, Spoken word, Noise, Rappers, Beat Makers, Comedy, Drag, what ever you got! Every second Saturday our venue becomes your venue!

Sign up available in the Gallery from 5pm-6pm when the event starts . Sign ups go all evening

6pm--9pm

All ages

Free!

Make.Shift

306 flora

NO BOOZE NO DRUGS NO JERKS

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Art walk: The Red Cathederal by Good Boy Mercantile and Hypersymbol
Apr
4
5:00 PM17:00
gallery

Art walk: The Red Cathederal by Good Boy Mercantile and Hypersymbol

The Red Cathedral is a collaborative show, featuring chainmail by Good Boy Mercantile and paintings by Hypersymbol. The artists envision the Cathedral as a gothic medieval church, such as might be encountered by a wanderer in Arthurian myth. Within the Cathedral, the artists offer modern-day wanderers an opportunity to contemplate the mysteries present in our world, and to connect to far-distant generations of people who reached towards that mystery through religion, narrative, and art.


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