Design Week Portland Multiple locations, Portland
The week-long festival, featuring hundreds of independent events and open houses celebrating Portland’s vital creative communities, returns April 6–13. Read our suggestions for what to do and see here, including GRAY’s third-annual HOT NEW NEXT competition on Monday, April 8 at Design Within Reach. (April 6–13; times and prices vary)
“Signals in the Sea” Public Art Project Discussion Inform Interiors, 50 Water St., Vancouver
Hear from writer, editor, independent curator Jayne Wilkinson about the Vancouver public art project “Signals in the Sea.” The series of outdoor billboards by artists Christina Battle, Eshrat Erfanian, and Susan Schuppli explores the ocean’s surfaces, depths, and virtual spaces. Wilkinson will discuss how these projects address the urgency of the ocean by exploring the intersection of environmentalism with digital technologies of seeing and sensing. (April 9, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; free)
Chinatown-International District Walking Tour Hirabayashi Place, 442 S Main St., Seattle
Explore Seattle’s single room occupancy (SRO) residential hotels alongside professor and author Marie Wong. While discussing research findings from her latest novel, Building Tradition, Pan-Asian Seattle and Life in the Residential Hotels, Wong will examine Seattle’s Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino communities. The guided tour begins with a short presentation in the Donnie Chinn Room at Hirabayshi Place, followed by a glimpse into the district’s residential community with stops along the way at the Eastern Hotel, the East Kong Yick Building, the Panama Hotel and Tea House, and others. (April 6, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; $35)
Prince From Minneapolis Museum of Pop Culture, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle
Prince fans rejoice: MoPOP’s latest exhibit brings nearly 50 artifacts, including photos from four Minneapolis-based photographers, artwork, a guitar, and outfits from the legendary artist’s Purple Rain tour and movie. See portraits of Prince on and off the stage as a young man emerging in the music industry as well as during key moments in his career, and take a closer look at the image he created and his influence on other artists and his fans. (April 6–January 4, times and prices vary)
Amy Simons, “Structures” Phylogeny Contemporary, 2718 Elliott Ave., Seattle
Ceramicist and printmaker Amy Simons debuts “Structures,” a series of new work that continue to explore themes of gradual shifts and intentional mark-making found in her pieces. (April 5–May 4, times vary)
Leah Gerrard, “Sentiment” 4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Place S, Seattle
Sculpture artist Leah Gerrard showcases a collection of sinuous wire and found-object sculptures derived from memories. Several abstract pieces represent specific places and time ( a late-night wandering), and convey feelings or moods that sometimes can’t be articulate. (April 4–25; times vary)
Photo on homepage: Einar De La Torre and Jamex De La Torre, Principe Morado (Purple Prince) 2016