The Design Datebook is GRAY’s weekly list of must-attend design and cultural events in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver. For additional events, visit our calendar.
Natalie Krick and Barbara Kruger Exhibition Blue Sky Gallery, 122 NW 8th Ave., Portland
Explore works from conceptual artist Barbara Kruger and photographer Natalie Krick at Portland’s Blue Sky Gallery, including Krick’s series “Natural Deceptions”—made in collaboration with her mother and sister—that employs the visual styles of fashion photography and celebrity portraiture, but with a female gaze that refrains from hypersexualization. Kruger’s photo-based works feature her signature graphic-style layered over found images and digital prints, which provide a critique on consumerism and gender stereotypes. (March 7–31, times vary; First Thursday opening reception, March 7, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., free)
UW Architecture Winter Lecture Series ft. Taiji Miyasaka Room 147, UW Architecture Hall, 3950 University Way NE., Seattle
The latest installment of the UW Department of Architecture’s quarterly lecture series will feature Taiji Miyasaka, architect and professor at Washington State University School of Design and Construction. (March 6, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., free)
Laura Bartunek, “Because It Rains” Center for Architecture and Design, 1010 Western Ave., Seattle
Olson Kundig associate Laura Bartunek’s award-winning proposal “Because It Rains” challenges how we think about weather through a series of illustrations, stories, and architectural research models that examine the concept of rain as a creative catalyst in design. Experiencing rain as friend rather than foe can change how we interact with our built environment, she proposes. (March 7–May 25, times vary; opening reception March 7, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Art Deco Architecture Walking Tour Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University St, Seattle
Set out on foot during this two-hour tour and explore some of Seattle’s best Art Deco-era skyscrapers, including the 23-story Exchange Building on Second Avenue, the 27-story Seattle Tower (originally known as the Northern Life Tower), and the Washington Athletic Club. (March 9, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., prices vary)
Tracy McMenemy, “The Girls Are Coming!” Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver, BC
Vancouver-based artist Tracy McMenemy will debut her powerful tribute to 60 women brought to Victoria, BC, in the 1860s by way of a bride ship in this exhibition. Expect sculpture, installations, and paintings, including works in which McMenemy used fragments of torn antique sail cloth to represent each female victim. (March 9–June 16, times vary)