Kickstarter

This November 12 and 13, Essential Arts (a non-profit arts organization) will present readings and performances at Town Hall Seattle on the theme of community, featuring artists from Seattle and New Orleans (NOLA). We will also present an art exhibit at Tether Design Gallery through the month of November. In April, the participating writers and musicians will travel to New Orleans to perform and exhibit there.

Who's involved? 12 writers and 12 designers, 2 musicians, 2 filmmakers, and a half-dozen chefs. Some marquee artists are renowned musicians Coco Robicheaux (NOLA), Robin Holcomb (Seattle), the best food blogger in the nation (says the NY Times) Molly Wizenberg from Seattle, renowned graphic novelist Megan Kelso (Seattle), award-winning poet and short-story writer James Nolan (NOLA), award-winning novelist Dedra Johnson (NOLA), chefs Tom Douglas, Matt Dillon (both from Seattle), and tons more. It's a mini-festival with some of the best from each city. Full lineup at www.bilocal.org.

The point? To share stories of community, home, food. To hear news from other times and places, and talk about what makes life good. Like an evening at your grandma’s house, just with more people. And the more these artists and audiences hear and talk about community, the better chance we all have of sustaining it.

Why Seattle? That's where Essential Arts is based. Why New Orleans? After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans had to rebuild their community, literally, from the ground up. With this year’s oil spill in the Gulf, they are faced again with a major challenge. Who better to hear tell about it?

Stories and relationships matter. Bilocal brings them home.