 "A Walk in the Night," one of Nicolette Scrivner's cartoons. By Jessica Liu “I definitely have way too many ideas, and sometimes I need to focus on just one,” Nicolette Scrivner laughed. “It’s really hard for me to pick because I love them all.” These words capture the passion driving Scrivner’s art, passion evident in the hours of work and energy she devotes to writing and drawing comics. Bold lines and vibrant colors characterize her artwork, making each image eye-catching and captivating.
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 Actress, singer, and activist Aneesh Sheth. By Anya Shukla and Kathryn Lau “I dreamt of a world where Shakespeare and the identities I hold could share space,” said Aneesh Sheth during the introduction to her play, “Much Ado About Nothing.”“Because the opportunity for South Asian trans woman like myself to play Beatrice is nonexistent.”
By Anya Shukla  “I hope that my music makes someone happy, or makes someone laugh, or lifts someone up when they’re not doing well,” James Fall said, guitar in his lap. At first glance, I characterized Fall as adorably awkward: he’s more laid back than the typical rock star. But while he may not have the classic guitar-god attitude, his passion for music soon became apparent—between questions, his hands almost unconsciously strayed to his instrument.
 Cadex Herrera, along with several other artists, painted the mural above in George Floyd's memory. (Herrera) By Anya Shukla On May 25, 2020, a group of Minneapolis artists—including Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain, among others—created a mural in honor of George Floyd. Their piece has since received extensive publicity from outlets such as CNN to the Former President Barack Obama himself. We were lucky enough to speak to one of the mural’s designers and painters, Cadex Herrera, to learn more about the artwork, as well as the community response to the piece.
By Anya Shukla In 2019, Elisheba Johnson, Inye Wokoma, Jill Freidburg, and Rachel Kessler started Wa Na Wari, a Seattle organization housed in the historically-black Central District. Located in Wokoma’s grandmother’s home, Wa Na Wari celebrates black artistry through events, workshops, and art exhibits. I spoke with Elisheba Johnson to learn more about her artistic practice, as well as Wa Na Wari as a whole. Q: How did you first get started in art? A: I started writing poetry in middle school. I wanted to be the Poet Laureate of the United States—which was, you know, like who ever gets that job, but I thought it’d be cool. Other than that, however, I never really thought I would be in the art world. But something just moved me right before my senior year of high school: I was like, “I want to go to art school.” So I started taking every art class I could take, in school and outside of school, pulled my portfolio together, and got into Cornish College of the Arts.
By Anya Shukla “I love music,” Grae Violett said a few minutes into our interview. “You can have two people who hate each other and disagree on everything, but they might still have the same favorite song.” A mix of thoughtfulness and introspection, that sentence embodies Violett herself: a talented singer/songwriter/poet whose work deals with topics of identity and belonging.  Grae Violett “I’ve been doing art for forever—music was always around me,” Violett noted. Her earliest memory is of singing along to Neyo and Maroon Five in the car, and her parents, who are “not musically inclined, but really like music,” often took her to concerts and shows. Nevertheless, she only seriously saw herself as a musician after she toured Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts at fourteen: “I realized that I really want to go to this school,” she said. “That gave me a fire to really hone in on my talent and figure out what I want to do.” To learn more, she dove into musical theater and youth arts boards such as Seattle Art Museum’s Teen Arts Group. It was through the latter that she discovered Totem Star, an organization providing music mentorship and accessible studio space for young artists.
By Anya Shukla If I had to describe Trisha Beher in one word, I would pick the slightly cheesy “artivist.” When I first talked to Trisha Beher, I thought she was just a visual artist. As we spoke further, however, it became clear that she has explored a variety of disciplines, from digital art to music. But the one throughline that connects her diverse practices? Beher wants her artwork to make an impact.
By Anya Shukla I wish to dedicate this article to the strong women in the arts that kept me going. To my all-girls family (they don’t do art, but one plays a little bit of piano), Ms. Was, and other wonderful artists/teachers that put faith in me. - Huong Nguyen “I can show you some, if you want.” Huong Nguyen moves offscreen. I hear a rustling noise. She comes back holding several sheets of white paper. “They’re so cute!” she says, excitedly holding the pages to the camera. “This sounds so cheesy, but I carry these with me at school. During lunch, I just open them and read them,” she adds. Houses and trees, drawn with colorful markers, fill each sheet. Each month, Nguyen receives several of these adorable pictures from orphanages.
By Anya Shukla and Kathryn Lau Over the past few months, we have seen an uptick in crimes against Asian-Americans due to fears surrounding COVID-19: in Seattle’s International District and Chinatown, for example, Asian restaurants have been vandalized. However, Keoke Silvano, a Filipino photographer and advisor at the University of Washington, recently facilitated an art project to support these businesses. We spoke with him to learn more. Q: Could you describe your recent work in the International District? A: I was just driving by Jade Garden—that’s a restaurant in Chinatown that I see frequently—and I saw they were putting boards up. I thought they were closing the doors—that’s what you think when you see people boarding up a building—so I stopped and learned that somebody had broken out the windows. I knew that when you have boards up on a building, it’s an open invitation to taggers to just come in and do some graffiti art. I wanted the owner to have a little more control over his property. So I talked to him about painting murals on those boards; I then put a call out for artists on Facebook. And in 30 minutes, people already wanted to come and paint.
By Anya Shukla Adem Wijewickrema’s aunt, a photographer herself, gifted him his first camera when he was only five years old. He’s been taking pictures ever since: of the places he’s traveled, cars, and the city. In eighth grade, Wijewickrema also started a photography business; now, he gets booked for birthday parties, car shows, sports videos, and even a New York Times bestsellers’ food showcase event. Additionally, Wijewickrema leads the 60-person photography club at his high school. He starts the year off by asking members to bring in photos for him to critique, then he teaches students about camera basics, like f-stop and shutter speed. Afterward, the club takes field trips around the city to practice what they’ve learned. “There are not a lot of people my age who actually have a camera and can call themselves a photographer: everyone just takes photos on their phone. So the fact that there are sixty kids coming to me—week after week—who are interested in this… it means a lot to me.” Wijewickrema said.
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