TO GIVE IN RETURN--Six Artists Who Embody the Indigenous Values of Reciprocity and Extended Community

Join us for the closing reception of the group show "To Give in Return" on September 5th, 4 to 6 PM at City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room, 600 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA

Shinzaburo Takeda, Senoritas en la carreta, oil on canvas

Juan Alonso, To tell the truth, acrylic on wood 

Fulgencio Lazo, Buscando el verano, acrylic on canvas

Ponciano Vargas, La luna roja, mixed media

Jesus Mena, Jugando la pelota, acrylic on canvas

Oswaldo Ramirez, Las buenas noticias, monotype and transfer on paper

— Seattle artists Juan Alonso, Fulgencio Lazo and Jesús Mena will exhibit their artwork alongside Ponciano Vargas "Kum-Baash", Oswaldo Ramírez and Shinzaburo Takeda of Oaxaca, Mexico in To Give in Return: Six Artists Who Embody the Indigenous Values of Reciprocity and Extended Community at Seattle City Hall, through September 6. A reception will be held September 5th, 4 to 6 p.m., with remarks at 5PM in the Bertha Knight Landes Room of City Hall.

To Give in Return includes more than 30 original acrylic and oil artworks on canvas and wood, monotypes on paper, and mixed media. Accompanying the works are excerpts in which the artists discuss the themes of reciprocity and community. While three of the artists now call Seattle home and three currently reside in Oaxaca, Mexico, all six were shaped by the formative experience of immigrating to new communities. As one of the artists, Jesús Mena, states, “Our communities might change, but the idea of ‘giving in return’ lives on.” 

While the artworks in the exhibition vary in style and medium, they are unified by the artists’commitment to making work that has a purpose and gives hope, as well as to a life of service. These artists have dedicated themselves to giving back to their communities, whether through mentoring other artists, fundraising, organizing cultural events, or struggling to create inclusive communities. Their sense of humanity is captured in this show. 

To Give in Return is on view in the City Hall Lobby Gallery and Anne Focke Gallery (located on the L-2 level of City Hall), 600 Fourth Ave. Gallery hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call (206) 684-7171 or visit www.seattle.gov/arts. 

The exhibition and a four-fold, color brochure were made possible through the support of the University of Washington American Ethnic Studies Department, Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle Oaxaca Connection and the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.