Bellingham National 2023 Juried Art Exhibition, Acts of Healing and Repair, The Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA

Bellingham National member reception: Saturday, November 11, 5 – 7 p.m.

Bellingham National juror talk and exhibition tour: Sunday, November 12, 12 – 1 p.m.

Nov. 11, 2023 – Feb. 25, 2024

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October 5, 2023

Artists Arriving in Bellingham for New Museum Exhibition, “Healing and Repair”

BELLINGHAM, Washington — “I never want to be bad. I only want to do my best.” That line, scrawled onto a small white board in child’s handwriting, is from a short film called “Please Understand,” which chronicles the yearning hopes of incarcerated youth. It’s one of nearly 80 pieces that will be featured in the Whatcom Museum’s fourth biennial juried exhibition Bellingham National, opening November 11, 2023. Both long-established and up-and-coming visual artists from across the U.S. will exhibit paintings, sculpture, textiles, video, photography, and more – all responding to this year’s exhibition theme, Acts of Healing and Repair.

Grace Kook-Anderson, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum, is this year’s guest juror. She had the difficult task of carefully selecting the artworks for this expansive exhibition from the hundreds submitted for consideration.

“Bellingham National shines a spotlight on processes and practices from contemporary artists nationwide,” said Whatcom Museum Curator of Art Amy Chaloupka. “We are grateful to all the artists who applied to be considered for the exhibition, and it was particularly heartening to see the ways they express and visualize the concept of healing.”

From reflections on the COVID pandemic, recovering from personal trauma, and self-care to centering critical social justice issues, the topics around healing are as varied as the artworks themselves. For example, in her powerful short film “Please Understand,” storyteller Lindy Boustedt gives a voice to incarcerated students – children – who share with us one thing they each wish we knew.

“The artists have addressed this theme with deep and raw honesty. To be able to witness that through the jurying process was a personally boosting experience,” adds Juror and Curator Kook-Anderson. “The act of healing is expansive, uplifting, and grounding. But repair also comes with rupture and the work of mending and nurturing. Breath, time, and motion are part of the healing process, and these attributes of resilience are reflected in the exhibition.”