Reliving the Barge

Last year artists Sarah Kavage and Nicole Kistler collaborated on an art installation called The Living Barge Project that opened Seattlest's eyes two facts. One, Seattle has a river. Two, that river sucks. We took a tour of the Duwamish to hear about some of the environmental nightmares that exist in and around it and to see Sarah and Nicole's Living Barge, which was exactly what it sounds like: a barge, planted and beautiful. We crushed on it so hard that we were one industrial accident in the Bay away from absconding with it under cover of night and breaking for open water. That was a year ago. Now the Barge has been dismantled and replanted in South Park and while the river may still suck, at least a whole lot more people are aware of it. Seattlest for one. Rivers never actually suck, of course, and the Duwamish is no exception, but the lower five miles just before it empties into Elliott Bay around Harbor Island are a Superfund site. PCBs, PAHs, mercury, phthalates, blah blah blah. You're a bitter pill, industry.

Tomorrow night from 8-11pm at The Alibi Room where Kavage has since become curator they're dredging up (heh) all the footage of the barge and rolling it. Unedited, uncut, unseen previously, it'll be like a three hour vacation slide show if your Mother-In-Law just got back from a Superfund site. Actually, it won't be anything like that, probably. We have a prior engagement, but encourage you to go and if you do please tell the artists that we're looking forward to some Youtube clips of the highlights.