art in conversation

Emma Lee Toyoda (ep. 8)

If the history of Seattle is grunge, Emma Lee Toyoda is giving that history a twist. Calling their music "soft punk," they take on the genre with a sensitivity rooted in their own experiences. And while they might describe themselves as soft, softness isn't something they see as diluting the strength of their message, which is clear: They are who they are, and they're not taking any bullshit. We talked about their experiences performing in their teen years and carving out a home for non-binary artists in Seattle.

Coco Spadoni (ep. 7)

Coco Spadoni's relationship with their ceramics work is all about the body -- the inherent intimacy between person and clay when making a piece and the continuation of that relationship even after someone purchases it. In this episode, Coco talks about how their own relationship with pottery began, why their work focuses on stories of the body, and how they teach others to get comfortable with clay.

Paurl Walsh (ep. 6)

As the artist-in-residence last summer in Seattle’s historic Fremont Bridge, composer Paurl Walsh worked to create Bascule, a musical fusion of both classical chamber and electronic music. He talked to fields about his introduction to this music, what working in the bridge was like and how his personal relationship with it shaped his work.

Moonyeka (ep. 5)

Angel Alviar-Langley, who also goes by Moonyeka, has always been drawn to dance. After getting introduced to the popping community in college, Moonyeka's been a large part of Seattle's popping community and is currently organizing the third iteration of a femme street styles dance event called What's Poppin' Ladiez?! In this episode, fields talked to Moonyeka about joining the popping community in Seattle, storytelling through movement, and the gender dynamics at play within the dance form.

Azura Tyabji (ep. 4)

As Seattle’s fourth youth poet laureate, Azura Tyabji is working on publishing a book—and as an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, it’s an entirely new experience. Even so, she’s made a name for herself in the city’s poetry landscape by performing spoken word pieces that are deeply rooted in Seattle’s changing culture and what that means alongside her own understanding of personal identity. For this episode, Azura chatted about her experience at an experimental high school, the reputation of spoken word among poets, and why it’s important to have a youth-specific poet laureate in the first place.