The Engine Room Residencies: Jambalaya Jam

We are excited to host the final music residency to activate Gary Simmons: The Engine Room, which features seven local artists—D’Vonne Lewis (drums), CD Littlefield (trumpet), Gerald Turner (bass), Thaddeus Turner (guitar), Vitamin D (DJ), Darrius Willrich (keys/vocals), and Tiffany Wilson (vocals)—brought together to create and jam in a fashion that revives the “Jambalaya” improvisational and experimental jam sessions of Seattle music’s recent past. 

We invite you to visit the gallery and experience the musicians' process while they are rehearsing, writing, and experimenting in the space. 

In-gallery public rehearsal date: July 10, 1-5 PM

Live Performance Broadcast via the Henry’s YouTube channel: July 17, 6 PM (PDT)

Gary Simmons: The Engine Room, on view through August 22nd, guides the framing of this residency and its intention to center and support Black artists of Seattle’s creative scenes. At the center of the exhibition is Garage Band, a 24x24-foot installation inspired by suburban garage spaces and their associated mythos of inspiration, invention, and tinkering. Garages have long been spaces for DIY artists to explore their creative practices with relative freedom. The interest of this residency is to see how this exploratory, jamming space can be translated into a large, open museum gallery. Beyond Garage Band, the exhibition also hosts a suite of new paintings and sculptures, as well as B Sides, a massive erasure drawing Simmons created for this exhibition that channels the songwriting of Jimi Hendrix—all fuel for the artists to be in dialogue with as they approach creating or re-creating in the space.

Invited artists will spend several days during the month of their residency (May, June, or July) within the garage installation and the gallery to tinker with, improvise, and share their musical craft in both private and public engagements. Each residency will culminate in a live-streamed performance.  

Gary Simmons: The Engine Room programs are co-organized by the Henry and LANGSTON, an arts & culture organization that guides generative programs and community partnerships that center Black art, artists, and audiences and honors the ongoing legacy of Seattle’s Black Central Area. Co-organization and production support for the Engine Room Residencies provided by Bubba Jones. The program is presented in conjunction with Murmurations, a Seattle-wide arts collaboration featuring a series of exhibitions, performances, screenings, community conversations, artist talks, and other programs co-developed between cultural organizations. Learn more about Murmurations and upcoming events at facebook.com/MurmurationsSeattle.