Food & Drink

OBAMA Celebrates Bad Art

Upstairs at Café Racer, feast your eyes on the Official Bad Art Museum of Art

By Sam Steele May 3, 2020

1_20200310-alexcrook-4730

This article originally appeared in the May 2020 issue of Seattle magazine.

When Marlow Harris and her husband, Jo David, were given free rein over 10 square feet of a friend’s café back in 2008, they decided to honor two of their favorite things: then presidential candidate Barack Obama and bad art. Today, most of the pieces in the Official Bad Art Museum of Art at Café Racer still come from Harris’ personal collection, although the Jesus made of marshmallow Peeps is by local artist Janet Galore. Now constituting the café’s entire second floor, the OBAMA Room not only serves as a cozy refuge for Racer regulars, but provides what owner Jeff Ramsey describes as “an alternative to exposed wood, wrought iron and fake ferns,” giving young techie transplants a space to recharge away from Amazonia, and older Seattleites a little bit of grunge nostalgia.

Follow Us

Seattle Launches Public Poetry Campaign

Seattle Launches Public Poetry Campaign

Short poems on sustainability will crop up across the city in April

Poetry installations will appear across Seattle starting April 1 as part of the city’s Public Poetry campaign...

Beauty and Diversity in Art

Beauty and Diversity in Art

Seattle's art scene is embracing more voices and viewpoints than ever

Seattle has become something of a hot spot for diversity in the arts...

The Power Of Quitting

The Power Of Quitting

Giving something up is never easy, especially because society rarely rewards such behavior

I’m not a quitter... llustration by Arthur Mount

Selling Seattle

Selling Seattle

New effort from Visit Seattle showcases the city’s stunning beauty

Visit Seattle’s new three-and-a-half-minute destination video is worth bragging about...