Food & Drink

The Truth Is Out There at Two Sci-Fi-Themed Events This Month

Two sci-fi-related events that probe the void

By Gavin Borchert December 7, 2018

wingluke

This article originally appeared in the December 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the December 2018 issue. Click here to subscribe.

Ok, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Asians in science fiction”? Anyone other than Star Trek’s Sulu? The Wing Luke’s exhibit Worlds Beyond Here might enlighten you about Asian Pacific Americans’ contributions to this branch of pop culture—and the ways they rethink the genre as allegories of, as the museum puts it, “identity, immigration and race, technology, morality and the human condition.” (Yes, some of George Takei’s Star Trek memorabilia will be on display.)

Meanwhile, in his recent book, Light of the Stars, New York–based (but University of Washington–educated), astrophysicist Adam Frank replaces fiction with speculation, examining how research into alien civilizations might shed light on our own. (Especially if we discover evidence of an extinct civilization.) Expect climate change to weigh heavily in his related Pacific Science Center lecture for its Science in the City series.

Worlds Beyond Here: Through 9/15/2019. Times and prices vary. Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Chinatown–International District, 719 S King St.; 206.623.5124.

Adam Frank: 12/18. 7–9 p.m. $5. Pacific Science Center, Seattle Center, 200 Second Ave. N; 206.443.2001.

Follow Us

Empowering Students through Photography  | Sponsored

Empowering Students through Photography | Sponsored

The arts are an important part of youth and education. Art teaches us to look at the world beyond ourselves and at the beauty of everyday occurrences around us and within each other. Started by high school photography instructors, the Washington State High School, Photography Competition (WSHSPC), believes all children should have the opportunity to speak…

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas' 'Carpe Fin' Tells Its Story at Seattle Art Museum

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ ‘Carpe Fin’ Tells Its Story at Seattle Art Museum

Commissioned by SAM, the new piece is a 6-by-19-foot watercolor mural condensing a Haida folktale into one immense color-drenched panel

This article appears in print in the November 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe. Sensing an affinity between the iconography of his First Nation art tradition and the boldness and sweep of the Japanese film/graphic-novel visual style known as manga, Haida visual artist and British Columbia resident Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas combines the two—“committed to,” as he puts it,…

Seattle Fall Arts Preview: Inside the New Burke Museum

Seattle Fall Arts Preview: Inside the New Burke Museum

The new Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture invites visitors to interact with the cultures and objects that document our world

Rendering of the new Burke Museum’s lively lower lobby

National Nordic Museum Photo Exhibit Is a Must-See for Pop Culture and History Buffs

National Nordic Museum Photo Exhibit Is a Must-See for Pop Culture and History Buffs

A soon-to-close exhibit showcases the powerful lens of Swedish photographer Hasse Persson

IRON FIST: President Nixon was one of many political and pop cultural figures captured on camera by Swedish photojournalist Hasse Persson; an exhibit of his work is at the National Nordic Museum