Tarrang Art: Participant Spotlight on Charmi Shah
Today we’re sitting down with Charmi Shah to talk about Tarrang Art, and her experience in Seattle Restored’s 1st Ave Artist Residency – a unique space featuring a blend of retail, gallery space, and working studios, providing artists opportunities to collaborate, experiment, and sell their work.
Charmi is a mixed media artist with roots in India – her work is vibrant, richly, textural and a fusion of traditional and contemporary influences.
Q: Tell us about your artistic focus. where do you draw inspiration from?
As a mixed media artist with roots in India, my work is a unique fusion of traditional and contemporary elements, reflecting my cultural heritage and personal experiences. My work has vibrant colors, rich layers of texture, and deep jewel tone patterns that are a reflection of being born into a culture that is radiant with festive and celebratory color. I love the process of art making. As an art teacher, being around kids, having fun, playing and not taking myself too seriously when I’m working in the studio is important. Exploring with different mediums, like acrylics, inks and collage to visually express my ideas on canvas also inform my art practice.
Q: Why did you apply for Seattle Restored? how will this opportunity help you reach your goals?
My goal has always been to have a sustainable art practice. I applied to Seattle Restored’s artist residency program mainly because I was looking for a studio space to explore working on bigger canvases and scaling my work. The residency program offered a studio space for 5 months rent-free in a Seattle neighborhood, which as an emerging artist is super helpful financially and even to start building a community with other artists in the residency program. When I applied, I thought I’d just get a studio to work out of, I never would’ve thought that it would also come with a retail/gallery space and that I’d have space to even exhibit my work through the 5-ish months! It ended up being a dream opportunity with learning how to run our own gallery while building our art practice, and also getting instant feedback on our work from the people who walked into the gallery space.
Q: TELL US ABOUT YOUR CONNECTION TO THE SEATTLE ART SCENE. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES AND WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT CREATING ART IN SEATTLE?
I absolutely love being part of the Seattle art scene! I’ve exhibited and vended during the art walks in galleries in the Belltown and Pioneer Square neighborhoods. I’ve also been part of Seattle’s suburban art scene, by being a member of Woodinville Arts Alliance and showing my work at a few wineries in Woodinville, and have also participated in Bothell city’s art walks.
What I value most about creating art is that I get to birth something beautiful that wasn’t there before and get to share it with the world. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is to create visibility for my work and getting consistent income from it to be a full-time practicing artist.
Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR ART?
The 1st Ave Artist Residency is a collection of five different artists, all creating beautiful work. We also offer workshops in our gallery space. The 1st Ave location is open Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-6pm. We are open late till 8pm on Fourth Fridays for the Seattle Downtown Art Walk and usually have our studios open for the public to see, peek into our processes, and ask us questions. Please follow us on Instagram @eleventwentyone.store to stay updated with all our events and stop by our space to see and support our work.
Q: Do you have any events or collaborations coming up?
I do have a mixed media Chai and Paint workshop coming up at the residency, located at 1121 1st Ave. If interested, please use the sign-up link for Cut Paper Floral Collage held on Sunday, May 18th from 2-5pm.
Stay tuned for more events in the space!
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to locals, what would it be?
Get out and explore the city more! Arts and cultural scenes in a city can only thrive if people actively support it, and it’s also what makes every city unique.
Q: Where would you take visitors or a group of friends for a fun, relaxed experience in Seattle?
My favorite place to take out-of-town visitors is to the Chihuly Glass Museum & Gardens. It’s always a crowd favorite! Then a stroll to see the Ballard Locks and see the ships and boats go up and down the waterways. Finally, end the day with some finger-licking Mexican food at Agua Verde!
Q: What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
Mostly looking forward to growing my art practice with this residency and hoping to inch forward on my goal of being a self-sustaining artist. I’m an introvert and can lead a hermit life, but using this opportunity to get out more and connect with other artists and peers. Also looking forward to exhibiting my work in any exhibitions I get to participate in.
vISIT TARRANG ART
Address:
1st Ave Artist Residency
1121 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
Open hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11am – 6pm
Dates: January 24 – June 9, 2025