Template revised April 12, 2018.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
8c
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
January 25, 2022
DATE: January 18, 2022
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Erica Chung, Commission Specialist
Tommy Gregory,
SUBJECT: Art Board Public Member appointment
Amount of this request:
$0
Total estimated project cost:
$0
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Commission appointment of one (1) public member to the Port-wide Arts and Culture
Board for a term of three (3) years, starting upon appointment and ending on March 31, 2025.
SUMMARY
The Arts and Culture Board (Board) met on December 13, 2021, and recommends to the
Commission the appointment of Asia Tail to the Arts and Culture Board, as a public member for
a three (3) year term.
The professional public members are integral to the work done by the Arts and Culture Board
and represent expertise and experience in fine arts, museum management, architecture and/or
design.
Per the Arts and Culture Policy Directive adopted by the Port Commission in 2019, the Port-
wide Arts and Culture Board is to provide guidance, leadership, and support to the Port of
Seattle in its policy to procure, commission, and incorporate high-quality art which reflects the
Pacific Northwest’s diverse culture, history, and environment, as well as to develop cultural
programming showcases and public engagement opportunities. The Board is comprised of nine
(9) members of which four (4) members of the public shall be appointed by the Port
Commission (Commission).
Asia Tail
Asia Tail is an artist, curator, and arts organizer based in Washington. Asia attended the Cooper
Union School of Art in New York on a four-year full-tuition scholarship and graduated with a
BFA and the Brandon Burns Stewart Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting in 2014. Her
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8c Page 2 of 2
Meeting Date: January 25, 2022
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
studio practice includes oil painting, collage, beadwork, and other media. Asia was the recipient
of the first Vadon Foundation Native Artist Fellowship, and was named one of Seattle’s Most
Influential People in 2019 by Seattle Magazine.
As an extension of her art making, Asia curates special projects and exhibitions, with an
emphasis on Indigenous artists. In 2018, she co-founded yəhaw
̓
with Tracy Rector and Satpreet
Kahlon, curating the inaugural exhibition at Seattle’s King Street Station. yəhaw
̓
is now a
growing collective of interdisciplinary Indigenous creatives which features hundreds of artists
working in a variety of mediums across Coast Salish territories. Past programs include art
exhibitions, outdoor installations, performances, workshops and trainings, artist residencies, art
markets, publications, partner events, online BLM solidarity campaigns, emergency mini-grants,
virtual classes, web exhibitions, and other Covid-responsive projects. The yəhaw
̓
collective
hopes to eventually acquire a site for transformative land-based arts programming.
Asia also works as a Program Officer at Seattle Foundation. She is a freelance arts consultant for
local organizations including Washington State Convention Center, Nia Tero, Johnson Ramirez
Consulting, Seattle Aquarium, Chief Seattle Club, City of Tacoma, Spaceworks Tacoma, City of
Seattle, Seattle Art Museum, Potlatch Fund, Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront, ArtsWA, and
Facebook, among others.
