PUNCH Projects, an art gallery in the heart of Thorp, Washington, is holding an exhibition of pet portraits called “We’ll Make Great Pets,” which is a reference to the chorus of the 1993 Porno for Pyros song “Pets.” The exhibition will be open for viewing every Saturday in March, from noon to 4 p.m.. However, the last Saturday of the exhibition, March 30, it will be open until 8 p.m.. There is also a live musical performance every Saturday.
PUNCH Projects currently has five members: Justin Gibbens, Renee Adams, Justin Beckman, Howard Barlow and Will Bow. All five are CWU alumni. PUNCH was opened in 2006 as an artist collective in Seattle, Washington, focusing on transportative installations. “As artists, you want to get your work out there,” Gibbens said. He continued saying that they felt that opening a gallery in Seattle was an easier avenue for their work to be prevalent in a more vibrant art scene.
After a decade, the group decided to close their gallery in Seattle, WA. “We had achieved what we had hoped to in terms of experiencing that scene in Seattle, and so we closed our doors,” Gibbens said. “But we really still appreciated the experience of working together as a collective, and we wanted to continue doing projects, we just didn’t really know what that would look like.” The group, having decided Kittitas Valley was home, began toying with the idea of opening a gallery here.
“In 2018 we started looking for a permanent space to get back here in this area, and we came close a few times to buying or renting a space,” Beckman said. “In the downtown Ellensburg area,” Barlow chimed in. Beckman continued saying it just didn’t come to fruition as they had hoped, but they were thankful for that when the tumultuous COVID-19 quarantine was happening.
Thorp became an option for the group when the tenants living in the old volunteer fire station moved out. “Howard [Barlow] owns that building,” Gibbens said. “And we hadn’t even really thought about that building as an opportunity, but I think it was because he lost his renters that we said, ‘Hold on, before you get anyone else in this building, maybe we should think about Thorp instead of Ellensburg.’” Gibbens continued saying they knew it would detract from foot traffic from passersby.
Renee Adams noted a bit of the significance of their location, however: “When we first opened our gallery in Seattle, I think we were all a bit hesitant to say where we were from because I feel like there’s a stigma around rural art, in that the artists ‘aren’t as good’ or ‘as quality,’ so we didn’t promote that part of it.” She continued saying that once the Seattle scene they were a part of learned of their rural origins, it became something that was mentioned about them in a good way. “Then, we were like ‘Oh! Well maybe we should just have pride about where we’re from and embrace the fact that we’re rural artists,’” Adams said.
Embracing rural art, and the artists who make it is truly PUNCH’s mission. On their website’s “About Us” page, it says, “PUNCH Projects seeks to support the cultural vibrancy of rural art scenes by spurring creative awareness, cross-cultural engagement and economic vitality.” This was their reasoning behind the exhibition “We’ll Make Great Pets” as well. “We like to have at least one show a year where everyone is invited, included and there’s no jurying or selection process at all. It’s just bring us something and we’ll put it on the wall,” Adams said.
Gibbens continued this thought, saying: “We try to present our space as a space that is totally open and welcoming to all people, and we don’t want people to feel afraid to come in and see what we’re up to. Yeah, we’re a little strange, we’re a little weird, unexpected, but I think there’s still something for everybody. So, by having these open exhibition opportunities, like this pet portrait, where we’re not going to be judging anybody, and everyone who brings a piece is automatically going to be in the show, that certainly brings a whole new audience into our space.”
Beckman and Barlow, on top of being CWU alumni, are currently CWU faculty in the Art + Design department. Barlow mentioned that collaboration between CWU and PUNCH have included “Exhibitions where we invite alumni, sometimes former students that we’ve had to show work there [at PUNCH],” Barlow said. “Justin’s had some graphic design students that have been employed by us to do designs and stuff.” He also briefly mentioned an installation PUNCH did at CWU’s Sarah Spurgeon Gallery in 2018, called “The Woods.”
Beckman’s thoughts on his involvement with both CWU and PUNCH were as follows: “Artists in general tend to piece together a creative career from lots of different opportunities. Howard and I, as instructors, teach because we enjoy teaching, and we enjoy sharing the things that we know with students, so that’s a big part of it. But it also provides us a paycheck and security to be able to follow creative pursuits, and having a career in teaching, which aligns and encourages those creative pursuits… certainly has helped.”
Barlow and Beckman also offered advice to CWU students looking to pursue creative careers. “Don’t always wait for someone else to present an opportunity for you, try and create the situations on your own, and with a group of creatives that you kind of align with for one reason or another, whether it’s similar aesthetics and quality of work, or just drive to get work out,” Barlow said. “But I feel like that’s something that’s really important. I feel like too many young artists feel like they’re going to be discovered or be able to do it on their own, and I think that you can gain a lot more attention, potentially, by being part of a group.”
“You have to kind of create your own definition of success, and what that means to you,” Beckman said. “Recognize that our lives are not straight lines, that quite often they’re loop-de-loops, and sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back. But, unless underneath all of that drive, desire and expectations, if there’s no passion it’s hard to make anything meet your definition of success.”
