Summer 2026 Artist Interviews
Every exhibition at SJIMA begins with an artist and a body of work — but behind each piece is a story worth hearing. This summer, SJIMA sat down with guest curator Meg Partridge and artists Chris Maynard and Raven Skyriver to explore the ideas driving their work, the processes that shape it, and the personal experiences woven into it.
In the Nichols Gallery, Lopez Island filmmaker and guest curator Meg Partridge takes us inside Convergence & Divergence: The Family Aesthetic, walking through how she selected and grouped nearly 110 years of photographs and etchings to tell the story of her grandmother Imogen Cunningham, her grandfather Roi Partridge, and her father Rondal Partridge — three artists who shaped, and were shaped by, one another's vision.
In the North Gallery, feather artist Chris Maynard discusses the meditative process behind Feathered Masterpieces, from the surgical tools he uses to carve each feather to the ethics of sourcing shed feathers from private aviaries and zoos — and why he wants visitors to leave seeing birds, and feathers, a little differently.
In the Sterner Atrium Gallery, glass artist Raven Skyriver talks about Fluid Life: Glass Sculptures Inspired by the Sea, the collaborative choreography it takes to bring a piece to life, and how the gallery's natural light changes the work every time you visit.
All three exhibitions are on view through September 14, 2026. We hope these conversations deepen your experience of the work.