Geek chic: Nerdiness on display at Moses Lake Museum & Art Center

MOSES LAKE — Artists had the opportunity to embrace their nerdy side for the exhibit opening at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center next week.

The “Nerd Alert!” juried art exhibition will feature works from five artists, Angela Hunt, Fran Church, Paul Nowlin, Rebekah Littlefield and Macario Hernandez. Art pieces were selected by a jury of museum staff with pieces hung up this week.

Museum Director Dollie Boyd said this will be her first juried exhibit since taking over as director of the museum and the first juried exhibit for the museum since about 2019. Boyd said the goal with this exhibit’s theme was to give artists something fun that could be interpreted in a number of ways.

“Anything from comic books to computers, ‘Lord of the Rings’ to ‘Game of Thrones,’ we got entries really across the board,” Boyd said. “Some of them, you have to think about a little bit, a lot of them went with a futuristic theme or a tribute to their favorite character.”

She said there are plenty of pop culture references and a wide variety of mediums chosen by artists. With her first juried exhibit, Boyd said this is really her chance to get to lay out the show on the wall the way she wants.

When an exhibit comes in where one or two artists are highlighted, she said there is typically a consistent theme and shape and size. With this exhibit, she said there’s all kinds of stuff, from wood burnings to wire sculptures.

Angela Hunt, one of the artists featured, is a museum employee who has had work featured at the museum. Hunt said she decided to pay tribute to the smash Broadway hit, “Hamilton,” something she and plenty of others have been obsessed with since it came out.

Rebekah Littlefield is having her work featured at the museum for the second time, and the first time since moving back to Moses Lake. She said it’s been great sticking her toe back into the Moses Lake art scene and hopes to get started again here after moving back to her hometown.

As an artist who typically works with more abstract concepts and designs, Littlefield said this prompt was a big stretch for her.

“Thinking back to what I really enjoyed and Pac-Man was a big one when I was growing up,” Littlefield said. “It was fun, I really enjoyed the movements and the colors.”

Her son, who she said is her “little painting partner,” gave her the idea to give some of the characters a little bit more life. Littlefield said it was a lot of fun collaborating with her son for this piece and was honored to be selected.

Fran Church is being featured at the museum for the first time since moving to Moses Lake a little more than a year ago. Church’s daughter is Boyd, and Church has taught a few art classes at the museum.

Church said everyone in her family is a nerd, with Boyd and herself history and art nerds their entire lives. She said she’s also been an art teacher for numerous years.

“Being a history and art nerd, I based this piece, a dragon, exclusively off the red dragon of Wales,” Church said. “I had done some dragons before in this medium and I kind of enjoyed it so I decided to combine my history neediness with art and make another dragon.”

Church’s sculpture is a mixed-media sculpture with paper machè, aluminum wiring and other materials all combined into one piece. She said it’s been fun learning and embracing the new community.

Boyd said she recused herself from voting on her own mother’s work, but wasn’t surprised to see it selected.

“I know her work is really fun,” Boyd said.

A reception for the exhibit will be Aug. 27 with refreshments, a cosplay contest and a presentation by Caesar Hunt on drag culture. The exhibit is set to open today and run through Sept. 23.