PORT TOWNSEND — The place will be fully stocked with art supplies, snacks and music: This is the Bunker, a free art space for teens, returning to Port Townsend this Friday.
Artists Lindsey Wayland, Kate Lovejoy and Corinne Humphrey will host this first one of the season from 3:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Friday at the Northwind Art School, Building 306 at Fort Worden State Park.
Middle school and high school students pay nothing to come, but they do need a parental permission form available online at the Bunker page, reachable by visiting https://northwindart.org and clicking on Courses and then Youth.
The Bunker will reopen a couple of Fridays a month throughout spring and summer; after this Friday, the next three are set for May 5, May 26 and June 9.
Port Townsend Wearable Art Show teaching artist Margie McDonald, Port Townsend High School art teacher Michele Soderstrom, author-illustrator Dana Sullivan and painter Max Grover are among those on the calendar to host future Bunker evenings.
Julie Read, a popular teaching artist at the Northwind Art School, has been gathering fellow artists to get the Bunker going again.
“Here’s some back story: The Bunker, which was started in May 2018 through Port Townsend School of the Arts (now Northwind Art), was really picking up steam when the good old pandemic came along and put a stop to it,” Read noted.
Two local artists would host it. One is in the lead and giving a fairly casual demonstration of an art technique for any interested teens, while the other volunteer artists would be there to assist.
“This program has always been volunteer run,” Read said.
“I can say from personal experience that my nights volunteering at the Bunker were deeply rewarding and full of laughs and good memories. I am very excited to see this program return.”
Read and Lovejoy, director of the Northwind Art School, are busy preparing for the re-emergence of this haven for teenagers. They’re recruiting volunteer artists for later this spring and summer.
In July and August, the Bunker will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every other Friday. Artists and other prospective volunteers can find more details under the Volunteer heading at the top left of the northwindart.org home page.
