Unpoetry at the Frye

Unpoetry at the Frye

Works responding to "Hugh Hayden: American Vernacular"

Join us for an evening of artistic performances responding to Hugh Hayden: American Vernacular with poet and event organizer Eric M. Acosta, along with M. Freeman, Sophie Chin, Rodrigo Sanchez, and Fox Whitney. Using ekphrasis, a detailed response to a work of art, participants will explore the bonds that exist between various art forms. 

In collaboration with Unpoetry, writers and artists are invited to generate new work inspired by current exhibitions, with the goal to deepen engagement with the museum space and the artwork within, while challenging traditional definitions of poetry and language. Full lineup to be announced soon.

About the Presenters

Image
A person in a green sweater standing on stone steps in a garden and holding a drum
Photo: courtesy of Sophie Chin

Sophie Chin is a Seattle percussionist and composer who enjoys working with poetry, found sounds, prepared piano, field recordings, toy piano, and their collection of tiny bells. They studied at the University of Washington (Bachelor of Music, 2022) with Dr. Bonnie Whiting and at Southern Oregon University (Master of Music, 2024) with Dr. Terry Longshore, Bryan Jeffs, and Dr. Ivan Manzanilla. Chin has presented work for the Oregon Fringe Festival and has played with the Britt Festival Orchestra, Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra, Left Edge Percussion, University of Washington Percussion Ensemble, University of Washington Modern Ensemble, and others.

Image
A person wearing a hat, eyeglasses, and a yellow jacket
Photo: courtesy of M Freeman

M Freeman works with reckoning and resiliency, queerness and film, and contemplative, creative and social art practices. Freeman is author of The Illuminated Space: A Personal Theory & Contemplative Practice of Media Art (The 3rd Thing, 2020, winner of the Nautilus Book Award’s Gold Medal for Creativity & Innovation), recipient of Artist Trust Grants for Artist Projects and multiple fellowships, and creator of Cinema Divina. Freeman’s text and media arts essays have been published in/at Ninth Letter, TriQuarterly, Rolling Stone, and Fourth Genre, among others. Their films have screened on PBS and in galleries, theaters, festivals, and retreat and art centers worldwide.

Image
A black and white photo of a person holding a camera up near their face to take a photo while smiling
Photo: courtesy of Rodrigo Sanchez

They say photography stops time, but Rodrigo Sanchez prefers to let it blur. Why freeze the world when it insists on being free? In a world that teaches us to pose, Rodrigo follows the noise of dancers in motion, poets mid-thought, strangers passing through the light. The photos don’t freeze time, they stretch it, smudge it, make it breathe.

Image
A person leaning against a green backdrop takes a photo with a large camera. In the foreground are mannequin legs
Photo: courtesy of Fox Whitney

Fox Whitney is a multi-disciplinary artist working at the intersection of dance, film, music, writing, and visual art. He is obsessed with the surreal nature of transformation, with projects that center his mixed Black, queer, and transgender point-of-view. He is the founder of Gender Tender, an ongoing QT interdisciplinary performance project, and the trans-futurist psych band Light Aloud. Fox’s work has been commissioned and produced by the Henry Art Gallery, On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, Seattle International Dance Festival, Yellow Fish Epic Durational Performance Festival, and Seattle’s Gay City Arts. Light Aloud has performed at Trans Pride Seattle, Capitol Hill Block Party, and Seattle Art Fair. Fox’s written work has been published with Variable West and SeattleDances.com.

Eric M. Acosta is a Seattle poet and the founder of Unpoetry, a curated, twice-monthly series that blends performance, reading, and more. His debut collection, Motion Flesh (2023), is available through Chat Room Books, with his follow-up, Underbelly, forthcoming from Carbonation Press. Explore his work at www.printcopiesavailable.com and learn more about Unpoetry at unpoetry.net

Unpoetry at the Frye

Works responding to "Hugh Hayden: American Vernacular"

People standing and clapping in front of a wall with small artworks

Audience members at Unpoetry at the Frye on March 30, 2024. Photo: Susan Fried

September 18, 2025

6:30–7:30 pm

Frye Art Museum
704 Terry Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

No advanced registration is required. Capacity is limited to 30 people, and admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

Ticket Limit
8
// Looks for specific event types and moves them to info sidebar // Formatting for event type tags