The unwavering discipline of the samurai and evolution of Japanese weaponry are unfolding at Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture this spring, inviting visitors on a journey through history and tradition.
Guests can step into the world of a samurai and experience the armor, weaponry and personal items that comprise “Samurai, Sunrise, Sunset,” a new exhibition that runs until June 1. Complementing this display until May 4, “The Evolution of the Japanese Sword” focuses on the craftsmanship of blades throughout history, said Kayla Tackett, director of exhibitions and collections at the museum.
“We just scheduled them purposefully together,” Tackett said. “We really just wanted to bring in a couple different perspectives but still have that way of bringing the world to Spokane, bringing Japanese culture here. I really love having this wider vision of samurai life through artistic elements and just what kinds of things a samurai might have.”
The samurai collection includes around 100 items, such as full sets of armor, weapons and personal items that samurai would have with them or in their homes. Some of the items were designed for export to European countries, Tackett said.
“From wartime to peacetime, you can look at those pieces and see how the samurai armor changes from being something that needs to be functional in wartime to something that’s kind of more ceremonial or a status symbol in peacetime,” Tackett said.
The sword exhibition was organized by Jidai Arts, a nonprofit that works to educate the public about Japanese swords, particularly the art and history of samurai weaponry. Several of the blades have been recognized by the Tokyo National Museum, Tackett said.
The gallery features armor, weaponry and personal items that represent history of the samurai class.
For a deeper exploration of Japanese culture, the museum will host a “MAC Gala” at the Davenport Hotel, Autograph Collection, on April 26 from 6-9 p.m. The event will feature Japanese-inspired meals, sparkling sake, Bon Odori dancers and the Spokane Taiko Drummers, according to the museum’s website.
Matt Bolton, director of film studies at GU, is hosting a movie series with films that highlight the samurai tradition. The next showing is of “The Sword of Doom” on April 18 at 6:30 p.m., and the final movie night will screen “Samurai Rebellion” on May 16 at the same time.
Additionally, the museum is offering a “Japanese Calligraphy Workshop” on Friday from 1-2 p.m. in the Plateau Center. The workshop will be guided by artist Harumi Norasakkunk, who has designed the course for beginners. Tickets are available for purchase through today.
Marit Fischer, the museum’s chief marketing officer, said the exhibits and events centered on Japanese culture have attracted a more diverse audience to the space.
“They’ve been very popular and maybe to a subset of our community that doesn’t always look to the museum as their source of entertainment,” Fischer said. “A lot more men are coming through the doors than we usually see, which is cool, and then the weekends are packed here.”
The museum continues to explore themes of identity with “No Name That I Know Of,” a new exhibition running through May 14. In this collection, local artist Andrea Joyce Heimer uses acrylic oil paintings to reflect on her upbringing in Great Falls, Montana.
“The landscapes and the scenes that she’s depicting are things that people here are familiar with, things like rodeo and national forests and swimming in natural ponds and lakes and streams,” Tackett said.
Much of Heimer’s work “addresses themes of loneliness and belonging, revealing her struggles with isolation and otherness during key developmental milestones,” the museum’s website said.
The exhibition also serves as a visual journal of sorts, Tackett said, with each painting having a written description on the wall from Heimer.
In the Helen South Alexander Gallery, Julie Simpson’s “Outdoor Sanctuary” will be open until this Sunday. The 2023 ArtFest award winner uses colorful mixed media paintings filled with organic imagery and geometric shapes and forms. The gallery is free to visit.
Looking ahead, the museum’s next exhibit to open will be “Fire: Rebirth and Resilience.” It will run from April 5 through Sept. 28 and showcase fire through the lenses of devastation and renewal, and how flames have shaped the landscape of the west throughout history.
“It feels especially relevant now with the Los Angeles fires,” Tackett said. “I think when people look at the historic exhibition about the Spokane fire, they’ll see reflections of things that aren’t new, like issues with insurance and how these fires, especially when they reach cities, reshape them. We can see how that fire reshaped Spokane, and that makes you think about how that will impact LA.”
The final scheduled upcoming exhibition at the museum is “Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight,” displaying from June 28 to Jan. 4, 2026. This exhibition brings to life the Tlingit creation story of Raven, the mythical figure who transforms the world from darkness into light, said Tackett.
Through a multisensory experience, visitors will be treated to Singletary’s narration, original music, coastal Pacific Northwest soundscapes and stunning projected images that bring the myth to life. The exhibition originated at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma but has traveled to places like Washington D.C., Indianapolis and Oklahoma City.
“It is an immersive art exhibition, and I mean that in every sense,” Tackett said.
As the museum continues hosting an array of different collections, Fischer said she believes there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
“I think the cool thing about the MAC is that we have five galleries, and we do work really hard to mix up what we are offering the community in our gallery space, and so every few months, there will be something different,” Fischer said. “And we love that we can bring the world to Spokane with some of these exhibitions, but we also have curators in-house that do exhibitions based on their interests and what people have expressed interest in in our community.”
The museum also hosts “MAC After Hours” on the last Wednesday of each month, extending its closing to 8 p.m. This month’s event is next week from 5-8 p.m., with live music, beer and wine, art classes, gallery talks and more. Admission is 50% off for everyone and free for members.
Other upcoming events include “De-Objectification: Art and the Female Body” — the fifth installment in the museum’s Art History Lecture Series on April 6 at 2 p.m. Dr. Meredith Shimizu, a professor of art history at Whitworth University, will discuss how the nude female body has been objectified in paintings and sculptures, and how some have taken steps to depict the female body and experience from a different perspective, according to the museum’s website.
The museum’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday through Sunday.