Northwest Figurative Artists’ Alliance

Author
William E. Elston

Published
Jun 05, 2011

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I’ve been involved in the retooling of an organization that was active in the early to mid 1990s. The Northwest Figurative Artists’ Alliance began as an informal gathering at a local café, following figure sessions at the studio that I then shared with the painter Christel Kratohvil.

After sending out invitations, we held an inaugural meeting that was attended by over 40 of the Pacific Northwest’s most prominent figurative artists. For a period of years we held regular meetings, hosted group critiques, symposia and lectures, including many events that were open to the public. We also published a regular monthly illustrated journal of art criticism and reviews that had a broad national subscription among artists and supporters.

The most active period of the NFAA was during those mid-years. The organization was never formally dissolved, but persisted as informal relationships between colleagues. With the advent of social networking and new online tools for organization and advocacy, I felt that it would be a good time to revive the Northwest Figurative Artists’ Alliance as a formal organization. Figuration, Realism and related modes of representation have become more ubiquitous in the fields of painting and sculpture, along with their differentiation into various philosophical camps that reflect the complexity which characterizes our era. It is my belief that there is frequently a need for collective action and advocacy on behalf of like-minded artists from the Pacific Northwest, in matters that impact their lives and that further the regional historical narrative. It is the intention of the Northwest Figurative Artists’ Alliance to serve that need, as well as become the go-to place for news and information about the figurative scene here.

Membership in the organization is currently only available for professional figurative artists who reside in the Pacific Northwest, including the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, Canada. Unfortunately we are not presently able to offer membership and support to the general public, although we do hope to provide categories of inclusion in the future. The Northwest Figurative Artists’ Alliance website can be found at https://www.nwfigurative.org .