BROWSE | Cutie Valentines
February 13th | 6 – 10 pm @ Chance Encounter Games
February 14th | 1 – 5 pm @ The 2+U Studio
Cutie Foundation, the local nonprofit founded by former Cloud Room member Kaitlin Fritz, is spreading the love this Valentine’s season with Cutie Valentines: a pair of themed pop-up artist markets across the city. Known for empowering emerging artists and providing free, accessible resources, the organization brings its community-centered spirit to two back-to-back events featuring independent artists, handmade goods, prints, crafts, and one-of-a-kind gifts perfect for the season.
The first market takes over Chance Encounter Games in Ravenna for a cozy evening gathering, followed by a daytime edition at the Studio @ 2+U downtown. Both pop-ups highlight up-and-coming creatives while offering a welcoming space to browse, connect, and support local art. True to Cutie Foundation’s ethos, the events are built around the idea that kindness matters, and that creative resources should always be free and accessible to those just getting started.
CELEBRATE | Charles Mudede’s Birthday Celebration: South Side
February 15th | 6 – 10 pm @ Vermillion
Seattle cultural icon Charles Mudede is celebrating another trip around the sun with a public birthday gathering that doubles as a love letter to the city’s South Side. A longtime Cloud Room member, filmmaker, writer, cultural critic, and Stranger Genius Award winner, Mudede has spent decades shaping the way Seattle thinks about film, music, politics, and place. This special evening centers on his deep connection to the South Side, featuring a curated presentation of Mudede’s own picks spotlighting Seattle’s southern neighborhoods, alongside soul vinyl selections that echo the rhythm and history of the community.
The celebration also includes scenes from the extraordinary television show South Side, paired with Mudede’s signature words of wisdom—sharp, funny, incisive reflections that have made him one of the city’s most respected voices. Blending film, music, commentary, and community, the event invites the public to gather, listen, and celebrate a thinker and storyteller whose work continues to leave a lasting imprint on Seattle’s cultural landscape.
EXPERIENCE | BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
February 13th – 22nd @ NWFF
Adapted from an art installation, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions plays less like a traditional film and more like a living, breathing collage, stretching the boundaries of what a movie can be. Instead of following a clear narrative arc with familiar tropes and tidy resolutions, Seattle-born filmmaker Kahlil Joseph builds the work through layered rhythms that feel closer to an album than a screenplay. Pulling from cinema, video art, music videos, documentary, and the endless scroll of social feeds, the project reframes the moving image as a form of cultural critique.
The result is best approached as an experience rather than a conventional film. Joseph’s approach invites viewers to drift between ideas, references, and textures, assembling meaning through juxtaposition and repetition rather than plot. For audiences drawn to the experimental edges of cinema—think Jean-Luc Godard, Saidiya Hartman, or any open-minded cinephile curious about the future of the medium—BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions offers a dense, thought-provoking ride.
