Dearest SEAF-lover,
Thank you for making the 20th incarnation of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival a success! You bought 46% of our exhibition art, and nearly cleaned out the festival store of our artists’ merchandise and small works. You danced and socialized, listened to erotic stories and watched performances, painted people and attended workshops. You got SEAF back on track and looked fabulous while doing it!
I am a little stunned to be writing about 20 years of SEAF, especially after the last two years. And definitely after only 6 months since the last festival. Stunned, because when I attended the very first SEAF in 2003, I had no idea that 2 years later I’d be volunteering and performing at the festival. That in another 3 years I would be running the art docent program and each year after that, taking on more responsibility. After taking the reins as the acting festival director in 2013, it just seemed like the right thing to do to keep on shepherding the festival. And here I am, looking back at twenty years of being involved in an organization that has changed the way the the world regards erotic art.
Thank you to all the artists, performers, and writers for twenty years of taboo breaking art. Without your bold exploration of the question “What is erotic?” we wouldn’t have had the chance to watch the art in this festival evolve as you pushed at our culture’s mores.
Thank you to all the volunteers over twenty years for all of your sweat and love. Without your dedication to the idea that SEAF needed to exist in world, this festival would not have survived. Look what you have done! You created an event that supports a vibrant culture of erotic art makers and lovers coming together to change the world.
Thank you to all the donors and sponsors who bought ads, provided the budget for installations, and partnered with us to put on SEAF. Every box of swag you donated, every time you promoted us in the media, every dollar you gave us went toward improving the festival for artists and patrons alike.
Thank you to everyone who has ever walked through the doors of SEAF. Even if you only stayed a short while and determined it wasn’t for you, thank you for your curiosity. Being curious is how we dismantle biases and prejudice. Every time you look at art that depicts an aspect of sexuality that isn’t your cup of tea, you are expanding your understanding of other people’s joy. Witnessing is a powerful form of participation.
Thank you for giving me hope that someone will be writing another letter like this in twenty more years.
With love, gratitude, and joy,
Sophia Sky Iannicelli
Executive Director and Enabler of Artists