Overview

In late 2024, Seattle artist-curators Mary Anne Carter and Lilia Deering opened STÖR at Seattle’s Base Camp Studios 2 in Downtown Seattle. It was a surreal trip through a whimsical warehouse full of mock rooms stocked with home goods designed by themselves and 34 other local artists. The show was later named one of the best of 2024 by the Seattle Times.

Concept and Execution

The spoof on the famed Swedish furniture retailer was a playful comment on art and commerce, and an invitation to purchase the work of local creators. Visitors were welcomed on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested $15 donation.

Everything was for sale: a mirror framed by dentures (CHÖMP, $275), an orange traffic cone-shaped vase (TRÅFFIKÖHN, $16), or a hand-built faux-inflatable canvas chaise lounge (FLUFCHÄS, $1,500). The exhibit was fully stocked with chairs, beds, dishes, and other housewares created by 36 Pacific Northwest artists, from Portland to Vancouver, BC.

Carter was direct about the intent behind the retail framing. "The happiest place on Earth used to be Disneyland. But now it feels like, for millennials, it's IKEA," she said. "When thinking about bridging Seattle's wealth and sometimes lack of art patronage, it felt like, 'Well, maybe we help people by giving them a familiar layout, so they feel invited to shop.'"

Deering told participating artists: "Execute your wildest, craziest ideas. Be in opposition to this minimalist, mass-produced furniture that we might see at other retailers." The results were unmistakably defiant. The bed was made out of giant cigarettes, nuclear green slime engulfed the toilet, and someone inflated the living room.

It's a nice coincidence that "stör" translates to "disturb" in Swedish.

The installation was described as an "expansive and immersive labyrinth" where guests were invited to contemplate topics relating to art, design, commerce, and societal norms. As the exhibit blurred the line between visitor and customer, functional objects and art, and retail and immersive experience, it nudged people to think about how they experience and consume art, and suggested the art world might benefit from some IKEA-esque democratization.

Civic Support and Setting

STÖR was supported in part by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture's Hope Corps program as part of Mayor Harrell's Downtown Activation Plan. The opening drew a substantial crowd, with over 700 artists and supporters celebrating the launch.

Community Engagement and Impact

The exhibition ran from October 25, 2024 to January 10, 2025, and saw over 10,000 visitors throughout its run, "pulling in new people from different communities every time," in Carter's words.

With lines out the door almost every day, visitors ranged from those who didn't frequently attend art shows, to tourists, students, and seniors excited to visit downtown Seattle after a long pause since the pandemic. Some even stumbled in thinking it was a real IKEA and stayed to enjoy the art.

The Black Friday event had sales that matched opening night, and the January closing reception became the largest sales day of the run. The Black Friday event also featured live screen printing, flash tattoos, and a new product drop, plus Swedish meatballs.

The curators reflected on what the show achieved: "We set out to reduce perceived barriers to art by positioning a group of 37 PNW-based artists in a more familiar space that people knew how to shop, and surpassed our goals with so many visitors and buyers.”