About

Our Mission

Our mission at Olympia Lamplighters is to provide creators and artists of all ages and disciplines a space to engage, inspire, and grow together as artists and creators in an all-inclusive community.

At Olympia Lamplighters, we believe in hosting a safe and inspirational environment in which people of all races and beliefs can feel safe and welcomed while creating the art form of their choice.

When you come into Olympia Lamplighters space, you will encounter:

Respect for all people, communities, and cultures
Honor our community by being socially, financially, and environmentally responsible
Striving for our team and members to meet the highest ethical standards
Challenging each other to strive for excellence and to continue learning
Embracing continuous improvement and change and fostering bold creativity

Our Team

Staff

Avalon Kragness

Business Director/Chair

Avalon Kragness

Business Director/Chair

She/ Her Avalon Kragness, born in 1986 is a Quilter, Singer, and business entrepreneur. She has worked as a Manager of a Quilting Store, is a founder of The Lamplighters, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business in 2020 with a specialization in Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Email:[email protected]

Iri Alexander

Creative Director/Vice Chair

Iri Alexander

Creative Director/Vice Chair

They/Them Iri Alexander’s interests cover a wide variety of influences, experiences, and mediums. As such they consider themselves to be a multi-potential artist, and work in a variety of different fields. Mediums that they use include writing, painting with oils, watercolor, and digitally, knitting, crocheting, and sewing. They’ve written episodes for the audio drama Jim Robbie and the Wanderers and voice act in the show, as well as numerous other radio dramas.

Email:[email protected]

Corey Strid

HR Manager/Secretary

Corey Strid

HR Manager/Secretary

(He/Him) Corey Strid, is a musician, a painter, and has over 10 years of business management experience. He has worked in retail management as well as coordinated multiple regional expansion projects for t-mobile. His passion for art led him away from retail business management to the lamplighters where he could explore his desire to teach painting, music and expand his own skills.

Gabe Kalfen

Curator

Gabe Kalfen

Curator

(He/They) Gabe hails from the Bay Area and has opinions on art, film, music and video games. His greatest achievement was the photoshopping of the winner 2008 Westminster Dog Show on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. He also runs the meme machine connected to our social media.

Email:[email protected]

Michael Beard

Videographer/Photographer

Michael Beard

Videographer/Photographer

He/Him

Board Members

Hap Clemons

He/Him

Hap Clemons

He/Him

Hap Clemons was born and raised in Indiana and moved to the Olympia area in 2016 after accepting a position at Harlequin Productions. His 30+ year career in fund development allowed him to work with Indiana nonprofit organizations spanning the fields of medicine, research, education, and fine arts. Hap received a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and later graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State University Global with a BS in Business Management and minors in Managing Global Business and Applied Strategic Management. Hap later graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master’s in Organizational Leadership. Hap currently holds the position of Managing Director at Harlequin Productions.

Jonah Barrnett

They/Them

Jonah Barrnett

They/Them

Jonah Barrett is a queer writer, retired filmmaker, and multimedia-ish artist. They currently work as a project manager for The Evergreen State College's art collection, and as a collections assistant for the Washington State Arts Commission's Art In Public Places program. Jonah's speculative fiction debut book, Moss Covered Claws, was published in early 2021 by Blue Cactus Press. Their films have been shown at a variety of festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest. During the quarantine, Jonah helped create the new Orca Books Co-op bookstore with a small team on Fifth Ave. They were previously the marketing director at the Olympia Film Society and an article writer for Oly Arts magazine. A strong pull toward collaboration and uplifting other artists attracted them to the Olympia Lamplighters, and they're happy to help their creative community rise to its full potential. Also Iri asked them to join reeeaaally nicely.

Shannon Sawyer

Any

Shannon Sawyer

Any

He/They Gabe hails from San Fransisco, and has opinions on art, film, music and video games. His greatest achievement was the photo shopping of the 2008 Westminster Dog Show on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. He also runs the meme-machine connected to our social media.

Email:[email protected]

Leo King

Leo King

He/Him

Notable Volunteers

Bambi Strong

Assistant Graphic Designer

Bambi Strong

Assistant Graphic Designer

They/Them

Cade Walker

Legal Representative

Cade Walker

Legal Representative

He/Him Cade likes getting involved with the community through a variety of different approaches. When he’s not hanging out downtown at different restaurants, watering-holes, music or drag events, or trying his best at karaoke, you can find him providing legal advice to a variety of area non-profits and small businesses. Cade is a licensed attorney, focusing on business development, hospitality/food & beverage, and health care, and he currently works for the State of Washington (in a non-legal capacity) helping provide benefits to state and education employees.

Keisha Chinn

Aquisitions

Keisha Chinn

Aquisitions

She/Her Keisha Chinn was born and raised in Redmond, Washington and moved down to the Olympia area in 2015 after accepting a position at the Department of Transportation. She works as an IT Manager during the day, and jewelry artist under the name of KMC Jewelry Design by night. She specializes in wire wrapping gemstones and other media using copper and sterling silver. Her other interests include epoxy resin and acrylic paint pouring. Her love for all things art drew her towards Olympia Lamplighters, a place where she continues to make friends, create and learn, and collaborate with other artists.

Saige Rakoski

Venue Production Manager

Saige Rakoski

Venue Production Manager

He/Him