Northwind Art welcomes new education director

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Northwind Art has announced its new education director. 

Shin Yu Pai will bring innovation, entrepreneurship, and multidisciplinary thinking that will continue to cultivate art through education at Northwind Art, the organization said in its announcement this week.

As education director, Pai will oversee all virtual and location-based classes, lectures and workshops. 

Along with nurturing teaching artist and student relationships, she will work to build the Northwind Art curriculum.

“Creative programming and informal education are my passion,” Pai said.

“In my past work, I’ve collaborated closely with funders, boards, institutions, artists and communities. As an arts administrator, I love designing programs and evaluation plans, just as much as I enjoy working with budgets,” she added. “I’m excited to produce arts programming for Northwind and to contribute to developing PT’s creative economy.”

Pai currently lives in Seattle where she is a curator and cultural worker. She has produced educational and public programs for Atlas Obscura, Seattle University, and Town Hall Seattle. She produces the Lyric World podcast for Town Hall, which is distributed by KUOW’s Speakers Forum. 

Pai was a fellow of the Intercultural Leadership Institute and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, and has also studied with the Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute.

Her poetry has been published in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., China, and Taiwan. She is the author of 10 books of poetry and she served as the fourth Poet Laureate of the city of Redmond from 2015 to 2017. 

Her public artwork has also been installed on the Redmond Connector Trail, and her writing and visual art has received numerous awards and has been exhibited across the country. Her poetry films have been screened at Northwest Film Forum and the Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.

Pai has taught at the University of Texas at Dallas, Southern Methodist University, Hugo House, and numerous other organizations. She holds an master’s degree in museology from the University of Washington and received her master of fine arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“Shin Yu is the perfect person at the perfect time for Northwind Art,” said Northwind Art executive director Teresa Verraes.

“She brings a breadth of skills and experience that will propel us forward into putting arts and culture at the forefront of our economic future in Jefferson County,” Verraes said.

Pai looks forward to her move to Port Townsend in the summer, with her husband, acupuncturist Markus Bergman and their 7-year-old son, Tomo. 

“I’ve been coming to Port Townsend for 13 years and feel deeply connected to the PT arts community,” Pai said.

Locals may remember her from her poetry readings at Northwind Arts Center with poet Norman Schaefer as well as performances at the Rose Theatre with Red Pine, Jessika Kenney, and Lori Goldston. 

She was also an artist in residence at Centrum in 2008.