A Breath of Fresh CORSAIR

Spring 4-Ward: Local Micro Media Part 1

From behind the Pinecone Curtain emerges a new voice for the North Side Pirates, those talented yet remote Whitworthians – culled from across the world and every small town within 500 miles. As publications go CORSAIR is still in its infancy, but has the raw material to become a surprisingly successful neo-urban regional lifestyle rag.

Driven by the vision of art senior Elizabeth Johnson, CORSAIR reflects the broader desire of the Whitworth community to “delve into Spokane culture,” and not just of the S.O.B. variety. Features of non-traditional emerging artists, such as skateboarder Ruben Villarreal and multi-mediaphile Bradley Wakefield offer a welcome counter point to longstanding Lorinda Knight.

With about 20 pages of full semi-gloss color, CORSAIR offers plenty of eye candy to keep on the coffee table – and they are calling for more. A request was issued for full body shots of folks willing to be in a local street fashion feature. Interviews, venue reviews, photography and a variety of artist features are all par for the course.

CORSAIR is striving to seek out new and eclectic styling to share with readers, to inspire them to go beyond wearing jeans and a Whitworth sweatshirt every day to class. It endeavors to expose readers to local artists, both in the Whitworth community and the larger Spokane/Northwest area. It provides them with ways to experience this artwork and allows them to get to know the artists through artist profiles. The same approach is applied to the musical scene in Spokane, and the local musicians and venues. Occasionally we try to give tips on dorm/apartment décor, and ideas for designing small spaces with style.

The first run was only 50 copies, which doubled to 100 copies on the second printing. Currently the magazine is available free of charge, but donations are certainly appreciated.

The real challenge for CORSAIR is one of longevity. What will happen when linchpin Elizabeth Anne graduates and moves on? When it comes to artistic endeavors like this, delegating is easier said than done. People in creative industries are very exacting about what they produce and have a strong desire to have control over the direction and format of their work. This results in a tendency to “over initiate” projects as opposed to adapting and sustaining ones that are already off of the ground.

Spovangelist’s advice? Keep the talent in town, at least for a while. This will give the magazine a shot at transitioning into other hands, or becoming commercialized to the degree that it can support a staff of one.

Garnering local business sponsorships and charging for something that started out “free” will be challenging, but are entirely within the realm of possibility.

Meanwhile you can mark your calendar for the Third Issue Release Party May 8th. For more information contact: corsairmag [at] gmail [dot] com.