BY ANGELA JOSSY for WEEKLY VOLCANO 7/11/25 |
On Sunday, July 20, the Newspaper Box Challenge will debut during the Art on the Ave Festival on 6th Avenue in Tacoma. But between now and then, updates will be posted on social media and on the Weekly Volcano website. Stay tuned!
Here’s how it started: When The Ranger newspaper closed, the owners gifted Weekly Volcano a storage unit full of old newspaper boxes. Most were in decent shape, just a bit weathered. To bring them back into circulation, they need help.
As someone who’s participated in many community art projects, I saw those boxes as blank canvases. And at the same time, Weekly Volcano is fighting for survival. We began printing weekly again—without proper funding—in an effort to qualify as a legal newspaper of record under RCW rules, which require six months of continuous weekly publication.
Those two realities sparked an idea: We invited local artists to transform the boxes. Then we set up a digital voting system—50% of the net funds raised for each box goes to the artist, and the other half supports our efforts to keep printing and reach this goal to financially stabilize.
After the festival, the boxes will be placed at trusted businesses along our delivery route, where they can be enjoyed for years to come.
Meet the Artists:
- Rachel Mosely
- Jesse Peterson
- Charles Burt
- Steven Grice
- Valerie Carr
- Susanna Youngquist
- Katy Pascal
- Josey Browning
- Jordan Taylor
- Suni Cook Boucher
- Charles Burt 2nd Box
- Steven Grice 2nd Box
- Teonna Manson-St. Ours
- Ryan Weimer
- Julie Collinge
- Katrina Brusatto
- Grace Witherell
- Kristen “Kcie” Monk
- Tabitha Conner
- Maranda Cromwell
- Harper D’Andrea
- Chelsea Belle
- Kristina Martin
- Lauren Angelo
- Mary Smith
- Diane Hansen
- Juan La Torre
- Rachel Hoffman
- Ann Stockdale
- Danielle Bonner
- Eileen Newton
- Matt Zimmerman
- Jonarra Swanson
- Maila Cervania
- Matthew Cheramy
- Liz Morrow
Follow the voting and updates here: https://bit.ly/WVBOXCHALLENGE
To apply as an artist, fill out this form ASAP: https://www.jotform.com/build/250566671740056?
The Feature section of Weekly Volcano is sponsored by:
