Quinn Russell Brown

Magazine Editor // Visual Artist in Philadelphia, PA

Arts & Culture Writing

For Hyperallergic: Alfredo Arreguín, Painter of Myth and Memory, Dies at 88. The Mexican-American artist sampled from the jungles of his childhood and the lush landscapes of his adult life to create dreamlike canvases.

For the Philadelphia Inquirer:

James McNeill Whistler’s portrait of his mother is back in Philadelphia after a century. Whistler painted his mother when his model didn't show up at his London studio.

For the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Alex Da Corte’s ‘The Street’ is a love letter to Philadelphia. As we take a conceptual walk down “The Street,” we are immersed in Da Corte’s memories, footnotes, and creative tools. Everyone sees something in every piece, even if we all see different things.

For the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Henri Matisse’s caretaker, muse and studio manager stars in Philadelphia show. I wrote about Lydia Delectorskaya, who managed Matisse’s studio and cared for him in his final years.

For the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Ellsworth Kelly, coming and going. Let your eyes dart across Ellsworth Kelly’s shimmering grid of painted aluminum panels, each one cut and curved in its own weird way. There is no clear logic to the varying colors at play—sapphire blue, rust red, faint yellow, reflective silver—but the 104 panels sing together in a strange harmony.

Philadelphia Inquirer: A tour of contemporary Chinese art at the Philadelphia Art Museum

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Rising Sun” asks 20 contemporary artists about the state of American democracy

Philadelphia Inquirer: Marilyn, Freud, Einstein, and Kafka are all at the National Museum of Jewish History

Philadelphia Inquirer: The Berman Museum of Art’s new show puts in the work

A snapshot of America, in 18 portraits. A conversation with art historian Juliet Sperling about the sociopolitical meaning of 18 works of American art.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Islamic ornate window shades on display at the Museum for Art in Wood

Finding Homeland Through Ice and Snow: Kiliii Yuyan on photographing Arctic communities with an Indigenous lens. Living on the road and photographing people who live off of the land.

‘We Matter’: Photographer Adrian Octavius Walker on Black Male Beauty. The higher meaning of a durag, and the difference between photographing Black subjects and making work about Blackness.

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How to make fine art from your kitchen during a pandemic. A professor designed a popular new class during the coronavirus pandemic, stamping out doubt about how effective remote learning can be.

Life After Prison: Reclaiming Identity Through Photographic Portraiture and First-Person Narratives. I moderate a conversation about visual imagery and America’s prison system.

Surveying the Native art of the Pacific Northwest. Here's what it’s like to be a virtual student in the University of Washington’s class about Indigenous art.

For VICE: From the NBA to Hip-Hop: Martell Webster's next act

Poet Lawrence Matsuda shares memories—and verses—about the late painter Alfredo Arreguín

Catching up with bestselling author and provocateur David Shields
“I try to use sports as a reflecting pool to get at American culture and human nature. I see it as a good way to expose my own nerve endings, American culture’s confusion on race, and indelible truths about human nature. That all might sound very highfalutin, but sports can actually get you there.”

Editor’s Letters

“Making Memories in a Museum,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 65-2, Winter 2023)

“New Word, Ancient World,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 65-2, Fall 2023)

As Project Editor

AFTER PRISON Omari Amili spent time in prison before earning three degrees from the University of Washington. For this project, he interviewed 10 other people who graduated after they got out.

A LIFE IN COMPUTING In a visual obituary, we retrace the remarkable life of Paul Allen through the technology that made it possible

FILIPINO FOOD GUIDE We surveyed the best places to eat Filipino food in Seattle. Along the way, we asked Filipino-Americans to review a dish at each place.

IDENTITY SOLUTION A new elementary school in Indianapolis believes identity and civic engagement could transform the educational landscape, especially for students of color.

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Q&A’s

What it’s like to have dinner with chef Melissa Miranda. Her new restaurant Musang gives Seattle a taste of what the Philippines means to her.

Rehashing history with pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman

Thanks, Professor Banks: ‘The Father of Multicultural Education’ is retiring after 50 years. A candid conversation about race, faith and legacy.

A down-to-earth conversation with astrophysicist Tom Quinn. He made the list of the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.”

How to spot an urban owl in a park near you. Wildlife photographer Paul Bannick walks us through the woods to find the nocturnal predator.

Health & Medicine

For VICE: Rebuilding a Planned Parenthood after a domestic terrorist attack. The Planned Parenthood in Pullman was firebombed—even though it doesn't offer abortion services.

Corpse Values: Inside the University of Washington’s Willed Body Program. Donated bodies become the classrooms of future doctors, dentists, nurses, and other health care professionals.

Awaiting transplant, family rallies with hope. A story about a beloved professor’s search for a new kidney. “Ask yourself not just why you want to live, but what do you want to do that day in the world? Look beyond yourself.”

Broken hearts are a public health epidemic. A whopping 1-in-4 Americans will die from cardiovascular disease, whether it be an event like a heart attack or a condition like congestive heart failure.

‘We came here to contribute.’ As an undocumented immigrant, Antonio Lopez-Ibarra dreaded going to the dentist as a child. Now he's a dentist who goes the extra mile to put his patients at ease.

More From the Archives

Busting BS: Two professors designed a course to train students to catch—and call out—fake news and falsehoods.

‘Yes, I am a boy’: How Kevin Ninh went from bullied teen to social media star. Beyond the laughs and beneath the eyeliner, a subversive storyteller is carving out a space for himself and others.

The tavern that provided refuge after a deadly mudslide. Everyone in the Red Top Tavern that night was affected by the slide. In some way, the mud had reached them all. (The Everett Herald)

Classmates, cousins hold missing boy close to their hearts. 14-year-old Denver Harris went missing in the Oso mudslide. He was later found to have died in his family’s home. (The Everett Herald)

With spoken word and hip-hop, a new generation of poets has taken the stage. Rooted in a rich legacy, a new class of poets compose verses that channel their cultures and challenge the status quo.

What if your class schedule put you in the same room as all of the best teachers? An imagined account, written from the student perspective, about the winners of the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award. (University of Washington Magazine)

A sanctuary for 190 cast-off pigs: Judy Woods has been sheltering homeless hogs for more than two decades. (The Everett Herald)