620 Market Street | Kirkland, WA | 98033 | (425) 822-7161 View our office hours.
Interim Executive Director
Director of Education
Star Hang Nga Rush
srush@kirklandartscenter.org
Star Rush has held faculty and administration appointments at colleges and university in Washington state. She has taught writing, American Literature, and creative writing. Star earned her Master’s Degree in English Studies, Nonfiction, from Western Washington University. Star has served as Interim President and Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs for Cornish College of the Arts. Her photography has appeared in the United States, London, the Netherlands, and Europe, as well as magazines Actual Colors May Vary, Askar Magazine, Camerapixo, Dodho.com and featured on international sites and publications: Resource Magazine, wired.it, and Volksrant. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in Hawaii Review, Fireweed, and others. Her cultural essays about connected mobile photography have appeared in iPhonegraphy.com, wearejuxt.com, dprConnect, iPhoneogenic.com, and others. She is currently serves on the Cultural Arts Commission-City of Kirkland.
Ceramics Studio Manager
Brooke Cerny
bcerny@kirklandartscenter.org
Ceramics Technician Emeritus
Pat Colyar
pcolyar@kirklandartscenter.org
Pat Colyar is a longtime ceramics technician at the Kirkland Arts Center and has taught ceramics since 1988. She enjoys helping people learn about the joys of clay work while discovering their own abilities. She specializes in making functional ceramic ware and two-dimensional wall pieces.
Assistant Curator
Danielle Librera
dlibrera@kirklandartscenter.org
Danielle is originally from New Jersey, but now calls Seattle home. She graduated from the University of Washington in the spring of 2023, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History. While she has an admiration for all forms of art, her favorite era is Modernism with particular focus on post-World War II art. She loves working in the gallery because it gives her the opportunity to introduce our patrons to our artists’ work and techniques. Danielle has personally studied watercolor painting and enjoys creating art in her spare time. Previously, Danielle was a pastry chef for many years in Seattle and Phoenix, even owning her own bakery for a few years. She still bakes from time to time when the mood strikes.
Gallery Director & Chief Curator
Miha Sarani
msarani@kirklandartscenter.org
Miha Sarani is a visual artist, an art historian, and an art educator. Born and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he moved permanently to the United States in 2007, becoming a citizen in 2021. He earned a BFA (painting + drawing, ’15), and an MA (art history, ’19) from the University of Washington.
Miha’s work has been shown at art museums and galleries, featured in art journals, publications, promotional material, and on music album covers. His large Koncentrik Painting series is owned by the University of Washington and on permanent display at the Mary Gates Hall. He lectures on art history for Seattle Central College CE, and OSHER program at the University of Washington, as well as practical art making at the Kirkland Arts Center.
Also passionate about music, Miha released his first music album Emona Au Revoir in 2016. It was included in Seattle Public Library’s PlayBack program the following year. He is a member of the Shift Gallery in Seattle, where he works and lives with his wife Tomitha, and their dogs Blue and Sister Ray.
Education Coordinator
Analisa Soverns-Reed
asovernsreed@
Analisa Soverns-Reed is an art historian and educator. She was born and raised in Everett and has lived in the Kenmore/Kirkland area for the past several years. Analisa attended the University of Washington where she earned an honors bachelor of arts degree in art history with a minor in history. After working in various fields for the next seven years, she decided to follow her passion for education. In 2022, she graduated from Grand Canyon University with a master’s in education with a concentration in secondary humanities education.
Outside of her work for KAC as the education coordinator, Analisa runs the Accessible Art History social media platform. This digital humanities project utilizes free social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, blogs, etc) to bring art history education to anyone that is curious! Analisa is passionate about helping others to understand our shared history through objects.
In her free time, Analisa enjoys reading, working on writing her first art history book, spending time with friends and family, and cheering on Seattle sports teams!
Assistant Ceramics Technician
Eleanor Stelter
estelter@kirklandartscenter.org