Marshall Peterson has always been enamored with the arts. Throughout his life, he's thrown himself into tons of artistic endeavors, from music and photography to filmmaking and writing. Yet he says his greatest contribution to the creative field has been operating Marmot Art Space in Spokane for the past decade.
Peterson, 60, grew up in Spokane and graduated from Ferris High School. He then headed west to attend the University of Washington and experience life outside his hometown. After working as an artist and living around the world in places like Guadalajara, Mexico, and Berlin, however, he found himself back in the Inland Northwest in 2012.
At the time, he wasn't planning to open his own art gallery — he just wanted to be closer to his mom for a couple of years. But a couple years turned into a decade, and now Peterson doesn't see himself leaving anytime soon.
Initially, Peterson was working to create more spaces for art in Spokane. In 2013, he launched PorchFest West Central, an annual music festival outside of residences in its namesake neighborhood. In 2014, he debuted Spokane 50, a project documenting leaders of Spokane's arts ecosystem. Then in March 2015, he opened his own white-cube art gallery, Marmot Art Space, to further strengthen the local arts scene.
"I don't focus that much on my career, because I prefer to focus on other people," he says. "Part of opening the gallery is just this intense love and respect for visual arts."
The gallery's name comes from two places. "Marmot" for the cuddly looking large ground squirrels that roam nearby. "Art Space" nodded to the next-door INK Art Space, a community hub for arts education co-founded by Spokane author Jess Walter, which eventually was folded into what's now the creative learning hub Spark Central.
Toward the beginning of Marmot Art Space's existence, Peterson hosted shows filled with local artists' work, yet after some time, he decided to shift the gallery's focus to prestigious regional artists.
"Sometimes you have a show where you support someone and they're great, and you lose money on the show," Peterson explains. "Then you have another show with someone who's more well-known and more accomplished. People actually buy their art, and you get to eat that month."
The transition was slow at first, but eventually Peterson began bringing in nationally known artists from around Washington state, such as ceramicist Patti Warashina, printmaker Keiko Hara and the late painter Alfredo Arreguín.
"I know that if you're supporting others, the [Spokane] community will support you."
Out of all the talented artists he's worked with over the years, Peterson says memories with the late Indigenous artist Ric Gendron, who became a close friend, are his fondest. Gendron, a member of the Arrow Lakes Band of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, is known for his vivid figurative paintings of Native American imagery. In the months before Gendron died in 2023, Peterson hosted a handful of shows featuring his work.
"We sold a lot of work during that time, so as he was dealing with medical bills, he had money in his pocket," he says. "I know that if you're supporting others, the [Spokane] community will support you."
Beyond showing artwork in his gallery, Peterson has also produced art books, such as Ric Gendron: Kwilstn (Sweat Lodge), to ensure these regional artists are remembered long after their death.
Now, as he looks forward to the next 10 years, Peterson hopes to mentor mid-career artists who are looking to take their work to the "next level."
"That [mentorship] is just not something that Spokane offers. We offer instruction with the finger painters. We offer art classes in junior and high school. There's degrees you can get," he says. "But nobody teaches much about how to actually succeed as a full-time artist, and that's the unique thing that I offer to the community."
And as for Marmot's 10th anniversary show this March, Peterson says he's thrilled to show new artwork from at least a dozen artists.
"I hope people who have loved the gallery for the past years visit to see what new stuff I've got from the artists," he says. "I mean, who gets to 10 years? The accomplishment itself is just remarkable, it feels like getting to 100 years or something. I'm just so grateful that I'm able to do something important." ♦
Marmot Art Space 10th Anniversary • Fri, March 7 at 5 pm • Free • Marmot Art Space • 1202 W. Summit Pkwy. • marmotartspace.com
