First it was poetry slams, and then it was art slams, and now there’s this new thing called Slide Slam Friday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. inside the Rialto Theater in downtown Tacoma.

What the heck is a “slam” anyway?

The uninitiated ask this question, and those in the know just smirk knowingly. No one ever actually answers. Does anyone really know? Before uncovering the meaning, let’s play a little game I like to call the acronym game where we get to make up our own answer. Here are a few trial answers: S.L.A.M.: Sophomoric Lacy Anti-Matter; S.L.A.M.: Slow-moving Lunchbox with Atomic Munchies; S.L.A.M.: Sundial Latent According to Mars; S.L.A.M.: Sentient Lucky and Attitude Malleable; and my favorite and the most apropos if I daresay so myself â€" S.L.A.M.: Sequential Lineup of Arts and other Media. None of those are technically correct, of course, but playing the acronym game is almost as fun as the event I’m about to tell you about.

The truth is that the term “slam” is a derivative of “poetry slam,” a competitive evening of poet against poet (think "8-Mile" only without the hip-hop) whose name was derived from baseball and bridge terminology. This event is not that at all. This is Slide Slam â€" one and a half hours of local art slammed into your consciousness like a shot of adrenaline. This is not your Grandma’s slide show.

Sixty-three local artists will have their artwork projected on the big screen at the Rialto Theater as slides, digital images and video clips. Each picture will appear for just a few seconds along with information about the art and the artist. No one is going to “slam” anyone’s work â€" at least not out loud.

“This is an opportunity to meet new people and get a better idea of what is happening artistically," explains Naomi Strom-Avila of the Tacoma Arts Commission.  "This is definitely a positive thing.”

One other positive thing about this event is that the rules of submission directly reflect some feedback that the Arts Commission has been getting from the local artist community. Usually the Arts Commission has to comply with regulations that are mapped out in its bylaws, but this event gives it an opportunity to do things a little differently. For instance, instead of limiting the submissions to Tacoma residents, this event allows anyone from the Puget Sound area to submit work. Instead of a juried show where only proven artists can participate, this project includes everyone.

“We are getting full-time professionals and others who are just getting started. We got a really nice cross section,” says Strom-Avila. 

Slide Slam and Project-A-Thon is a part of a monthlong celebration of arts in Tacoma called Art at Work. This is the fifth year Tacoma Arts Commission has organized this event with the help of volunteers from the arts community. In previous years November was known as Tacoma Artists Month, but this year the name was changed to Art at Work in order to promote the fact that everyone can participate in the event, not just artists. â€" Angela Jossy