Arts & Pride Month conversation series: Jonah Barnett

Originally published on The JOLT News on June 2, 2026

Today kicks off a conversation series I will be doing in this column on Arts & Pride Month during the month of June. The columns in this series will be published once a week, and each will feature a conversation with one local artist who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community! If you are interested, you can click here and read my full statement on why I chose to do this series.  

Today, it is truly an honor to introduce you all to the first artist in this series, Jonah Barnett.  

A The Evergreen State College alumni, Barnett (who uses the pronoun their) is an ex-filmmaker, published author, photographer, cyanotype creator and soon to be publisher alongside their partner Austin Bennett in their company “Countershade Press,” which hopes to publish their first book at the end of August. 

Growing up in a big house in the midst of Tenino’s forests, Barnett developed a deep love of nature, which inspires their work today. Barnett's family and mentors, including Laura Stanfill and Bry Troyer, fostered Barnett’s talent and encouraged them to keep exploring their interests.  

 My favorite story surrounding this was hearing how after watching “Jurassic Park,” Barnett wanted to make their own little dinosaur movies, and so their parents taught them how to do stop motion animation. From there, they started writing their own scripts and making more short films throughout middle school, high school, and beyond. 

Barnett is kind, generous, whimsical, very intelligent, and just the sort of person you naturally want to be friends with.  

I hope you enjoy our conversation:  

 The conversation 

Benton: How did the arts influence your story as a queer person, and how did coming out enhance your craft?  

Barnett: "Artistic spaces attract a lot of queer folks, and a lot of queer spaces have artistic people in them. I think it is just a very natural thing. I don't I think I came out because of my art, but I came out because it was time. I was 13 and was like, 'Oh fuck, I think I like boys,' but at the same time, I was making art all the time and you could kind of see more and more queerness reflected in it as time went on. It came out in a lot of my stories, but not like on purpose if that makes sense."  

Benton: Have you encountered any discrimination in the professional art worlds you inhabit?  

Barnett: "I don’t think I have actually, but to be fair, I share my art in basically only queer spaces, which we have so many of here in Western Washington. I had a friend, who was an English teacher at Tenino High School, and it’s kind of conservative down there. She told me she would sneak my book into the classroom and that a few queer kids would read it and find hope in it … that always felt really good. I think that is the closest thing I can say to encountering adversity."  

Benton: Sure, and just the notion that your book had to be snuck in.  

Barnett: "When I encounter conservative backlash against queer people, it’s odd to me because growing up here, acceptance just felt like second nature, but I have noticed that there is a more conservative, heteronormative streak going through Olympia right now, and it’s like 'Woah, why is this happening?' At the same time, the more that side ramps up, the more the other side of like the 'queer weirdos' just get stranger and wilder and more fantastical, so I do appreciate the fact that like we’re just getting stranger and stranger all the time. 

Benton: On a more sentimental note, I imagine there are kids in our community who are in the closet and like you, are into the arts and found a way to embrace who they are through them. What advice would you give to a fellow queer artist, regardless of if they are out of the closet or not?  

Barnett: "I would say just make what you want and don’t worry about what other people are going to think. You know, usually, when writing, I try to avoid the voice in my head that says like, 'Oh, this will ruffle some feathers' or 'Oh, this is too provocative.' I just create whatever I want to, and then if that makes some people angry or whatever, that is the point of art.  

To learn more about Jonah Barnett, you can click here. I invite you to also keep an eye on Jonah and Austin’s publishing company, Countershade Press (click here for the website).