Tag Archives: Black Artists

Arts & Culture

Public Art Project ‘Femme Noire’ Blossoms in the Central District

by Jas Keimig

If you’ve taken a walk around the Central District lately, perhaps you’ve noticed some things around the neighborhood that look a little different. On 23rd and East Spring Street, you might have spotted a banner with an image of a disembodied hand holding a brick of chicken bouillon billowing in the wind atop a tall lamp post. From the window of Arte Noir on East Union, maybe you’ve spied a cozy painting in banner form of two Black women and their dog gazing out at you.

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Arts & Culture

Sankofa Theater and Wolf Delux Are Examples of Seattle’s Economic Divide for Black Artists

It’s up to us to save Black arts spaces in Seattle.

by Patheresa Wells

Recently, I sat down to think about my journey to become an Arts & Culture reporter who often writes about Black art in Seattle. And it made me reflect on the potency that lies in Black art. The power that resides in creation in the face of oppression.

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Arts & Culture

‘Thank You, MS PAM’

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How Black Women Are Preventing the Erasure of Seattle’s Black Community Through the Arts

by NaKeesa Frazier-Jennings

As a Black woman myself, the term “Black excellence” doesn’t really resonate with me, and to use it to describe Tariqa Waters, a multidisciplinary artist and business owner in Seattle, would be an understatement. Owner and founder of local art gallery Martyr Sauce, what she is doing through her art, her presence, and her commitment to our local community has an importance that cannot be truly captured in words, unless with a word that means something more than excellent. She occupies spaces and represents Black women and Black girls, and does so with grace, generosity, kindness, and color through both her amazing personal style and her larger-than-life art installations!

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Arts & Culture

Visions of Liberation: Solidarity and Healing in the Art of Zahyr Lauren

by Yoona Lee

Seattle artist Zahyr Lauren used to be an attorney.

They realized something important in practicing law. Zahyr explains, “We can argue back and forth about case law, but when I give my witness statement as a Black person and human rights investigator, nobody can edit that.” In other words, what Zahyr has experienced in America is their own indisputable truth.

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Arts & Culture

Gallery Onyx Opens New Location Dedicated to Artists of African Descent at Midtown Square

by Patheresa Wells

On Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, during Walk The Block, Onyx Fine Arts Collective opened their new location of Gallery Onyx. Inside of ARTE NOIR at 23rd and Union at Midtown Square, the gallery will provide space to share the artwork of artists of African descent in the Pacific Northwest. The space provided is substantial because it gives Black artists, many who may have never had a gallery presence, the opportunity to showcase their work to the community. 

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Arts & Culture

‘Joy Has a Sound: Black Sonic Visions’ — a Book Review of Wa Na Wari’s New Anthology

by Patheresa Wells

If you close your eyes and imagine what joy sounds like, what might you hear? The laughter of a loved one? The crescendo of your favorite piece of music? When I tried to recall the sounds of joy, so many other senses flooded in — they kept trying to drown out the sounds. This made me realize that sound can often be an overpowering experience, making silence a relief. But if we do not explore sound — do not imagine its possibilities or examine how it can shape us — then, we may find ourselves blocked. We may discover that silence becomes a barrier because the ability to make noise is a privilege. 

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Arts & Culture

WOW Gallery Owners’ Black Love Journey Creates Space for Healing

by Beverly Aarons

A faceless young woman in a white “number 3” jersey rests her unseen hand against her hip — behind her a running track fades into the distance. A large brimmed hat sits stylishly slanted on a church lady’s head, and a young girl lugs a book bag into a mysterious hallway — she’s flanked by a man wearing a white armband. These “Iconic Black Women’’ paintings by visual artist Hiawatha D., are just a few of many that greet visitors at the Wonder of Women Gallery (WOW) in Pacific Place shopping mall (600 Pine Street, 3rd Floor, Seattle, WA). 

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Arts & Culture

‘Packaged Black’ Sparks Conversations of Representation, Black Identity, and Cultural Resistance

by Nina Dubinsky

Masked visitors were greeted by warm yellow walls featuring sculptural vignettes, precisely cut paper portraits, video installations, and collages at the inauguration of Packaged Black: Derrick Adams and Barbara Earl Thomas at the Henry Art Gallery last weekend. 

The exhibition brings together the brilliance of Brooklyn-based artist Derrick Adams and Seattle artist Barbara Earl Thomas. It is a perfect mesh of works and mediums born from the two artists’ shared dialogue about representation, Black identity, and practices of cultural resistance. Though the concept of a shared exhibition between two artists is not new, there is something special about the visual dialogue between these artists.

“One of the things that is so exciting about this project is its origin out of mutual respect and shared conversation between these two artists,” said Henry Art Gallery curator Nina Bozicnik. 

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Community

PHOTO ESSAY: Central District’s ‘The Liink Project’ Features Local Black Businesses and Artists

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by Ronnie Estoque

On Saturday, Sept. 18, The Liink Project, a co-op retail space in the Central District, hosted a pop-up market featuring local Black entrepreneurs and artists. The event featured lively music, Black art, and goods for purchase. 

The venue, on Union Street and 20th Avenue, opened this past summer and features retail space Mondays through Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The space will continue to be used for markets, gallery shows, and other events at other times. Stephanie Morales, one of the co-founders of The Liink Project, hopes the space will be a place where local Black businesses can grow and find community in a neighborhood that has rapidly gentrified. Formed by community grassroot efforts, The Liink Project is continuing to accept donations.

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