Creative Space Archives | South Seattle Emerald

by Amanda Ong

The former Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) Building in the CID has lived many lives: It was built in 1932 to detain and deport Chinese immigrants during the Chinese Exclusion Act era. It held Japanese American men before they were sent to local incarceration camps during World War II. It deported thousands of immigrants and refugees throughout the 20th century, and naturalized others. And after it was vacated as an INS building in 2004, it lived again as the home of Inscape Arts. With over 125 tenants, Inscape offers the largest working arts and creative space in Seattle.

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by Ronnie Estoque

Lamarr Thompson began making his own clothing back in 2006 when he was in high school. He says that at the time it wasn’t super fruitful, but by 2015 he started his own brand: “Quickstrike.”

During the pandemic, Thompson, Toebyas Wilson of the clothing brand “requiem,” and other creatives, sought a physical location to centralize their brands, which they had been operating remotely up to that point. Their brainchild, AISLE 4OUR, a collective that has their own retail and creative space and photo studio located on Rainier Avenue, will celebrate its grand opening this Friday. Feb. 25, to Sunday, Feb. 27.

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