IN FOCUS

When events happen in Seattle’s Black community, they don’t happen without being documented. For several decades Keith A. Williams has been an unofficial documentarian of the life and times of the Central District. His vast collection of archival photos offers memorial glimpses into Seattle’s Black community history. Remember Ernett’s club? What about Lloyd’s Rocket or Singletary’s service station? The Black Community festival, Juneteenth parades, and The Facts Newspaper tr

There is brightness and joy in her art exceeded only by the brightness and joy she exudes. Perri Rhoden, affectionately known also as thecurlynugget , is an abstract mixed media artist and muralist by trade. Her work is thoughtful while also being quite playful and is self-described as “bright, bold, sensual, and full of texture, inspired by Black women and her manifestations of feminine energy captured on canvas.” The work of Perri has been captured on murals around the city

When you are introduced to artist Myron Curry, you have met what can only be described as "sunshine in human form." ☀️ It’s not just the glow that effortlessly emits from his smile, but it’s the warmth in his every word. Whether meeting Myron for the first time or the hundredth, there is always something present that gives off a hint of familiarity. It’s almost as if he is looking into your eyes and seeing and connecting to your soul. Perhaps the soulfulness comes from the ma

Seattle native Cole Abram returned home from NYU Shanghai, with her Global China Studies degree in hand. With a minor in Mandarin and Interactive Media Arts, Cole was ready to supplement her education by immersing herself in art and Black cultural experiences. Feeling as though her highly specialized degree fulfilled her educational goals, she found a deficit in her connection to her culture. She also found ARTE NOIR. Cole is the ARTE NOIR Guest Services Associate and beyond

Seattle’s longest-running Black art gallery is opening a second location. Gallery Onyx at Midtown Square opens in ARTE NOIR on September 17th! This collaboration has been at least a couple of years in the making through lots of conversation, dreaming together, and planning our way to this point. We couldn’t be more excited to have forged this relationship and to see our collective vision come to life, on a corner of the Central District that is becoming more and more alive d

Dr. Jasmine Mahmoud has a heart for art. Not only is her whole heart in the game but she is also a noted scholar, advocate, curator, and historian of art performance. Before meeting Jasmine, I was aware of her influential work as curator of Abstractions of Black Citizenship: African American Art from St. Louis , a group exhibition featuring the works of St. Louis artists Dominic Chambers, Damon Davis, Jen Everett, De Nichols, and Katherine Simone Reynolds, when Mahmoud was A

Draze was born to win. " Born to Win " is the title of his latest single, but it is also the truth of his life. Born Dumisani Maraire Jr., he is the son of two renowned master performers of the Shona culture of Zimbabwe. His father Abraham Dumisani Maraire Sr. is known for introducing mbira music to North America with numerous recordings to his credit in addition to having been a legendary teacher of the Shona music and culture at the University of Washington and Evergreen

May marks one year since we launched ARTE NOIR online, and this month, we're shining our own light and giving gratitude to those who have helped us thus far, as well as our new team members. First, we say "THANK YOU!" to all of our readers and supporters. You've been the wind in our sail to keep going and while we are still a small organization, we are mighty, and growing! Sincere gratitude to Karinda Harris and Juan Alonso-Rodriquez , who have been our guiding force as fou

Owning the narrative of Black history can be a complex struggle. The threat of erasure always looms large, as ownership and documentation have largely been outside of Black control. That script is being re-written as two archival projects are underway to secure our history, particularly that of Black creatives. In the annals of Black history, Baltimore, Maryland holds a high place. Both Frederick Douglas and Thurgood Marshall hailed from Baltimore. It is the birthplace of jaz

This month, the spotlight is on the Black Future Co-op Fund and their support of Black-woman-led organizations throughout Washington state that are serving their communities through arts, culture, restorative healing, educational innovation, policy development, and more. ARTE NOIR is pleased to announce that we are among the 21 recent grant recipients. The latest round of We See You grants was created by the Fund in celebration of Black-woman-led organizations and in acknow

Several years ago, I presented at an event called Square Space Seattle. It was targeted to individuals with an interest in becoming actively involved in the preservation, creation, and activation of cultural square footage in Seattle. At the end of my presentation, a lovely Black young woman made her way to the front of the room and introduced herself, saying she was relatively new to Seattle and wanted to connect. The smile on her face captivated me and until this day, every

In July of 2020, over 300 Black, Indigenous, and People of Color theater-makers penned a letter that challenged White theater to change. The letter, “ We See You White American Theater ,” called into question the sincerity of white theatre leader promises to diversify, yet whose actions kept the Great White Way mostly white. But before the delivery of this letter, one Black man was crusading for change and changing the color of theatre producers on Broadway. Ron Simons , of

Chelsea Riddick-Most is an Emmy Award-winning producer and project manager who has worked for major entertainment affiliates including the National Basketball Association and ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group. A former Garfield High School graduate, Chelsea returned to Seattle from the east coast to start her new position this past summer. In her role at Seattle Center, she oversees six working groups including arts and community programming; cultural programming;

Jake Prendez and Judy Avitia-Gonzalez made a space that sits on the border of the West Seattle and White Center neighborhoods to host monthly exhibits focused on marginalized communities and communities of color. Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery expresses the meaning of the word from the Aztec language, which describes being in the middle, or the space in the middle. In November, they took that space and centered the work of Black artists from the Pacific Northwest. Curated b

The section of this website entitled 'Savoir Faire' creates space to highlight "Black Art Shaping Community" and it feels imperative to include Christopher Paul Jordan and his sculptural artwork andimgonnamisseverybody within these (web)pages. Located in the main plaza of the AIDS Memorial Pathway on Capitol Hill in Seattle, just a short walk from Cal Anderson Park—which was named after Washington's first openly gay state legislator who died in 1995 of AIDS-related complic

Last month, the renowned Metropolitan Opera performed Fire Shut Up In My Bones , composed by Terrence Blanchard with libretto by Kasi Lemmons. This marked the first time The Met has performed an opera by a Black composer in their 141-year history! This event made headlines. Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, another Black composer was making their own headlines. Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Darrell Grant premiered his site-specific jazz chamber opera, Sanctua

We celebrate art in community and we’re taking this celebration to the next level! ARTE NOIR is now a non-profit arts and culture organization (!), and in a few short months, we will be expanding our footprint and taking up physical residence at Midtown Square! Located at 23rd & Union in the heart of the historic Central District, we are creating a permanent retail location to showcase Black art and culture with the online publication becoming a portal to the brick-and-morta

An impassioned tide of crimson-lacquered waves sweeps across Lisa Myers Bulmash’s trio of works, “The Manticore and the Mermaid,” connecting the collages she created to honor Ona Judge. A former slave of President George Washington, Ona Judge “absconded” from his estate in 1796 and successfully remained free, despite Washington’s many attempts to recapture her. An important foundation of Lisa’s art is to center the African American and female experiences, and these striking

Tedde Gibson, the Mighty Wurlitzer Organist

In 1959, Lorraine Vivian Hansberry became the first African American woman to have a Broadway production of her work. A Raisin in the Sun, named for a line in the Langston Hughes poem Harlem , debuted on Broadway in 1959, just six years before her death in 1965 at the age of 34. An artist/activist, Hansberry’s life and body of work served as the inspiration for The Hansberry Project, a professional Black theatre company dedicated to the artistic exploration of African Americ