Black Arts Legacies

Stage diver
Reginald André Jackson
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Photo by Meron Menghistab
Dance revolution
Syvilla Fort
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Courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts
Channeling inclusivity
Val Thomas-Matson
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Photo by Meron Menghistab
Setting the scene
Negro Repertory Company
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Courtesy of UW Special Collection, UW Theatres Photograph Collection
Power player
Julian Priester
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Photo by Meron Menghistab
Stage diver
Reginald André Jackson
Watch the video
Photo by Meron Menghistab
Dance revolution
Syvilla Fort
Watch the video
Courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts

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Black Arts Legacies recognizes an intergenerational group of local musicians, dancers, visual artists, poets, performers, curators and architects, whose creative expressions document the complexity of being a Black artist in Seattle. Theirs are stories of being the first, of contending with discrimination and breaking down barriers, of long careers and careers cut short, and of building community through the arts. Their stories help make sense of who we are — as a city and as a region — through songs, scripts, brush strokes, choreography, architecture and poetry. Learn more about the origins and aims of the project here.

Meet the artists

A black and white painting of a woman with her hair up, eyes directed away

Syvilla Fort

Dancer, choreographer

Val Thomas-Matson

TV producer, host

A shirtless man looks off camera with a somber expression

Negro Repertory Company

Theater company

A man holds a trombone and smiles at the camera

Julian Priester

Trombonist

A portrait of a woman looking at the camera

Takiyah Ward

Muralist, apparel designer

Reginald André Jackson

Actor, playwright

A photo portrait of a man with a slight smile wearing glasses

Milt Simons

Painter, musician, educator

A portrait of a woman wearing an orange hat, staring pensively

Tiffany Wilson

Singer/songwriter

Preston Wadley

Visual artist, educator

A woman wearing a hat softly smiles at the camera with a dark blue background

Jourdan Imani Keith

Poet, naturalist

Cheryl L. West

Playwright

A man with a plain muted red projection behind him stares at the camera

Benjamin Hunter

Musician, Arts Facilitator

Amanda Morgan

Dancer, choreographer

Nate Long

Director, producer

Quenton Baker

Poet, Educator

Elisheba Johnson

Curator, Artist

black and white image of man looking off to the right

James W. Washington Jr.

Sculptor, Painter

A woman in an orange jacket with her hands framing her head

Jade Solomon Curtis

Choreographer, Dancer

A black and white image of an older woman looking off camera right

Zoë Dusanne

Curator

Valerie Curtis-Newton

Theater Director, Educator

A man holds his hand to his sunglasses and looks to camera

Ishmael Butler

Musician, Rapper

A man sitting and a woman standing with a guitar

The Black Tones

Musicians

Donald Byrd

Choreographer, Dancer

black and white image of a woman with short hair singing into a microphone

Tina Bell

Singer, Musician

Barbara Earl Thomas

Visual Artist

Person looking into the camera with a colorful hoodie on his head

Porter Ray

Rapper, Musician

Black and white photo of a man resting his chin on his hand smiling

Kabby Mitchell

Dancer, Teacher

Edna Daigre

Dancer, Teacher

black and white image of woman singing into a microphone

Ernestine Anderson

Singer

Barry Johnson

Visual Artist

Mona Lake Jones

Poet

A bald woman wearing earrings and a leather jacket looks into the camera

Sharon Nyree Williams

Theater Producer, Poet

Person wearing dark pants, grey shirt and scarf looks off camera

Laurie Allison Wilson

Architect

Person in pink and gold dress with long locks in a bright blue-green color

Tariqa Waters

Visual Artist, Curator

Black and white photo of man with glasses in suit smiling

Benjamin F. McAdoo Jr.

Architect

Esther Ervin

Visual Artist

A woman with her hand touching her head stares into camera

Anastacia-Reneé

Poet, Visual Artist

Black and white image of a man in a suit and tie

Dave Lewis

Musician, Bandleader

A man with gray hair and a white sweater

Al Doggett

Visual Artist, Graphic Designer

A man sits at a table with empty auditorium seats behind him

Douglas Q. Barnett

Theater Producer, Director

Marita Dingus

Visual Artist

Bringing Black history to the present

A woman in period costume holds a sign that reads "To hope is to vote" in one hand and a lantern in the other

Seattle playwright Cheryl L. West is known for bringing complicated historical figures to life, including Fannie Lou Hamer, the American civil rights activist from Mississippi. Here, actress E. Faye Butler plays the lead in Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. (Liz Lauren)

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A person gestures as they read out loud from a book they hold in their hand

Seattle poet Quenton Baker's latest collection, ballast, is based on a U.S. Senate document detailing the only successful shipboard revolt of enslaved people in American history. Baker redacts the official text to tell a new, untold story about the people who made the remarkable choice to fight back. (Meron Menghistab for Crosscut)

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The late Northwest television titan Nate Long was devoted to diversifying the airwaves with Black stories and voices. As part of these efforts, he created the TV series South by Northwest, detailing the early history of Black people in the Pacific Northwest. Here, a still from an episode about Black cowboys. (Courtesy of Washington State University)

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Multimedia art with a mission

Artist and longtime Seattle teacher Preston Wadley believes in the importance of engaging your brain with art.

Aerial view of a neighborhood, students exiting a bus, man in front of a school, four children dancing

Conversations about Black arts venues in the neighborhood led to stories of creation, loss and preservation.

Listen here

Expression through movement

A woman sits in a dance position on a block with one arm on her waist and the other above her head, one knee down and the other up

Person in tight dance leotards with hands up in the air in ballet pose

Person with arms outstretched in front of black screen

Person in black suit in front of black screen, as dancers dance besides him

A man sits on a stool and plays the violin

Blending genres to redefine folk

“My favorite way of making art is in collaboration with other folks who know music is only made richer with dance,” says multi-instrumentalist Ben Hunter. “They go hand in hand.”

Since moving to Seattle more than 15 years ago, Hunter has used music to build space and community for local artists of many genres. And boy, has he been busy.

Podcast: The afterlives of Seattle’s groundbreaking Black Arts/West theater

Though the Madrona theater closed in 1980, several artists trace their current work to its heyday.

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Defining dance and breaking barriers

Syvilla Fort helped put Seattle dance on the map and influenced generations of dancers.

A man sits with a child, appearing to read a book with her

Person in black and white photo on orange and yellow

Three story building with square windows

Podcast: How James and Janie Washington sculpted a legacy

Three photos of a home and one of a sculptor

The late couple’s house in Seattle’s Central District is now a cultural center that inspires the next generation of creatives.

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A person paints abstract shapes on clear plexiglass

A creative existence

“Creativity is the essence of existence. That’s my belief, why we’re here. Turning something from nothing is what it’s all about, ” muralist and apparel designer Takiyah Ward says.

“It’s self-expression. Being able to stand out from the crowd has always been very important to me because I’ve always considered myself a little bit of an outcast — being an artist, being queer, navigating those spaces at a young age. It’s also armor.”

Bringing Black stage history to the present

Seattle actor/playwright Reginald André Jackson pays tribute to the Black theater-makers who paved the way.

artwork showing black papercut paper overlaid on colorful paper, like a stained glass window

detail of metal-cut artwork featuring heads and a cowrie pattern

An open book with a sculpture of a hand coming out from the left page, and a black and white photo of a person on the right page

Podcast: How Black arts took center stage at Seattle’s Langston institute

One old photo of a building exterior, three recent photos of its interior

Transformed by a 1960s urban relief program, a former synagogue has fostered generations of Black artists even as the neighborhood around it changes.

Listen here

A black and white photo of a man drawing

Making art amid discrimination

"Although my work was praised, particularly in illustration, fashion design, figure painting and other commercial lines, I was flatly refused any position, again because of color," Milt Simons wrote.

"Many times I have broken up brushes, thrown away my paints and work in deep remorse and bewilderment. But I am an artist. To function is to create.”

Resounding voices

A woman sings into a mic and has her hand up expressively

Singer/songwriter Tiffany Wilson started out her career in a gospel group signed with Hendrix Records called SOUL. After a brief period in Los Angeles where she worked as a songwriter for other artists, she returned to the Pacific Northwest and has remained ever since. She's independently released two records, with a third underway. (Meron Menghistab for Crosscut)

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A black and white photo of a woman singing into a microphone with her eyes closed

Ernestine Anderson had a voice that Quincy Jones described as "the sound of honey at dusk." She recorded over 30 albums and was a four-time nominee at the Grammy's. A Seattle local through and through, she won the Golden Umbrella at Bumbershoot in 2002. (Courtesy of Museum of History and Industry)

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A woman with bleached white-blonde hair leans down with a microphone stand, singing into the microphone

Singer Tina Bell was the frontwoman of the proto-grunge band Bam Bam in the 1980s and '90s. Bell was born and raised in Seattle, and formed Bam Bam with her then-husband Tommy Martin. Known for her fierce stage presence and large vocal range, Bell continues to inspire local musicians today such as the Black Tones. (Photo by Cyndia Lavik)

Read the profile