Ms. Elisheba Johnson

Black Owned Homes as Solutions to Cultural Space

Posted by Ms. Elisheba Johnson, May 08, 2020


Ms. Elisheba Johnson

Cultural space doesn’t just live in traditional retail space. Cultural space is born where culture thrives. While on the surface it seems that four artists created the Black art center Wa Na Wari, it is actually the continuation of the legacy of Frank and Goldyne Green, who were cultural space activists before there were words for this type of work. We don’t always think of our family homes as cultural spaces, but this Green home, and their other five properties, operated in this way. After the passing of Frank Green, artists Inye Wokoma, Jill Freidberg, Rachel Kessler, and I wondered what it would mean to rent it for a year as a cultural center. This social practice project was about the act of reclaiming so much of what has been lost in Seattle’s Central District. Our formerly redlined neighborhood has experienced drastic gentrification and displacement of our Black community. A neighborhood that was at one time 80% African American is now less than 10% Black. Wa Na Wari explores what it means for Black people to reclaim space in gentrified communities. Wa Na Wari is an art house and a community organizing effort. It is a model for how black homeowners can stay in their homes while also convening around black art. 

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Ms. Elisheba Johnson

The Time is Now for Two Art Worlds to Collide

Posted by Ms. Elisheba Johnson, Jun 01, 2016


Ms. Elisheba Johnson

Institutional and cultural change is slow and doesn’t come easy. In my experience there are two art worlds. The one I have lived in for over a decade that is inclusive, creative, queer, DIY, and POC centered. In this world we support each other and produce interesting and challenging art exhibitions in creative, nontraditional spaces.

And then there is the other one, the white male dominated world that reinforces and creates reasons to bar entry to the rest of us.

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