Black Arts Legacies

Zoë Dusanne and Elisheba Johnson are separated by generations and many changes in the contemporary art landscape, but they are bound together in their shared approach to using the home as a site for creativity and community in the Northwest.

Donald Byrd and Jade Solomon Curtis embrace difficult subjects with their whole bodies. From gun violence to police brutality to slavery, the two Seattle dancer-choreographers have used movement to grapple with, embody and translate the persistent struggles of our era.

Dave Lewis was a talented keyboardist and key player in the Pacific Northwest’s booming rhythm and blues scene of the 1950s and ’60s — a scene that eventually evolved into Seattle’s iconic take on rock ’n’ roll and bands like The Black Tones, a genre-busting rock band taking Seattle by storm.

Throughout the massive shifts that Seattle’s Black population have experienced, Black presence has been emphasized in local theater groups. Douglas Quinton Barnett and Sharon Nyree Williams represent the history and future of Black theater in Seattle, and in the historically Black Central District neighborhood in particular.

On Union Street in Seattle, two buildings speak to each other. On the north side is a facade designed by Al Doggett. Across the street is an apartment exterior created by Barry Johnson. Both commemorate the history of Black art in Seattle, while at the same time making a permanent mark on the evolving Central District neighborhood.