By Evan Waara, The Seattle Medium
The Northwest African American Museum is bringing vibrant art and powerful education to the public after three years of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic NAAM did what they could to bring the museum into people’s homes with their online programming. Black history in the Pacific Northwest is the focus, but no matter a visitor’s background, the museum seeks to help each person experience or learn something new, including through art exhibits.
“I had to select some artists for an exhibit and wanted artists that were very positive, their colors were positive, their energy was positive,” said Eric Salisbury, the curator of The Colors of Life exhibit, which features four Black artists from the Pacific Northwest region. The exhibit runs until June 24.
On May 4 the museum hosted a conversation with Yeggy Michael, one of the artists in the Colors of Life exhibit . Community members gathered with Michael in front of his artwork, which is on display in the Northwest Gallery, to learn about his artistic process and his personal history with art. His pieces show bright warm color with abstract designs and often incorporate themes from his home country of Eritrea.
Another artist, Shantell Jackson, will be visiting the museum on May 11 at 3:30 p.m. Visitors who pay the $10 admission fee will see her vivid paintings densely packed with shapes and colors, and hear how her art intersects with healing and personal transformation.
Salisbury sought artists who create abstract art because he says it portrays more happiness than realism. It also allows for each visitor to find different meaning in the exhibit.
“We wanted to shy away from recognizable imagery, because it’s kind of easy to do something like that, and it’s very difficult to find positive imagery,” Salisbury said. “When you try to do positive art, you are kind of countering that. You’re saying, ‘Yeah, I see the negativity on the news…But when I create art, I’m going to filter that out and I’m going to reflect the things that are really positive in the world.’”
Also on May 4 the museum held Late Nites and Bites. The museum stayed open until 7 p.m. and the Tummy Yummy food truck was parked outside from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“Well, we were actually looking for a place to serve within our neighborhood. We lived like a half block away. And this is a big old park and a heavy commuter route. So it sort of made sense to us,” said Buck Shinners, the owner and chef of Tummy Yummy, a local food truck specializing in southeast Asian cuisine that will be parked in front of the museum for Late Nites and Bites on the first Thursday of every month through the summer.
“For three years the museum was closed. And despite that, we continue to do programming and go out in the community,” said Ashanti Davis, NAAM’s operations director. “So now I think the selling point here is that there are still so many things to engage with about history.”
The end of spring into summer is a busy time for the museum. Next week the Anti-Defamation League, an organization aimed at stopping hate speech, will bring the film “Shared Legacies: The African American – Jewish Civil Rights Alliance” to the museum The film explores the relationship between Jewish and Black people and civil rights in America. The event is planned for May 11 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include full access to pre- and post discussions, as well as snacks.
The following week, on May 19, is Malcom X’s birthday and the museum will host an interactive storytime, where families can read along with a book. This event has been online for the last three years and will be returning in person.
Juneteenth weekend from June 17-19 is the busiest of them all for the museum.
“We are excited to welcome everyone to come and join us here. We’ll have vendors. There will be some food trucks as well. We’ll have product vendors, informational vendors, music therapy, doing yoga that day as well,” Davis said. “It’s just going to be a, let’s say, a beautiful sunny day in Seattle.”
NAAM is looking forward to welcoming the community back to their shared space.
“We are a community hub,” Davis said. “We are a space for artists, we are space for thinkers, for writers, for readers, for elders, for families, for children, for youth, just for everyone.”
