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Office of Arts & Culture news and events

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture 2023 Grants and Funding Opportunities 

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) invests in the arts and cultural sectors, including cultural organizations, arts groups, and individual artists. ARTS grant programs include funding opportunities for organizations, individual artists, youth arts programs, and neighborhood and community groups.  

Open opportunities for 2023 (current as of January 2023):  

Artists Up Mentorly Scholarships 

Open twice a year: Jan. 9 – 30, 2023 and June 5 – 26, 2023 
Artists Up, a funder collaborative between ARTS, ArtsWA, and 4Culture, offers Mentorly Scholarships to individual artists living in Washington State. The scholarship covers four one-hour-long online sessions with an Artist Up mentor (or another mentor of the artists’ choosing).  

Learn More

CityArtist 2024 

Open: March 28 – May 9, 2023
CityArtist provides grants for Seattle-based individual artists/curators to research, develop, and present ideas or ventures. The disciplines rotate every program cycle. The 2024 CityArtist cycle will fund artists operating in the following disciplines: Literary, Media/Digital/Film (including Screenwriting), and Visual Arts. 

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Youth Arts  

Open: April 18 – May 30, 2023
The Youth Arts grant supports two years of equitable access to arts and cultural learning opportunities for Seattle’s middle and high school-aged youth. Individual artists, artists, arts and cultural organizations, youth-service agencies, and degree-granting institutions are eligible to apply.  

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Artists at the Center 

Open: May 16 – June 27, 2023  
Artists at the Center offers emerging local and regional artists and groups in music, dance, theatre, and multi-disciplinary performance the opportunity to enliven Seattle Center and celebrate Climate Pledge Arena’s commitment to the arts. Artists at the Center features free, year-round pop-up performances on Seattle Center grounds, sponsored by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Center, Climate Pledge Arena, and Seattle Kraken. 

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Arts in Parks 

Open: Sept. 26 – Nov. 7, 2023
Arts in Parks, a partnership between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Parks and Recreation, supports new and established festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, celebrate diversity, build community connections, and activate parks through arts and culture. Individual artists, neighborhood arts councils, or local community-based groups are eligible to apply.  

Learn More

The Creative Advantage Community Arts Partner Roster 

Ongoing 
The Creative Advantage Community Arts Partner Roster consists of artists, teaching artists, and community arts and cultural organizations approved to partner with Seattle Public Schools through The Creative Advantage. 

Learn More

smART Ventures 

Ongoing 
smART Ventures provides support ranging from $500 to $1,000, proving that small investments can have big impacts. smART Ventures is flexible, inclusive, simple, and encourages innovation by individuals, organizations, and communities that may not qualify for other funding programs.  

Learn More

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Facility Grant 

Ongoing
The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI) Facility Grant provides in-kind support for public projects, opportunities, or events presented by individuals, groups, organizations, or communities. The grant takes the form of up to 40 hours of staffed building use for a public arts or cultural event at LHPAI. The LHPAI Facility Grant consists solely of facility use and staff time, there is no funding included.  

Learn More

Hope Corps 2023 

Upcoming 
This recovery program at ARTS invites individual artists, and creative workers, as well as community groups and arts and cultural organizations with modest budgets to apply to participate in Hope Corps, which connects under and un-employed artists to work opportunities. An additional focus this year will be to promote climate change goals and support artists’ transition to sustainable art practices.   

For additional information about open grants and funding opportunities, please visit our Opportunities page.

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Selects 2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle City of Literature announces the selection of Shin Yu Pai as the incoming 2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet. Pai is the fourth Civic Poet in the program’s history. 

2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai; Photo by James McDaniel

The Seattle Civic Poet is a two-year residency and serves as a literary ambassador for Seattle. As Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai will serve as a cultural ambassador for Seattle’s rich, multi-hued literary landscape and will represent Seattle’s diverse cultural community.  

“The newly commissioned 2023-2024 Seattle Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai is a local, seasoned poet who brings a range of experience, connections, and sector knowledge to the Civic Poet commission. She is a published writer, leader, manager, curator, and moderator both on a solo basis and with a myriad of Seattle creative and community organizations.” 

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director, Office of Arts & Culture

“As the first Asian American poet to serve in the Civic Poet role, I’m excited to collaborate with the diversity of Seattle’s cultural communities to create projects that celebrate expressions of poetry throughout our city. I see this opportunity as a powerful platform to amplify the work of the many talented poets living and working here together in our City of Literature. As the former Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond, I worked with the city to develop poetry-based public art projects and elevated poetry through curated public programming and outdoor activation of public spaces. I can’t wait to do the same for Seattle, and more.”

Shin Yu Pai

The role fosters community dialogue and engagement between the City, the public, and other artists, while celebrating the literary arts. Previous Civic Poets include Jordan Imani Keith (2019-22), Anastacia-Renee Tolbert (2017-19), and Claudia Castro Luna (2015-17). 

Shin Yu Pai is a Seattle-based poet and the author of 11 books, including most recently Virga (Empty Bowl, 2021). She is the recipient of awards from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, 4Culture, and The Awesome Foundation. She is a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow and was shortlisted in 2014 for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. From 2015 to 2017, Shin Yu served as Poet Laureate for The City of Redmond. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Atlas Obscura, Tricycle Magazine, YES! Magazine, NYTimes, Zocalo Public Square, Seattle Met, ParentMap, Seattle’s Child, International Examiner, and South Seattle Emerald. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the UK, and Canada. 

Shin Yu is the writer, host, and producer of The Blue Suit – a podcast on Asian American stories for KUOW Public Radio, Seattle’s NPR affiliate station. The Blue Suit launched in July 2022 and is currently in production for a second season, which will begin releasing episodes in May 2023. 

New poetry books are forthcoming in 2023 from Empty Bowl Press and Blue Cactus Press. 

Launched in 2015, the Seattle Civic Poet program is inspired by the previous Poet Populist program instituted in 1999 by former Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata. The goal of the Poet Populist program was to support the practice of literary arts, and democracy, and to promote local literary arts organizations to a general audience citywide. The Poet Populist program was discontinued in 2008. The Civic Poet program continues the legacy of the Poet Populist program by fostering community dialogue and engagement between the public and artists while celebrating the literary arts.  

Two new exhibitions explore mosaic collage and digital media on view at ARTS at King Street Station  

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Happy Room — Mosaic Collage  

digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia 

February 2 – April 6, 2023 

digital indigiqueer features projected films and virtual reality videos alongside artifacts and 2-D works. Happy Room is a collection of 50 small, mid-, and large-scale works that evoke a sense of joy and draw from the Hygge lifestyle.

Two new exhibitions Happy Room — Mosaic Collage and digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia will be on view at the Office of Arts & Culture’s ARTS at King Street Station gallery, February 2 through April 6, 2023.

Happy Room — Mosaic Collage features everyday objects through the artistry and colorful lens of artist Naoko Morisawa. Juxtaposed with Morisawa’s mosaic collages is a collection of multi-media artworks from five multi-disciplinary, award-winning Indigenous artists in digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia. 

“Both Happy Room and digital indigiqueer illustrate the power of artists telling their histories and illuminating the magic inherent in our everyday lives. ARTS at King Street Station is proud to provide a platform for artists to engage the public in a showcase of their incredible talents.”  

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director, Office of Arts & Culture

Happy Room — Mosaic Collage 
Naoko Morisawa/ Morisawa Studio 

Specializing in intricate natural and oil-dyed wooden and paper mosaics, artist Naoko Morisawa invites viewers to experience Happy Room — Mosaic Collage, a collection of over 50 small, mid, and large-scale works that evoke a sense of joy and draw from the Hygge lifestyle. The installation is divided into four rooms, Shoes/Closet, Kitchen/Living Room, Theater Japonism/Living Room, and Heart Room. Each piece and room transforms everyday objects like a dependable pair of shoes or a pastry from a café into ornate, dynamic mosaics that invite viewers to find beauty in the details. Happy Room – Mosaic Collage features pieces from various bodies of work from the past 15 years including pieces from My Collection Shoes, Mosaic Café, Japanese Opera – Noh Mask, and newer abstract works. 

“With these works I tried to bring to life the material properties of wood and paper as much as possible. I think that mixing two (or more) materials on one panel will make each other more complicated and increase their presence and statement.” 

Naoko Morisawa

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Naoko Morisawa studied design and ceramics at Tama Art University, one of the major art schools in Japan. Her work spans from art exhibitions, commercial design projects, and teaching art classes in Tokyo, Yokohama, and the Canadian Embassy. 

In 2004, Naoko moved to the Pacific Northwest where she explored exhibition opportunities starting from small exhibition spaces which then grew into national and international exhibitions. Morisawa has exhibited her work throughout the US and internationally in Canada, Japan, and Ireland. Her work has also been collected by and displayed at various entities including the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, City of Portland, City of Seattle, City of Bellevue, Kent, Shoreline, Seattle Convention Center Summit Building, ArtsWA,  Amazon, General Electric, Nordstrom, and Facebook. Morisawa has been awarded artist grants from the Puffin Foundation, The Santo Foundation, Artist Trust, and more. Naoko Morisawa’s abstract artwork is represented by Traver Gallery, Seattle. 

digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia 
Hexe Fey 

A showcase of transgender and sacred gender indigenous artists working in digital media, transmedia, film, 360 video, glitch art, contemporary interpretations of traditional forms, and future mediums. digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia includes 11 individual pieces exploring the diversity of contemporary indigenous creativity and touching their futures and pasts. Work from Raven TwoFeathers, Ty Defoe, Raven Kameʻenui-Becker, Communidad Catrileo+Carrion, Elijah Forbes, and organizer Hexe Fey. 

Aritst Bios 

Hexe Fey (he/they) is a transmasculine Oglala Lakota and European interdisciplinary mover, art worker, curator, glitch user, interactive fiction writer, and community harm reductionist. Hexe is the creator of the video game Cursed Task, which focuses on the struggle of writing artist bios. 

Raven TwoFeathers (Cherokee, Seneca, Cayuga, Comanche) is a Two Spirit, Emmy award-winning creator based in Seattle, WA. Originally from New Mexico, they spent their childhood moving and exploring Indigenous cultures across the continent and Pacific. They returned to New Mexico to attend Santa Fe University of Art & Design, graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in Film Production. After graduation, their path led them to working on and creating more Indigenous art than ever and things began to feel right. They recently released a comic-based zine, “Qualifications of Being,” about their journey of realizing they are trans and Two Spirit. They continue to grow and explore their practice through the people they meet, and the stories that guide them. 

Ty Defoe (Giizhig) is an Indigiqueer citizen of Oneida and Anishinaabe Nations. He is an interdisciplinary artist and Grammy Award winner who has authored multiple works including Ajijaak on Turtle Island, The Lesson (w/ Avi Amon and Nolan Doran), and Firebird Tattoo.  He has received recognition for his works including the 2021-2022 Sundance Fellow, Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, Jonathan Larson Award, Cultural Capital Fellow with First People’s Fund, Robert Rauschenberg artist in residence, and The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays for the Stage, among others.  

Communidad Catrileo+Carrion are queer/trans/nonbinary Indigenous epupillan (two-spirit) beings who work articulating generative spaces of reciprocity and relationality. They honor the land and their ancestors through ceremonies materialized in their audiovisual, textile, editorial, curatorial, and community practices. Communidad Catrileo+Carrion reside divided between Pikunmapu/Qullasuyu (Valparaíso Region, Chile) and Kumeyaay Territory (San Diego, California, USA). The group is currently composed of Antonio Catrileo Araya, Constanza Catrileo Araya, Malku Catrileo Araya, Alejandra Carrión Lira, and Manuel Carrión Lira. 

Elijah Forbes is an Indigenous Two-Spirit creative that focuses on bringing Odawa storytelling and transgender joy into the world through his work. He has previously worked with Twitter to create illustrated media for the Trans Awareness Week hashtag, as well as with many other clients to bring their ideas to life. Some of these companies include: BookRiot, Andrews McMeel Publishing, The Boys and Girls Club of Canada, and Iron Circus Comics.  

All-ages Exhibition Exploration of digital indigiqueer

Saturday, February 4, 2023
1 – 3 p.m.

This special all-ages event includes an exhibition tour, interactive panel discussion, and creative seeding through reflective writing with featured artists Raven Kame’enui-Becker, Antu and Manu of Communidad Catrileo+Carrion, Elijah Forbes, and curator Hexe Fey.

FREE, but registration is required.

RSVP

For questions or inquiries, please contact Tina LaPadula, Arts Education Project Manager, at tina.lapadula@seattle.gov or at (206) 518-4205.

*Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

ARTS at King Street Station is FREE and open Wednesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on First Thursdays.

Seattle Public Schools and the Office of Arts & Culture expand The Creative Advantage to Nine New Seattle Schools

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By The Creative Advantage Implementation Team: Rayna Mathis, (Seattle Public Schools Creative Advantage Project Manager) Gail Sehlhorst, (Visual & Performing Arts Manager), and Tina LaPadula (Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Arts Education Project Manager) 

A handwritten sign by a child: Welcome to the bureau (misspelled) of fearless ideas, with 3 exclamation points.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) in partnership with the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) is expanding The Creative Advantage program into the Whitman K-12 Pathway, which includes nine neighborhood schools. 

  • Adams Elementary 
  • Loyal Heights Elementary 
  • North Beach Elementary 
  • Viewlands Elementary 
  • Whittier Elementary 
  • Whitman Middle School 
  • Licton Springs K-8 
  • Salmon Bay K-8 
  • Ballard High School  

Working with Seattle Public Schools to bring more arts access to schools is a top program priority. This is an amazing way to celebrate The Creative Advantage partnership. The impact of artists in the schools and arts education access to students, family and community build One Seattle.

Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Acting Director royal alley-barnes
A group of school principals pose in a classroom, holding a large yellow pencil.

The Creative Advantage Implementation team’s November meeting at the Greenwood branch of The Bureau of Fearless Ideas, a Creative Advantage arts partner, with Whitman K-12 Pathway principals created a new K-12 continuum, envisioning an arts program that starts in Kindergarten and continues through 12th grade. Planning included a focus on racial equity data at the nine schools and arts access data in the pathway. From there, the principals developed an arts vision for the next five years to ensure a high-quality continuum of arts learning for all students and that ensures students of color, furthest from educational and arts justice, have access to thriving in the arts. The vision points include:  

  • Increased and equitable funding for arts  
  • Teacher support for high-quality instruction  
  • Arts as the pulse through integrated arts learning  
  • Students having voice, choice, and agency  
  • Regional arts collaboration, connection, and celebration
On a whiteboard: A writing prompt "4" Principals (by BFI Students): Describe an entire day at school if you were a student. What classes would you attend? What would you have for breakfast? How do you feel about homework?" Smiley face.

 The Creative Advantage Implementation Team is honored to partner with principals and teachers who are committed to artists in the schools and arts education, and value student voice and community input to center the arts in diverse ways that supports student, teacher, and school needs. Learn more at https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/arts/  

The Creative Advantage Seattle: https://www.creativeadvantageseattle.org/ 

The Creative Advantage is a collective impact partnership between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), Seattle Public Schools (SPS), Seattle Foundation, and over 100 arts partners aligned across the mission providing equitable access to arts education to every student in SPS. Working with schools directly, The Creative Advantage program approach is to engage in “K-12 pathways,”. These are defined by Seattle neighborhood’s elementary, middle, and high school(s). Using this definition ensures that comprehensive, sequential, and predictable arts learning from kindergarten through high school. With the Whitman K-12 Pathway, The Creative Advantage is now in 90 out of 106 schools in the Seattle Public School District.  

Celebrating 10 Years of Artists Up

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All photos by Jo Cosme

On Thursday, December 1, community members, artists, and creatives came together at ARTS at King Street Station to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Artists Up program.  

Left to right: Ashraf Hasham, ARTS Partnerships, Education, and Grants Manager; Maritza Rivera, ARTS Deputy Director; Nina Yarbrough, 4Culture Arts Program Director.

Created in 2012, Artists Up is a collaboration between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), 4Culture, and ArtsWA with a goal to better serve all artists in the state. This program was formed to address a common need at the time: to increase the number of artists of color applying for funding. This robust programming was based on conversations with Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, and Indigenous artists about their needs, concerns, and barriers. 

Since its formation, Artists Up has served over 350 artists through programs such as Mentorly scholarships, which connect emerging artists with professional creatives from around the world. 

Artists Up supports our brilliant and impactful individual artists. As we gather celebrating this remarkable 10 years of creativity, we must all pause to commend the tremendous work of Irene Gómez and Artists Up partners.

royal alley-barnes, Acting Director for Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

Individuals from Hope Corps, Public Art Boot Camp, The Change Leader Institute, Public Art Roster, CityArtists, and TAT LAB Teaching Artists program gathered alongside 4Culture, ArtsWA, and ARTS staff to celebrate this milestone. Attendees also had an opportunity to explore the current exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station, IMMINENT MODE: US.

“We were delighted to celebrate the tremendous work of Artists Up alongside current and future artists, partners, and community members who share one central goal: to support our artists today and every day.”

Maritza Rivera, Deputy Director for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

One of the original founding partners at ARTS, Project Manager, Irene Gómez, received a standing ovation for conceptualizing and piloting AU and her skillful dedication and generosity in curating the body of work that has impacted so many underrepresented (LGBTQ+, elder, immigrants, and refugee) artists. 

Irene Gómez, ARTS Project Manager and Co-Founder of Artists Up

“I applaud mentors, mentees, sponsors, and partners for continuing this important peer support to advance careers and networks.”

Irene Gómez, ARTS Project Manager and Co-Founder of Artists Up

We celebrate this milestone of Artists Up and look forward to many more years of supporting and elevating artists in our region.

Art Inspired by Social Justice

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By Dr. James R. Gore 

Art can provide a platform of expression for social commentary. Poet, author, academic, and President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Elizabeth Alexander’s new book, The Trayvon Generation, is a reflection from the perspective of an African American mother and professor, expressing concern for her students. The book’s inner cover indicates that Alexander: 

“…wrote a celebrated and moving reflection on the challenges facing young Black America. Originally published in the New Yorker, the essay incisively and lovingly observed the experiences, attitudes, and cultural expressions of what she referred to as “The Trayvon Generation,” who even as children could not be shielded from the brutality that has affected the lives of so many Black people…” (Alexander, 2022). 

I Am a Man – Diorama of Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike – National Civil Rights Museum – Downtown Memphis – Tennessee – USA
May 14, 2012, 13:06:45. Source: Own work. Author: Adam Jones, Ph.D.

The opening chapter of the book provides a reference from Dr. W.E.B. DuBois’s Souls of Black Folks, published in 1903, critically examining America’s primary issue in the 20th Century, Alexander updates DuBois’s analysis stating, “the problem with the 21st Century remains the color line…. How does it feel to be a problem.” (p.3). He is inferring that Black folks may still be perceived as a “problem” by some in America. 

In the book, Alexander uses literary and visual art to express the African American perspective of the “problem.”  She cites the poem why some people be mad at me sometimes by Lucille Clifton, Maryland State poet laureate, written to commemorate Maryland’s 350th Anniversary:  

they ask me to remember 

but they want me to remember 

their memories 

and i keep on remembering 

mine. 

The perception of the “problem” in America is expressed overtly and covertly via multimedia channels and institutionally. The consequences of perceiving African Americans as the “problem” has cognitive effects on everyone, including African Americans. Therefore, to combat this perception, it is important to create positive self-expression and self-identity by African Americans artistically and in all forms of media.   

Historically, African American aesthetics have not always been positively received institutionally or individually, which may be a contributing factor to the “problem.” For example, the recent banning of the 1952 American literary classic Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison by school districts in our country, illustrates the perception of the “problem” still exists.

The questions related to the “problem” posed by DuBois and Alexander may be a double entendre, meaning, the questions are directed to the folks who are perceived to be the “problem” and the folks perceiving the “problem.”  

My question is, what is the solution?  

Imminent Mode ALL Ages Workshop Engages Artists of Every Age

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by Tina LaPadula, Arts Education Project Manager and Jenny Ku, King Street Station Programming Lead

Coloring page of a an off-the-shoulder garment on model wearing a matching head dress. Colored outside the lines with golds, yellows, and greens, with hints of blue, and red.

The Creative Advantage and Public Art teams in the ARTS office, joined forces with curators and artists Anouk Rawkson, Jordan Christianson, and other IMMINENT MODE: US artists to host a special all-ages workshop centered on the immersive exhibition that pairs-built environments with one-of-a-kind fashion on view at ARTS at King Street Station.

Anouk Rawkson and Jordan Christianson dressed in black, with very dramatic lighting.
A person with short blonde hair wearing pastels operates a button-making machine.

The event held on December 3 was a rousing multi-generational success. The gallery was full of participants who explored the exhibition and engaged in hands-on activities led by some of the featured exhibition artists.

The workshop titled Who Are You? encouraged identity reflection through writing prompts, button-making, and a coloring book related to the exhibition. The coloring book includes a blank mannequin that gallery viewers can use to create their own looks based on inspiration from the show or their own identities and interests. More than 30 participants ranging from preschoolers to grandparents in their late 70’s explored the exhibition, enjoyed cookies, created works in the coloring books, and commented on each other’s sketches and color choices. A big thank you to everyone who was able to attend.

A child uses markers to draw in the coloring book.
An adult smiles as they look through the coloring book with exhibition garments inside.
A child hold up the button they made: rainbow colors in a circle with a self-portrait in the center. A paintbrush is filling in their long, dark hair. Create Your Way is written around it.

Visitors can download a pdf of the coloring book to print and color at their convenience. There are also coloring books in the gallery. Visitors are welcome to come by anytime during gallery hours to pick one up and have a coloring session in ARTS at King Street Station after experiencing the exhibition!

Two people with long hair and glasses smile for a selfie.
Jenny and Tina

IMMINENT MODE: US is on view through January 5. Please join us for our exhibition closing event on Thursday, January 5, 2023.

The Creative Advantage (Re)Ignites Joyful Partnerships

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by Rayna Mathis, Seattle Public Schools Creative Advantage Project Manager

A table of people smiling.
Two facilitators smile widely at the front of the room, one of them pointing, in front of tables full of attendees.
A table full of people, some masked, smiling.

On December 1, school leaders and arts partners gathered at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) on a snowy Thursday evening in Volunteer Park for The Creative Advantage: Re(Igniting) Joyful Partnerships event. After offering virtual and limited in-person programming during the pandemic, The Creative Advantage, now in its 10th year, continues its focus on restoring access to the arts for all students in Seattle Public Schools through community-based partnerships with diverse and exceptionally talented artists across the city.

A Black woman stands at a table, smiling and gesturing forward with one hand. People seated and standing around her smile.
A woman holding a mic speaks to a group circled around her.

This year’s Community Arts Partnerships event theme was JOY! As was evident on the faces of folks coming into the space to see arts-learning peers in-person, reunited after virtual years apart. The evening began with incredible student performances from Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and students from the MY Southeast program led by conductor Kim Roy. A brief overview of The Creative Advantage and introduction of the newest team member, SPS project manager Rayna Mathis.

The night continued on with the sweetest game of “speed friending”, after-hours walks through SAAM’s beautiful galleries, and finally, round table discussions led by The Creative Advantage teachers and arts partners Silvio dos Reis, Julie Trout, Elaine Dondoyano, and Sumayya Diop. Before we knew it, the night was over, but energy was still crackling in the air. Truly, a joyful event indeed. A delicious buffet was catered by Shooby Doo Catering; special thanks to arts partner Seattle Art Museum for hosting the festivities.

Youth playing stringed instruments.
Low shot of people silhouetted in a gallery, looking at artwork. The lights are dimmed, and the polished floor reflects everything.
Four women standing in line, arms around each other, smiling for the camera. One is making a peace sign.

The Creative Advantage is made possible through a public-private partnership with Seattle Public Schools, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Foundation, community-based arts organizations, and teaching artists.

Learn more about the history, addressing arts access gaps, and providing resources for schools.

All photos by Alborz Kamalizad.

The Voice of Jazz In Literature

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by Dr. James R. Gore

American literary giants such as Langston Hughes, Tony Morrison, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin utilized Jazz as literal and metaphorical perspectives of African American life in literature. An essay by Mohamed Schir Syad stated: In terms of the black/white dichotomy, Langston Hughes explained in his 1926 short essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” the idea behind the appropriation of jazz in his work:

“Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America; the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world […]; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.“

Syad, 2014

Hughes’ description of Jazz as part of the African American cultural experience — as expressed in his writings — illustrates how African American artists utilized art to present an authentic African American aesthetic.  

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. (1997) Milt Hinton is a world-renowned double bassist who has played with Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong. Also a well-known jazz photographer, he lives in New York and California.

The proposition of literature adopting the attitude of Jazz was revolutionary. Jazz literary form reveals the seemingly invisible lives of African Americans. It voices their passions, pains, and disillusions about being Black in America. For example, Ralph Ellison noted Louis Armstrong’s song “What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue” in his 1952 novel, “Invisible Man”; Armstrong’s song is parallel to the narrator’s search for identity in America.  

The literary storytelling by the aforementioned writers provides courageous human introspection and validation Jazz literary form may not be discussed often in American literature; yet, it is worth the time to investigate and enjoy this form of literature in its variations.

Explore Jazz in Literature


 

ARTS Welcomes Rayna Mathis, Seattle Public Schools Creative Advantage Project Manager! 

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By Tina LaPadula, Arts Education Manager

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in its partnership with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is pleased to welcome Rayna Mathis, the new SPS Creative Advantage project manager. The Creative Advantage Initiative is focused on putting artists in SPS to work with teaching artists and teachers to support equitable access to arts and arts education for every student in SPS. 

Rayna Mathis; Photo by Erin Hill

Mathis will be responsible for the implementation of The Creative Advantage vision and action plans for SPS. Currently ARTS, in partnership with SPS, is in 81 schools that have implemented The Creative Advantage program. She will also act as the liaison for partnerships between schools and community-based arts organizations, artists, and teaching artists and support SPS’s partnership with ARTS.  

Ashraf Hasham, ARTS Partnerships, Education, and Grants Manager, and Tina LaPadula, ARTS Arts Education Project Manager are responsible for ARTS’ Creative Advantage partnership with SPS. This new position lives within SPS’s Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction’s Visual & Performing Arts Program, and the School & Community Partnerships Department. It is an integral part of SPS’s partnership with ARTS and The Creative Advantage Implementation Team which includes, Gail Sehlhorst, SPS Visual + Performing Arts Manager, and Pam Ivezic, SPS Instructional Music Coach. 

About Rayna Mathis

Rayna Mathis is a graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in History. Her career has been dedicated and in service to Seattle’s arts and culture scene. She is committed to pushing the arts to be more equitable, empowering, and unapologetic. In 2018, she was awarded The Washington Art Education Association’s 2018 Outstanding New Art Educator of the Year.  

Join us in welcoming Rayna Mathis to The Creative Advantage Team!