NOIR FOCUS
The exhibition unfolds in a spiral, one section leading to the next, all radiating from a cluster of traditional African masks perched on pedestals. The arrangement resembles the Yowa cross — the Kongo cosmogram, a circle divided into four points marking birth, life, death, and ancestral rebirth. It becomes a fitting metaphor for the African Diaspora’s journey: a violent rupture caused by colonialism and chattel slavery, an unbroken connection to the ancestral realm, and the ultimate metamorphosis — transforming pain into light.
ARTIST CALL
.png)
BLACK CLAY​
​​
In collaboration with Pottery Northwest, ARTE NOIR proudly presents the Black Clay exhibition—a collection and visual narratives from African American (Black) and African artists who are skilled, creative, and gifted with the ability to craft, mold, sculpt, and build intense imaginative experiences of history, beauty, power, and geographic legacy.
​
This is an open call for local, regional, and national Black artists to submit their work for consideration. Ceramic, Pottery, Slab-Built Clay works, or Mixed-Media with Clay are accepted.​​​​
FEATURED VENDOR
TARIQA WATERS​
​​
We're honored to stock Tariqa Waters' book, Who Raised You? A Martyr Sauce Guide to Etiquette.
Tariqa Waters is an activist artist who uses humor, color, and pop iconography to draw audiences into her joyous world. It is a space of strength and laughter, of family and music, where beauty is celebrated and misogyny and racism are trapped in used bubble gum and thrown in the trash. Waters’ work often includes everyday objects and brands from her childhood, fostering accessible entry points to deeper issues of social power dynamics related to feminism, race, and class.
​
Through a unique gallery that evolved through three locations in Seattle, additional curatorial projects with museums, bars, and theatres, and her performance talk show, “Thank You, MS. PAM,” Waters, along with her husband, musician Ryan Waters, and their two children, have uplifted music, fashion, and the work of dozens of contemporary visual artists.
​
This first book is both a survey of her paintings, sculptures, installations, and public works of the last decade, and a primer on navigating the challenges and opportunities of a family’s creative life.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Griot Party ExperienceSun, Sep 07Midtown Square Plaza
The Deck of N0NE: Product Launch with ARTE NOIRFri, Sep 05ARTE NOIR
ON VIEW IN THE GALLERY
Across the Diaspora aims to be a visual map or wayfinder, exploring Africa through a mosaic of meaning, stories, land, and the wonder that embodies Black culture. From Africa to South America and beyond, the historical and contemporary presence of the African Diaspora guides viewers through stories of abstraction, romance, emotion, and culture.