ON VIEW IN THE GALLERY

CENTRAL DISTRICT LEGACY

Celebrating the Beauty, Power, and Soul of Seattle's Historic Central District

April 9, 2025 - August 3, 2025

Central District Legacy is more than an exhibit, it is a call to act, remember, reflect, build, plant new seeds for the future, and acknowledge the history of the Black Americans who embodied and created the heart and spirit of the CD.

For centuries, Black artists have painted, sculpted, and imagined what culture and the living legacy of communities, churches, schools, neighborhoods, kitchens, homes, playgrounds, stores, and zip codes hold—not just as physical features, but as stories, symbols of truth, wisdom, spirituality, and identity.

The artists of Central District Legacy explore this profound theme through their unique artistic lenses, interpreting “The CD” as more than a location in Seattle but rather a source of history, a catalyst of imagination, and the very essence of community.

MEET THE ARTISTS

MYRON CURRY

“Reclaiming the Legacy”
As someone born and raised in Seattle’s Central District, my roots run deep in this community. I’ve witnessed firsthand the waves of change—the richness of Black culture that shaped this neighborhood for generations, and the slow erosion of that presence due to gentrification and displacement. But in recent years, I’ve also seen a rebirth. Spaces like Arte Noir are doing more than preserving legacy—they're building futures. My work in this exhibit is a reflection of that revival and a tribute to those who have shaped and continue to shape the Central District.

I feel it's our responsibility to highlight legends who not only came from the CD but took the soul of this place to the world stage. Their creativity, resilience, and brilliance are emblematic of the Central District’s heart. Equally, we must recognize our community organizations, such as ARTE NOIR, because they represent the now. They are a living example of what it looks like to reinvest in our community, to use art as a tool for healing, empowerment, and cultural preservation.

Through my portraits, I aim to freeze moments of pride, presence, and power. I want viewers to see our greatness—not just in the past, but living and breathing in the present. My Pieces are love letters to my community, visual affirmations that say, We are still here. We still matter.

The Central District is not just where I’m from—it’s who I am. And through this work, I hope to continue the legacy of resilience, creativity, and pride that has always defined this place.

MOHAMED GABRIEL

These photographs are my tribute to the Central District—a place layered with memory, movement, and meaning. Each image reflects moments of everyday legacy: quiet pride, shared joy, and the presence of history in the present.

The Central District is not just where stories happened—it’s where stories live on. Through these frames, I aim to honor the people and spirit that continue to shape this community’s narrative. Whether it’s a glance, a gathering, or a gesture, my lens seeks to capture the living legacy of a neighborhood that remains rooted in resilience and rich with cultural identity.

As a transplant to Seattle, I came into the Central District with curiosity and deep respect. Through my photography, I’ve sought not just to observe, but to learn—about the stories, the culture, and the people who breathe life into this neighborhood that shapes the Seattle cultural heartbeat. Every moment I capture is a step toward understanding and honoring this community's rich legacy.

In "Royalty," a young girl waves from a classic car, draped in vibrant colors, exuding confidence and joy. Her presence is a testament to the generations who have shaped this neighborhood—reminding us that legacy is not just about the past but about those carrying it forward.

In "Momentum," a passerby walks alongside a custom-painted lowrider, a moment where history and modern expression merge. The scene reflects the Central District’s deep cultural roots, where tradition and transformation coexist in harmony.

The Central District is a living story, told through the rhythm of its streets, the pride in its people, and the energy of its celebrations. A legacy that is not static—it moves, thrives, and evolves.

AKOIYA HARRIS

I am from the Central District, Cherry Street to be specific. My siblings and I all graduated from Garfield High School and grew up at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. My family arrived in the Central District in the early 1960s and are fortunate to have been here ever since. They migrated from Shreveport, Louisiana, carrying with them the respect for the land and love for the community they would need to thrive in a new environment. They came to Seattle because they believed in the dreams they had for their future selves. They had faith that the seeds they would plant here would blossom into our beautiful realities.

I use collage to reflect the ways that their dreams intersected, scattered, and returned to them. When they arrived in the Central District, my family was made up of parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents, seven brothers and one sister. They all aspired for freedom, but the routes they took were very different. They became carpenters and firefighters, nurses and teachers, Black Panthers and welders, drug dealers and deacons. Their choices were a response to the endless possibilities one has in an emerging Black community.

The Central District asks us to have an active imagination. We are a web of ideas constantly shaping and reshaping itself. My great grandparents had a garden and compost at their home on Cherry from the time they moved here, to their passing in the 2010s. They filled it with reminders of their southern roots, like cabbage and collard greens. Not only did their garden feed generations of my family and community, the compost that fed it taught us all about renewal. What could have been disregarded as trash was instead made into nourishment for something beautiful. Like their compost, my collages are ideas cut up and restructured to make something new. As things in our world change, the essence of what they were never really goes away; especially for folks who know what to look for.

My collages are a love letter to the dreams of Central District residents, past present and future. They are a reminder of what to look for when searching for our communal history. Most importantly they are a statement that as much as this community changes, it will always have its roots in Black culture’s ability to imagine other worlds.

RODNEY H. KING

Growing up in the mid to late 1980's in the Central District shaped the man that I would grow to become, I just wish that the neighborhoods could have stayed the same as I remember when I close my eyes or better yet when I dot my i's with the strokes that I paint. I remember walking from our duplex on 29th and Dearborn to Larry's on Jackson Street to get candy, then venturing further down the same road to Thriftway to get some Western Family potato chips. I long for the days when my mom used to buy her beauty supplies from BJ's, and on hot summer days, we would grab a popsicle from the Joe ice cream truck. I have shed tears as I see homes once occupied by the Walkers and the Browns now occupied by the Waltons and the Cleavers.

When I was in the 7th grade, gentrification and more affordable housing pushed my mother to Federal Way. As the years of my adolescence ticked away, so did my childhood stomping grounds and time with the CD. Gone are the places I frequented as a child, such as Gais Bakery and Rips corner store, but I am thankful for the Black-owned establishments that remain, like Simply Soulful, Parnell's, and staples like The Seattle Medium and The Facts Newspaper.

I love to paint what I remember as being beautiful about our community pre-gentrification. My pieces are meant to bring you joy, happiness, nostalgia, and memories. I use bright colors to lighten your mood and room as you dive back into your mental archives of a period when we had an annual black festival where drill teams would dance down the street, and black professionals were celebrated for all to see. The focus of the artwork is meant to take you back to a time of innocence, how I remember my community, and the CD. As I reflect on that time and this time, I feel overwhelming joy and frustration. Things aren't what they used to be, but my paintings will keep our legacy alive.

TR MILES

My commercial relationship with the Central District began back in the ’90s. My mother opened A Frame Art Gallery at the Midtown Complex—23rd and E. Union. She had a quaint spot on the strip, nestled between the post office and Gary Ladd's Hair Salon. She did custom framing, sold various prints, and even had an espresso cart inside with a stylish seating area. At the time, I was hustling on all fronts. I worked full-time for a financial services group, sold cell phones and Wi-Fi, and cut heads and did “whips” at Gary Ladd's after hours. It was a fantastic time in the CD. If only the strip could talk.

I wasn’t doing much art back then, but I happened to do an 8x8 pastel piece of Ice Cube (long story). I took it to my mom’s gallery to get it framed, and she placed it in the front window. Not long after, Brother Phillip (Richardson) from the local NOI chapter at 22nd & Union stopped by and left a note with my mom, asking me to reach out. I called him and set up a time to visit. He rolled up the commercial garage door to greet me when I arrived. Behind him, to my amazement, was a self-made screen print machine for T-shirts and posters. He was in the middle of printing a stack of shirts, so I got to see the process in action. We talked for hours that day and instantly became friends. I was captivated. I visited him often and, before long, became his apprentice. I learned screen making, color separations, and—most importantly—production. He told me something that stuck with me: “It’s tough to expect an individual to pay the full value for one piece, but you can expect several people to buy reproductions.”

Through a connection from the barbershop, I contacted Mr. Jackson, who authorized my distribution. That first month, I made over $5K selling T-shirts out of my trunk and from my mom’s gallery. The buzz was unreal. It wasn’t long before I launched my design and print shop, InterCode Custom Printing, at 10th and Union. Production became the full-time hustle. A design gig eventually gave birth to Broken Glass Art in ’96, which later gave rise to Pixel Painting in 2020.

And now here I am—2025—back to my roots at ARTE NOIR!

ZORN B. TAYLOR

With these portraits, I aim to honor the vibrant personalities—both native-born and transplants—who were shaped by, who thrived in, and who shine from within the Central District. These are the people whose efforts continue to fuel an imagination of the CD as joyful, communal, and unapologetically brown. Their presence persists, even in the face of gentrification and the slow, deliberate erasure that left us looking around, wondering where our elders had gone. We were left to navigate new neighbors who came for cheap property with a soupçon of cool—and really, didn’t need us there either.

But they tried it. And they failed.

These images stand as evidence of joy, resistance, and the continuation of an indomitable spirit. A spirit built on the arts, on food, on community, and above all, on people. With this work, I celebrate the heart and soul of the CD. I celebrate my own fortune in having made portraits of folx who embody the essence of this place—through their hustle, their generosity, their commitment to community, and their sheer, undeniable gorgeousness.

Long live the folx. Long live the Central.

—Zorn B Taylor, April 2025