THE WIND IN OUR WINGS

Summer is winding down and we have enjoyed every sunny moment this year. So many good times of being together with family and friends, traveling, sharing new experiences, and most of all soaking up as much vitamin D as possible.

While this summer has been a ton of fun we’ve stayed pretty busy launching new initiatives and creating space for community. The launch of the Black Arts Roster supported by the King County Gathering Collaborative, has been warmly received and continues to grow. The roster will close at the end of September when we will take some time to assess and plan for reopening in early 2025. In the meantime, we’re cooking up more ways to enhance the creative lives of artists on the roster and we’ve got something very special planned for early fall. Soon we will announce what exactly we have in store for roster artists, but suffice to say that we are pretty excited to bring one of the nation’s greatest creative minds together with artists on the roster. The roster would not be possible without the guidance and direction provided by NaKeesa Frazier Jennings, of NaKeesa Marie Enterprises who joined our village to help us shape and shepherd this project. 

And we are again under construction! Work on the recording studio and the maker space is underway and will be unveiled soon. We can’t wait to open the doors to music production training for young people and to add one more artist workspace. None of this would be possible were it not for a few supporters who saw our vision and happily brought their enthusiasm and support to see to it that our dream could become reality.  Thanks are due to Washington State 37th District Legislators Sharon Tomiko Santos, Rebecca Saldana, and Chipalo Street. These three show up and show out for their constituents!  We thank you!

 For those who may not know, we are dedicating our recording studio to the memory of Jonathan Moore aka Wordsayer. In a Seattle Weekly article announcing Jonathan’s passing in 2017 at the age of 47, he was aptly described as “One of the architects of hip hop as we know it today.” Jonathan performed with the legendary Seattle hip-hop group Source of Labor and founded the Jasiri Music Group. He also hosted a radio program on KUBE known as "Sunday Night Sound Sessions." For a time, Jonathan also ran an art gallery in Belltown.  Known as Seattle’s "Hip-Hop Ambassador and Cultural Mayor," all Seattle hip-hop roots lead back to Jonathan, and Jonathan led the hip-hop explosion in Seattle, solidly grounded in the Central District. It is only fitting that our recording studio will be called Source of Labor in his honor.

August marks the beginning of the end of summer and it also holds significance in the world of philanthropy.  August is Black Philanthropy Month and Washington State’s first Black-led philanthropy the Black Future CoOp Fund (BFCF), also an ARTE NOIR supporter, is amplifying the global campaign to elevate African descent giving and funding. Inspired by the 2024 theme, Black Futures in Giving, BFCF celebrates the legacy of Black giving and seeks to harness our collective philanthropic and community finance traditions to create better futures for Black people. Learn more about the Black Future CoOp Fund and Black Philanthropy Month here.

When summer ends and we begin to shift our minds toward shorter and cooler days, we are also gearing up to celebrate two years back in the hood. It’s been such a rewarding journey that brings us to this place. All of the creative beings that have so graciously walked with us over these past two years have literally been the wind on our wings. And you, our readers and supporters, have also shown us a kind of love we could have only dreamed of. To all of our over 2700 subscribers from 12 countries, we are grateful for every one of you and we look forward to our future with you!

Vivian Phillips, Founder + Board President