BLACK LIVES MATTERHumanity Not Negotiable

April 8-May 17, 2015 Columbia City Gallery, Seattle

About the Show

CURATOR

Naomi Ishisaka - www.naomiishisaka.com

JURORS

C. Davida Ingram - artist and cultural worker, Stranger Genius Winner in Art

Barbara Earl Thomas - award-winning artist and writer barbaraearlthomas.com

Harmony Wright - activist and organizer with Black Lives Matter movement in Women of Color for Systemic Change www.wocfsc.com

Ken Matsudaira - curator at the Rosetta Hunter Gallery at Seattle Central College

Inye Wokoma - visual artist and owner of Ijo Arts Media Group ijoarts.com

Naomi Ishisaka - journalist, photographer and cultural worker www.naomiishisaka.com

April 8-May 17, 2015 Columbia City Guest Gallery, 4864 Rainier Ave. S, Seattle WA 98118

The Black Lives Matter: Humanity Not Negotiable* juried visual art show is an exploration of the impact of state violence on Black lives. Through art, the show seeks to build on the #blacklivesmatter movement against anti-Black racism following the killing of Trayvon Martin and the non-indictments of police in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner killings. A public call for entries resulted in more than 100 submissions from artists in the Northwest and across the country.The Columbia City Gallery is an artist-run collective that represents local artists. The Guest Gallery is designed to showcase unique perspectives and the diversity of Southeast Seattle. Fifty percent of the guest gallery commissions go to support SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), the nonprofit parent organization for the Columbia City Gallery.

About Black Lives Matter*The name Black Lives Matter is used with permission from the #BlackLivesMatter organization, founded in 2012 by Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza. Background on the organization: “#BlackLivesMatter was created after Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year old Trayvon was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder. Rooted in the ex-periences of Black people in this country who actively resist our de-humanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society. Black Lives Matter is a unique contribution that goes beyond extrajudicial killings of Black people by police and vigilantes. … Black Lives Matter affirms the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, black-undocumented folks, folks with records, women and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. It centers those that have been marginalized within Black liberation movements. It is a tactic to (re)build the Black liberation movement.” For more information and to donate go to blacklivesmatter.com.

Above: Black Lives Matter Pilgrimage by Zorn Taylor

Cover Image: Trayvon Martin Icon by Jasmine Brown

Afam AyikaNigerian immi-grant (moved to WA at 8 years old), father of 3, community or-ganizer for Real Change, Ending the Prison Indus-trial Complex (EPIC), No New Jim Crow (NNJC), Black Out, Center for Ethical Leadership. Policy advocate for City of Seattle’s Racial Equity Team. Social worker for juvenile diversion. Martial artist, visual artist, and poet.

Yadesa BojiaIn Seattle I stud-ied art at Seattle Pacific University from which I earned a Bach-elor’s degree in Visual Commu-nication. I also attended Seattle Central Communi-ty College from which I received an Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design. As a painter, my exposure to both African art and Western art provided me a unique opportunity to understand their relationship as well as their differences.yadesabojia.com

Patti BowmanPatti Bowman is a local artist, work-ing primarily with encaustic paint. Encaustic is an ancient medium using pigment to color a mixture of hot beeswax and a natural resin. Her paintings are often based on observation and description of ordinary places and spaces. The combination of ancient materials and modern experience form the basis of her art practice, and is a recurring theme that permeates

most of her life—6 month old software, 15,000 year old hardware. Patti studied painting and printmak-ing at the University of Calgary in Alberta and at Emily Carr College of in Vancouver, BC. psbowman.com

Jasmine Iona BrownJasmine Iona Brown was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and traveled to five continents before settling in the Puget Sound area. She earned her B.F.A. at Howard University and her M.A. in African Studies from UCLA. Her graduate study in ancient history and cultures led her to incorporate antique artistic mediums, such as egg tempera, into her artwork. She is fascinated with the human face and the tragic narratives of margin-alized people. Brown is the recipient of a 2011 Puffin Foundation Grant to paint a series of Byzantine style egg-tempera icons memorializing a few of the many children of color that are lost to violence every year.

Lisa Meyers BulmashLisa Myers Bulmash is a mixed media artist who works primarily in acrylics, paper and found ob-jects. Informally trained, Myers Bulmash began her career crafting handmade cards. After her father’s death in 2006, the artist felt compelled to take more personal risks in her creative life. Family relationships, unearthed sto-ries and feelings of sanctuary now drive most of her work. The artist’s work and commentary have been

highlighted in four books, including the upcoming A World of Artist Journal Pages, edited by Dawn DeVries Sokol (due in spring 2015). Myers Bulmash also exhibits in group and solo shows in the Seattle metro area. She paints and creates full-time in her Lynnwood studio. www.lisamb.com

Nahom GirmayMy name is Nahom Girmay. I’m originally from Eritrea, a country found in east Africa. I left my country when I was 14 and been to different more than 10 countries before I got to the U.S on November 2010. My Eritrean culture and Ortho-dox Christian religion have a great impact in my art style. My country by itself has 9 different colorful tribes and different religions. Each tribe has its own culture and language. With that said, all the nine tribes live together in harmony.

Aramis HamerAramis Hamer, a Chicagoan living in Seattle, is an emerging artist hoping to inspire others through her talent. From a very young age she always loved to create, but at the age of fifteen she dis-covered her love for acrylic paints. Aramis holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, but her artistic experi-ences as a child have always left a lasting impact on her life. Aramis recently made the decision in 2013 to pursue her passion for painting since relocating to Washington. aohamer.com

Artist Profiles

Naomi IshisakaNaomi Ishisaka is a longtime journalist and photographer with a passion for racial justice and foreground-ing the lives of people of color in our community. The BlackLivesMatter movement has become a powerful catalyst for transformational change and resis-tance to anti-Black racism. Through documentation of the Black Lives Matter movement, she amplifies Black leadership through images, stories and visibility. naomiishisaka.com

Barry JohnsonBarry Johnson is a local artists who says about his work: “Power In Color is a minimal set of all black paintings that examines the strength and beauty of all people of color.” barryjohnson.co

Nancy Ryan KeelingNancy Ryan Keeling is a multi-media artist based in Texas. Her work has recently been published in Anderbo and Calyx.a Her photography has been exhibited internationally.

Yegizaw “Yeggy” MichaelYeggy has been artist-in-resi-dence in a num-ber of national and international venues, and has given guest

lectures in several universities. In addition to his commissioned pub-lic artwork, his paintings are owned by many individuals, organizations, and private collections worldwide. yeggystudio.com

Atoosa MoinzadehBased in Seattle, Atoosa is a mul-timedia journalist and creative who focuses on contributing to discourses on social justice and activism. She currently interns for Seattle Met Magazine and has contributed to the Seattle Globalist, the Capitol Hill Times, and various other publications in Seattle. atoosasmoinzadeh.com

Dale MurphyPhotography allows me to communicate to the world in how I see it, saying more with imag-es than words, but hopefully coaxing thoughts and emotion out of the viewer. With this, I hope to capture what is right in this world, and what is wrong. Neither can be ignored. With these tools in each of my hands, I hope to join the conver-sation, and the movement. pnwbot.tumblr.com

Viviann Le NguyenViviann Le Nguy-en is a gender-queer, second generation Viet-namese-Amer-ican freelance photographer currently based in Seattle, Washington. They are a free flowing, candid portraiture & documentary photographer. A ma-

jority of their work is focused within documenting QTPOC and social justice community events. fluxhzard.virb.com

Christopher ShawChristopher Shaw is a Seattle based thinker, artist and engi-neer. His work balances design and aesthetic inquiry. Through collaborations and creative partnerships Chris-topher seeks to form and reform a new aesthetic topology. Drawing inspiration from the intellectual and the spiritual Christopher sees the aesthetic as an opportunity for both inquiry and resistance. contemporaryclay.org

Zorn B. TaylorZorn B. Taylor is an artist who ex-presses himself through visual art and the written word. He is a futurist, believes fervently in imag-ination and decries conservatism in all its forms as the antithesis of growth. zornimages.com