At the heart of the African American experience in the Northwest is the story of our Journey to this region, the establishment of our vibrant community and the ways in which we have survived. To tell this ever-unfolding story, the Museum’s exhibits and programs will feature the visual arts, music, crafts, literature and history of African Americans in the Northwest. Cognizant of the Black community’s continuous evolution, NAAM will focus on African Americans whose route to the new world was through slavery as well as recent immigrants arriving from places such as Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia. The Museum will not be a collecting institution at this time, but will instead rely on individual, regional and national collections in the development of its own exhibits and programs. |
Stories That Cover Us
March 18, 2009 through October 4, 2009
In this exhibition, the women of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters bravely give us access to their lives- brimming with memories, hopes, joys, milestones, losses, passions and accomplishments. Though the quilts reflect the lives these particular women have lived, their stories are so familiar and inviting as to convince us they speak on our behalf as well. The stories woven into these quilts tell of an African American community living at this particular time in history, in this particular place.
Patricia Batiste-Brown
Silhouettes of My People, 2008
Cotton and mixed media
Machine pieced and quilted
Curated by Brian J. Carter, Deputy Director. Special thanks to Barbara Johns, Gwen Maxwell-Williams, Jawara O’Connor.
Tacoma’s Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way
The Legacy Gallery
February 5 – December 20, 2009
This timely exhibition explores the trials and tribulations of the Civil Rights movement in Washington State’s city of Tacoma and features more than 100 artifacts including reports, photographs, articles and other artifacts, many not seen in more than half a century.
The exhibit focuses on the years from 1960-72, although it explores history beginning at the end of World War II when Tacoma’s African American population grew by nearly 400%. In the years following the war, Tacoma’s Civil Rights movement concentrated on obtaining equal rights and the exhibit provides insight into housing issues , local activism and events leading up to passage of the Congressional Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. The display concludes with a look at how the equal rights effort continues today. This traveling exhibition was organized by the Washington State History Museum and the Tacoma Civil Rights Project.
NAAM Members Exhibition Preview: February 4, 2009
Program begins at 6:00pm and the exhibition companion film – Tacoma Civil Rights Project; Remembering our Past, Reshaping our Future -- will be shown at 5:00pm and again at 7:00pm.
This traveling exhibit was originally organized by the Tacoma Civil Rights Project and the Washington State History Museum, original curators Barbara Johns and Harold Moss.
Constellation of Shadows and Leaves (2006-2007)
The Café Gallery
February 18, 2009 through August 2, 2009
NAAM is proud to exhibit five mixed-media collage works of local artist Carletta Carrington Wilson. These five pieces are part of a larger fourteen work exhibition centered around historic maps of Africa. The works are comprised of textiles, jewelry, found art, paper and paint. In Ms. Wilson’s own words, “My work speaks of cloth and its constellations. How cloth covers the bodies of this world, wraps them, unravels in mysteries this language of artifice and mimicry of the mischief found in skin.
The Journey Gallery
March 8, 2008 thru March 11, 2011
 Photo by Jennifer RichardWhat does it mean to be African American in the Pacific Northwest? It is a beautiful range of colors and hues; a diversity of experiences and locations; a variety of countries of origin, both known and unknown; an assortment of religions; a staggering array of occupations; a multitude of co-workers, neighbors, friends and families; an ever -evolving community that continues to shape and reshape the human experience.
The Journey Gallery takes visitors on a fascinating journey through space and time, introducing the history, culture, and art of the region’s African American Community. Using a mix of photos, artifacts and compelling narratives, the Journey Gallery invites you to explore this continually changing story, for it is yours, it is mine, it is ours.
Curated by Barbara Earl Thomas, Deputy Director/Curator. Special thanks to Formations, Inc., Exhibit Design/Fabrication; Jackie Lawson, Black Heritage Society of Washington State, Inc.; Marsha Rooney, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture; Pat Thomas, Black Historical Society of Kitsap County; Tim Detweiler, Executive Director of the James W. Washington, Jr. and Janie Rogella Washington Foundation.
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