2023 Unity Benefit

Celebrating NAAM’s 15 years of meaningful engagement in the Pacific Northwest and highlighting NAAM’s vision for the museum’s future.

NAAM is thrilled to welcome esteemed guests and museum supporters to enjoy an intimate cocktail affair with live music, artistic performances, and an inspirational program. Our theme TRANSFORMATIONS, looks to present audiences with a new transformative way to engage with the museum as we head into a new era of NAAM.

Champions of Unity Honorees

The Champions of Unity Award honors two exemplary public servants who exemplify unity and community uplift. This year’s awards will be bestowed upon arts advocate Vivian Phillips and arts leader Brian Carter.

Vivian Phillips is the founder of ARTE NOIR, an online publication celebrating Black art and culture from the African diaspora which now also has a physical space in the historic Central District. She is the co-founder of The Hansberry Project African American Theatre Lab and has independently produced several stage presentations including the 2022 Broadway production of “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow was enuf”, which received a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play. Phillips' immense leadership helped spearhead incredible projects in Washington and Oregon primarily including arts and creative economy planning and implementation for the City of Seattle, the City of Olympia, Seattle Arts and Cultural Districts, Seattle Waterfront, and the Oregon Community Fund.

Brian Carter is the Executive Director of 4Culture, an important cultural funding organization located in Seattle. Carter acts as the primary liaison to elected officials, community partners, constituents, and stakeholders, building effective relationships that nurture a culturally healthy King County. He is the former Deputy Director of the Northwest African American Museum, a member of the American Alliance of Museum’s Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Task Force, and serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Washington’s Museum Studies Certificate Program, from which he received his master’s degree.