Nacala Ayele

Nacala Ayele was born and raised in Seattle Washington and grew up in both the Central District and the South end.

As a Jewelry artist, Nacala’s art centered on jewelry making traditions of West Africa. She both studied and assistant taught at Pratt Fine Arts Center, between 1993 and 1997. She was mentored by Afua Wokoma, a Master Jeweler who traveled and apprenticed under Master Jewelers in West Africa. Nacala studied under several other local artists, including Ann Boles, Jenny Pohlman, and Virginia Causey.

While Jewelry remains her first love, Nacala’s art currently lives in the space of oral histories. To this end, Nacala traced the migration of her family from Alabama to Robbins Illinois, recording stories, images and filmed interviews of distant relatives.

Nacala is currently curating a collection of filmed interviews of Seattle-Based Black Elders and their accounts of the many ways they have experienced joy in the course of their lives.

She has traveled all over the Caribbean studying the African Origins of food in that region, documenting food ways, the use of food in healing and spiritual practices. These travels culminated in several local food history and tasting events.