Community Conversation: Racial Equity / Town Hall

Join us from 5 to 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 4 for the second in our new series of virtual Community Conversations: Racial Equity. Using the framing question, “How can Artist Trust and other artist-serving organizations interrupt white supremacy?”, artist Anastacia-Renee will lead a discussion between Washington artists Raleigh Hawthrone, Emma Noyes, and Che Sehyun. A Q&A with audience members will follow the conversation.

The conversation and feedback shared will help shape our transforming organization. We hope you can join us!

About Anastacia-Renee
Anastacia-Renee is a writer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, TEDx Speaker and podcaster. She is a 2020 Arc Fellow(4Culture) and Jack Straw Curator. Renee is the recipient of the James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award for Washington Artist (2018), Seattle Civic Poet (2017-2019), and Poet-in-Residence at Hugo House (2015-2017). Renee has received fellowships and residencies from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, VONA, Ragdale, Mineral School, and The New Orleans Writers Residency. Her poems and essays have been anthologized in: Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry, Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota’s Garden,Seismic: Seattle City of Literature and her poetry and fiction have appeared in, Spark, Foglifter, Auburn Avenue, Catapult, Alta, Torch, and many more.

About The Artists
Raleigh Hawthorne grew up in Portland, OR and has lived in Richland, WA for 6 years. She is a dedicated member of Tri-Cities arts community as an actor, singer, emcee, planner, and director. Raleigh is Manager-Coordinator for the Arts Center Task Force; an organization dedicated to building a performing arts center in Tri-Cities. She currently sits on the board of Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, and is the Event Coordinator for the Mid-Columbia Arts Fundraiser. Raleigh is also a local activist, public speaker, and political campaign manager. She owns her own photography business, Hawthorne Lux, and can be heard weekday mornings on AJ and Raleigh in the Morning on Mix 105.3 FM Tri-Cities.

Elisheba Johnson is a curator, poet, public artist and consultant that lives in Seattle, WA. Johnson, who has a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, was the owner of Faire Gallery Café, a multi-use art space that held art exhibitions, music shows, poetry readings and creative gatherings. For six years Johnson worked at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture on capacity building initiatives and racial equity in public art. Johnson was a member of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Network advisory council and has won four Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review Awards for her work. She currently co-manages Wa Na Wari, a Black art center in Seattle’s Central Area that uses the arts to build community and resist displacement.

Che Sehyun is a multi-faceted artist, entrepreneur and culture-bearer of his family’s Corean soul food. With growing plans to reach the world via the internet and airplanes, Che loves to create stunning videos and photos, and share original songs and ancient stories. Recipient of prestigious awards, fellowships and residencies, he currently curates for the Seattle Asian Art Museum; directs his arts and culture-based programs through his non-profit, Experience Education; and supports his family through his media and design company, Medium Medium. Che learns from and supports his Ancient Corean Culture, elders and ancestors, and works to reflect their beauty, integrity and relevance.

Emma Noyes bio is forthcoming.

About Artist Trust
Artist Trust is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and encourage artists working in all disciplines to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Since its founding in 1986, Artist Trust has invested over $10 million in individual artists through grant programs and provides a comprehensive suite of professional development training and resources to help artists achieve their career goals. Learn more at artisttrust.org.

Have Questions?
Email co-Program Managers Luther Hughes and Lydia Boss.