PRESS RELEASE: ARTE NOIR Announces Grand Opening of Central District Location
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 30, 2022
Media Contact:
Taelore Rhoden
ARTE NOIR Marketing Manager
(206) 550-2021
ARTE NOIR Announces Grand Opening of Central District Location
The brick-and-mortar shop opens its doors Saturday, September 17
Seattle - ARTE NOIR https://www.artenoir.org/ will celebrate the opening
of its new location on 23rd & Union at Midtown Square with a grand opening
event on Saturday, September 17, from 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm.
The grand opening celebration includes hands-on art activities, ARTE
NOIR-branded giveaways & door prizes, a 360 photo booth, and guided tours
of Gallery Onyx at Midtown's https://www.onyxarts.org/ inaugural
exhibit, Truth
B Told II.
ARTE NOIR's grand opening also celebrates Wa Na Wari's second annual Walk
the Block festival (www.wanawari.org/wtb), a one-day art walk that
transforms Central District homes, businesses, parks, porches, and other
common spaces into art installations and performance sites. As a 2022 Walk
the Block partner, ARTE NOIR will curate performances and art experiences
at Midtown Square, showcasing the innovation and soulfulness of Black
artists and creatives.
Founded by Vivian Phillips, ARTE NOIR originated as an online publication
dedicated to showcasing and uplifting Black art, artists, and culture. The
publication launched in late May 2021, and the non-profit was incorporated
on June 1, 2021. Under the leadership of Executive Director Jazmyn Scott,
the new brick-and-mortar location expands the mission, complementing ARTE
NOIR's digital magazine with its Black art gallery and Black culture retail
shop.
ARTE NOIR exists to uplift Black art, Black artists, and Black culture, and
seeking a gallery partner in alignment with this approach and work was
paramount to ARTE NOIR's brick-and-mortar expansion plan. Onyx Fine Arts
Collective (OFAC) was a natural fit as the only gallery in Seattle that
exclusively showcases the artwork of artists of African descent from the
Pacific Northwest.
The 3200-square-foot Midtown Square location was designed as a shared space
for ARTE NOIR and Gallery Onyx at Midtown Square. The gallery space anchors
OFAC's connection to the Black community, creates a permanent home for
Black art and artists in Seattle's Central District, and increases
opportunities to showcase and sell the work of over 400 artists on OFAC’s
roster. Gallery Onyx at Midtown Square will be OFAC's second gallery
location in Seattle; the original Gallery Onyx at Pacific Place will remain
open.
ARTE NOIR's approach to its retail shop highlights the importance of
spotlighting and connecting local, national, and international Black
artists and art-makers. Like the partnership with OFAC, ARTE NOIR’s retail
operation is intentional and unique - artists receive 100% of net proceeds
from their products and goods sold in the shop. All products and items in
the shop are made by Black creatives, including exclusive products
developed in collaboration with the eight artists
https://midtownsquare.com/p/artists/ who contributed pieces to Midtown
Square. The shop also features home goods, apothecary products, children's
books, cards, and more.
Beginning Saturday, September 17, ARTE NOIR is open Wednesday through
Saturday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm. The shop is located at 2301 E Union St, Suite
H, Seattle, WA 98122. For more information, visit www.artenoir.org.
About ARTE NOIR
ARTE NOIR is an independent arts organization that exists to uplift Black
artists!
ARTE NOIR seeks to be a gathering place for exploring the dynamic
creativity that springs from African and African American culture. With a
focus on people, ARTE NOIR shines a light on the makers, thinkers, and
doers who are, and have been, innovating in their fields, centering the
soulfulness & power of Black art and reparative wealth generation.
www.artenoir.org
--
Taelore Rhoden (she/her) | Marketing Manager
M: (206) 550-2021