Elisheba Johnson

Born and raised in Seattle, the co-founder and co-executive director of the Black culture and arts community center Wa Na Wari (911 24th Ave) has been interested in interdisciplinary arts spaces since earning her BFA at Cornish College of the Arts. “I was fascinated with the space that Gertude Stein provided for some of the most important arts figures of the 20th century. In my early 20s, I started Faire Gallery Cafe, which I ran until 2012. It was a real melting pot of mediums and artists who were able to try out new ideas together.”

Flash-forward to 2019, when Inye Wokoma had a vision for converting his grandmother’s historic Central District house into an art center. Johnson, with co-founders Jill Freidberg and Rachel Kessler, worked with Wokoma to open Wa Na Wari that very year.

“We feel so strongly about the importance of maintaining this legacy,” she says. “There’s this craving for Black art in Seattle—of being able to see ourselves represented in what we’re viewing. I want this to be a space where people can wrestle with the ideas of Black artists. Visitors have said to me, ‘I moved here and didn’t know where to find community until now!’”

Check Wa Na Wari’s website for the latest on exhibits and events, which have included arts markets, dance concerts, comedy nights, and poetry workshops. “It’s a really exciting moment, as we have the Arte Noir (2301 E Union St) shop around the corner. You can walk a loop of nearby businesses with Métier Brewing (2616 E Cherry St), Jerk Shack (1133 24th Ave), Simply Soulful (2321 S Jackson St), 23rd Ave Brewing (2313 S Jackson St), Avole Coffee (2330 E Union St), and more.”

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Andrea Wilbur-Sigo

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been making art,” says Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, the renowned wood carver and weaver who’s a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe and whose stunning, large-scale works can be seen at the new Summit building at Seattle Convention Center (900 Pine St), the Kraken Community Iceplex (10601 Fifth Ave NE), and downtown’s PCC Community Markets (1320 Fourth Ave), as well as at Stonington Gallery (125 S Jackson St). “I started selling beadwork when I was 8 years old, and I’ve been carving full-time for almost 30 years now.”

“All of my pieces tell a long story about our connection with the environment—with plants and animals,” she says. “It’s really cool, because if you go back to our oldest legends, they all relate to environmental issues. I’m really just taking these stories and making them relevant for today.”

One of Wilbur-Sigo’s latest creations is the 20-foot-tall Grandmother Frog welcome figure outside Pioneer Square’s álʔal Café (122 Second Ave S), which is located at Chief Seattle Club, a Native-run housing and human services agency. Among her favorite art spaces in the city, she recommends the Burke Museum (4303 Memorial Way NE) and the Eighth Generation (1406 First Ave) gallery near Pike Place Market, which specializes in works by Native artists. She adds, “The Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Squaxin Island, and Suquamish tribes all have great cultural centers and museums where you can view Native art from both the present and the past.”

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Elena Gatilova

Aerialist Elena Gatilova’s career literally got off the ground when she was growing up in Ukraine and medaling in the Gymnastics World Cup in the 1990s. Auditioning by VHS tape led her to a five-year run with Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity show in Las Vegas, and for the past 12 years she’s wowed audiences by performing with Seattle’s Teatro ZinZanni.

“Being a gymnast is a great way to develop your power and flexibility and tricks,” she says, adding that she’s loved being a part of ZinZanni “since the first day. We work so well together. And after my first summer, I fell in love with Washington state, with both Seattle and the nature close by. I’m a hiker, and I’ve climbed four of the state’s five volcanoes—all but Glacier Peak. My partner and I own a boat and love sailing out of Elliott Bay Marina. I feel like I’m truly a Pacific Northwesterner now.”

She describes ZinZanni as “a very unique form of entertainment—a fusion of comedy, acrobatics, live music, singing, and dinner show. It’s an all-evening experience. And it’s very intimate, because the seating is 360 degrees and completely surrounds the stage. As an audience member, you’re basically part of the show. We animate through our guests—we talk to them, play some gags, invite them onstage.”

ZinZanni, which has performed in different venues over the years, is currently searching for a permanent location in Seattle. Gatilova says, “We’ve been lucky to secure a residency at Lotte Hotel Seattle (809 Fifth Ave). It’s a beautiful, historic building, and we’ll be performing in their grand ballroom through the end of March 2024.”

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Timothy McCuen Piggee

“I was just finishing up a stint at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, when a friend from grad school invited me to come to Seattle for vacation,” says the actor, director, and Cornish College of the Arts Musical Theater Faculty Chair, who has starred on Broadway in Catch Me If You Can and in TV, movies, and countless Seattle theater productions. “I never went home. I’ve been here 30 years.”

When he spoke with us, Piggee was busy with pre-production work on Fat Ham, which he’s directing at Seattle Rep (155 Mercer St) April 12–May 12. Although live theater has experienced its challenges in recent years, Piggee observes that “human beings are hard-wired to create narratives to make meaning in their lives, and that’s something that live performance has going for it, in terms of being present in a space with other bodies moving through a catharsis.”

“Seattle is a place where new voices have an opportunity to be heard,” he adds, noting how excited he was to see Andrew Lee Creech’s Last Drive to Dodge at Taproot Theatre (212 N 85th St) last September. “He was a student of mine at Cornish, and he’s become this accomplished actor and fascinating playwright. It’s wonderful to see that come to fruition.”

For visiting theater and film lovers, he recommends Solo Bar & Eatery (200 Roy St) as a popular hangout among theater folks. “In Issaquah, I like the Big Picture (35 W Sunset Way) restaurant and movie theater. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that I love a great 4DX movie at the Regal Meridian (1501 Seventh Ave) downtown. Of course, I’m also excited about the reopening of SIFF Cinema Downtown (formerly Cinerama) (2100 Fourth Ave).

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