For the past four years, Cascade PBS has profiled such artists in Black Arts Legacies, a mixed-media storytelling project that to date has featured more than 55 artists in written, video and photographic portraits.
Past artists include dancer Syvilla Fort, singer Tiffany Wilson, DJ Riz Rollins, sculptor James W. Washington Jr. and many others.
Tifa Tomb has worked as the producer/director on the project since the beginning. Over the years, she says, she’s learned about legendary artists, as well as several she’d never heard of.
“There are a couple that I’m really excited about ... [like] Tina Bell. [She] was ... is considered the godmother of grunge music. So Seattle is really known for grunge music. She predates Nirvana in terms of style and sound. She’s passed on. But I really encourage people to go back and listen to her music,” Tomb said.
Season 4 of Black Arts Legacies begins this month, with new artists revealed every Friday, May 30 through June 27.
“I think you can expect to be surprised,” Tomb says. “Some of the work we profile this season kind of defies what you might expect from a smaller art scene. But the pieces these artists put together [are] so intentional and so breathtaking.”
To learn more about all the Seattle artists featured in Black Arts Legacies, head to blackartslegacies.com.
