Podcast | Learning from the legacies of Seattle’s Black artists

Writer Jas Keimig discusses their work profiling current creators and researching the lives of those who shouldn't be forgotten.

Triptych featuring three portraits

From left: Painter and musician Milt Simons, poet Jourdan Imani Keith, and director and producer Nate Long. (The Estates of Milt Simons and Marianne Hanson and Cascadia Art Museum, Edmonds, Wash.; Meron Menghistab; Washington State University)

Seattle has been home to Black artists of great renown, from Jimi Hendrix and Ernestine Anderson to Jacob Lawrence and August Wilson. But those big names are by no means the only ones from our city deserving of recognition.

For this episode of the Crosscut Reports podcast, we’re peeling back the curtain on a massive multimedia project that seeks to shed light on those other artists, past and present, who have helped shape this city and region. 


Listen to Crosscut Reports on Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon or wherever you get your podcasts.


Black Arts Legacies is a series of written profiles, videos, photography and a podcast, all highlighting the vital and ongoing role of Seattle’s Black artists and arts organizations. 

Freelance writer and critic Jas Keimig joins host Sara Bernard to talk about their role in Season Two, writing a number of profiles of some of Seattle’s most influential painters, poets, musicians, dancers and directors. Keimig shares stories of a few artists they’ve profiled, as well as their thoughts on the power and importance of the project as a whole.

About the Hosts