Black Arts Love: An Interview with Founder Malika Bennett
At our very core, we are all driven to discover the exact space where we belong, our true home. To find the place or the thing that brings us so much joy and fulfillment. Some spend their entire lives searching for it, but there are those rare individuals who have already found it, and their sheer passion and dedication radiates from them.
One of those people is, undoubtedly, Malika Bennett.
Malika is a passionate artist, educator, and community organizer based in Seattle, Washington. With a deep commitment to advancing Black arts and culture, she founded Black Arts Love, a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting and celebrating the creativity and expression of Black artists in the Pacific Northwest. Through a variety of programs and initiatives, Black Arts Love has become a vital hub for artists, cultural workers, and community members seeking to connect, collaborate, and showcase the beauty and richness of Black artistic traditions.
Read on to explore Malika's journey as an artist and activist, her vision for Black Arts Love, and the impact of her work on the Seattle art scene and beyond.
Black Arts Love vendor team at Summer Pop Up Market 2022. Vendors pictured are God Body Soaps, Alturistic LLC, Mahaba Moss, and LaVerde Arts.
THECANCAN.COM: Can you tell us about the history and mission of Black Arts Love in Seattle?
Malika Bennett: My motivation for starting the organization came after hearing back-to-back news of police brutality and killings of Black lives, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016. It was so traumatizing seeing those videos online. I noticed so many people were feeling like they wanted to do something, but we were feeling hopeless. How do we get this to stop?
At the time, I was working in corporate America just figuring things out, and I just had a come to Jesus moment. I asked myself, what can we do to really feel more empowered to get healing into our community?
Then, a dream came to me about this big group of really brilliant, excellent, Black leaders that came together and were standing around this table and looking at this blueprint of action.
What the dream said was that everyone has their own unique set of skills. There was a lawyer at the table, there were doctors, there were artists… just people from different professional fields coming together and creating solutions to really bring our community together, combat racism, and really learn to empower ourselves.
I started looking into my own gifts and talents and realized that I had my own skills that I could give back, and those gifts were event planning and marketing. I had done event planning at the beginning of my career in corporate America. I was in a really great position where I learned how to work trade shows, and I planned out company events. Prior to that, I had done community planning here in Seattle as a teenager at the Soul Festival and some other different community events. It's really in my blood.
There was one particular exhibit at the time by Kehinde Wiley. He was the artist that did the commission work for President Obama. I went to that exhibit, and there was a piece about racism. It was really interesting because the person that was leading the tour led a discussion among the people in the group about the piece.
She asked us questions about what the piece meant to us and how we interpreted the message, and it just opened up a whole dialogue and conversation. I had a whole different perspective afterward. I saw how this piece of art was bringing us together, our life experiences, and also the life experience of the artist. All of this was happening at one time, and I realized, “Yes, art is the key.” There's something about art that brings people together, that gets us talking about issues, that allows us to tell our stories.
I started Black Arts Love in July 2016, and we were just doing community events like marketplaces. A lot of research went into figuring out where the Black artists were. Once we got connected, they were all on board, and our first event was at Garfield Community Center. It was a great turnout. Oh my God, it just warmed my heart. I didn't know that so many people were in alignment with what this vision was and what we were doing. That inspired a whole series of marketplaces over seven years now.
THECANCAN.COM: What role does Black Arts Love play in continuing to support and uplift the Black arts community in Seattle and creating opportunities for artists to connect and collaborate?
Malika Bennett: When we had to shut down during the pandemic, it really made me relook at our vision and figure out where we were going beyond these marketplaces. Something that’s really important to the Black Arts Love mission is growing our artists economically. We’re here to uplift Black artists and give them more opportunities to grow.
It's hard to own a storefront. Those are very expensive endeavors. However, it's necessary to be out there. I went after a grant during the pandemic. It was through The Seattle Office of Economic Development, and it's called the NERF Grant. We were awarded the grant to open up a retail store in Capitol Hill featuring products from Black creators and Black artists. People can come in and shop and support Black artists.
We just recently started booking corporate events and parties using our artist partners and placing them in these gigs. That's new to us, so that's been a great way to create revenue for our artists by being a part of our artist partnership.
The city of Seattle has been so supportive and open, in terms of helping businesses get back on their feet and using the dollars from the federal government that has come through to the community. The way they're using these funds is very creative and very uplifting, especially for the groups of people that have been historically marginalized and would’ve otherwise struggled to get loans or other financial support. We wouldn't have been able to do this without these grants.
THECANCAN.COM: What role do you see the arts playing in educating and raising awareness about Black history and the ongoing fight for racial justice?
Malika Bennett: I think the arts play an incredible role. Art allows us to tell our stories visually. People can connect a lot to a visual representation of someone's human experience, and it creates conversation. One of the things I really love doing is talking to artists to get their perspective on how to share Black history through the arts.
We had one particular client that hired us to do a corporate paint party that had a Black History theme and asked us which artists would be the best fit for this job. It was a very short turnaround, so I didn't have a lot of time, but some artists were like, “Oh we could have them paint a historical figure that they are familiar with. Right?”
The idea we went with was about abstract art and its role in history, as well as how a lack of artists are being portrayed today, and then have them do their own abstract art. I thought that was really cool. During the whole presentation, she'll use historical references to Black history in terms of abstract artists from the past to the present. I loved how different this idea was. Just talking about art creates this conversation about ideas and being creative. I look at how so many of my ancestors had to be creative.
A lot of people, when they think of art, they think of paintings. They don't necessarily think about how deep art can go. Even farming can be art if you think about it, with how creative you have to get to work around all the elements to make things. There's an art in creating those systems. I just look back at our ancestors, and if we're talking about Black history, there are so many Black inventors and creators, and I can't even name them all.
During the Harlem Renaissance, there are certain communities that were built by having theatre and dancing and all of these creative ways of expression. A lot of that was coping through the times, but it also uplifted our community. It brought people together.
I feel like we're kind of experiencing our own Black art renaissance here in Seattle.
Whittier Smallwood, a community supporter and friend of Black Arts Love, shows his love for Black arts with his new Black Arts Love merch.
There's so much going on, even with the Black Lives Matter mural, and I know many of the artists that were involved in that mural. I've worked with them through our marketplaces. Then, of course, you have a lot going on down in the Midtown Square area and Africa Town.
With Black Arts Love, we've been more of a small grassroots movement. But the marketplace has always been focused on economic opportunities for artists and creating more platforms for artists to be seen, especially for those who have been systematically marginalized throughout history.
THECANCAN.COM: What advice would you offer to Black artists in the Seattle area who are looking to get involved in the arts community and have their work recognized and appreciated?
Malika Bennett: Yeah. Come through us, obviously. Malika laughs. First I would say, look for some of these grant opportunities. The very first grant we got was from 4Culture, which was a huge help because everything prior to that was completely grassroots and completely out of my pocket. It’s really incredible to know that they're there to support art projects and individual artists as well as cultural groups like Black Arts Love. King County has a 25 million dollar grant right now for Black and Indigenous people and their businesses, which can include artists as well. Take advantage of it. Go research the Department of Washington State Commerce, there are a lot of opportunities that they list.
I think that the leaders in our state and at the local level see the value in art. Find those grants that support your projects and your ideas, and go for it. Don't hesitate. Believe in yourself. Believe, even if your idea seems like no one else gets it.
Also, connect with other fellow artists. We follow a whole bunch on our Black Artists Love Instagram page. I would also say get out to some art shows and just start just doing the old-school networking by introducing yourself to the people that are running the show and the artists that are on display. Especially if you follow these artists online, you’ll see tons of events start to pop up.
It’s really been a huge shift over the last few years. I used to go to these marketplaces and I'd be like, where are the Black artists? Where are the Black businesses? It would be really discouraging because I wouldn't see any representation of myself or anybody I know. I'm here supporting all of these businesses, but where's the representation of me here? Now I'm seeing more Black-focused marketplaces because other people felt the same way. We were all wondering, where's our culture? I’m seeing more inclusiveness too now which is great.
Malika at one of the first pop-up marketplaces at Garfield Community Center in Seattle, WA.
THECANCAN.COM: Can you tell us more about your storefront opening and how the community can get involved and support you?
Malika Bennett: The storefront is going to be in Capitol Hill and our grand opening is March 23, 2023.
Hopefully, we get the funding to be able to hire some people to staff the store. But as of now, the artist partners will be involved in volunteering at the store. They’ve been involved in our monthly meetings, looking at what's working, what's not working, and what events we can do for the community. It's not just a retail store, we're going to have community events there. We’ll do paint parties and open mics, and have different exhibits. Some days we’ll have live music, where they can come and hear music and shop around and or just hang out and listen, or we’ll have listening parties and healing circles.
We really want to grow this store. Currently, we have about 12 artists involved, and we have room to add more artists to this store. My goal is to get at least 30 local artists in there and include some national artists, too. I want to create a little economy of business owners and artists that are thriving and have the support to continue creating. I want to use my skill sets now, just as I saw in the dream where all of us are coming together and adding to the blueprint. To me, it's Black liberation. Art is a catalyst for healing, community, and Black liberation.
You can support Black Arts Love this month by purchasing our featured cocktail “Big Richard Energy.” A percentage of the sales from this item will go towards Black Arts Love and will further continue their efforts in amplifying black creators, culture, and entrepreneurship.
To learn more about Black Arts Love, and stay up to date on their Grand Opening, go to www.blackartslove.com and follow them on Instagram.
