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Title
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Keynote Lecture: Elisheba Wokoma and Inye Wokoma, co-founders of Wa Na Wari
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Description
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The Place, Memory & Culture Incubator (PMCI) at the Spitzer School of Architecture proudly presents Reimagining the Archive: Black Memory as Design Praxis, a three-day symposium exploring how Afro-diasporic memory and cultural practices are reshaping architecture, preservation, and the built environment.
This keynote features Elisheba Wokoma and Inye Wokoma, co-founders of Wa Na Wari, and an introduction and Q&A led by Curry Hackett. The speakers discuss their pioneering work in establishing a cultural hub in Seattle's Central District, demonstrating how grassroots cultural stewardship can actively counter displacement and honor Black heritage.
Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility, & belonging through art, historic preservation, & connection. Sited in a fifth-generation, Black-owned home, Wa Na Wari is an immersive community art project that reclaims Black cultural space and makes a statement about the importance of Black land ownership in gentrified communities through art, historic preservation, and connection. In 2025, Wa Na Wari commissioned “Gilded Porch” installation by former PMCI faculty Curry Hackett, which will be on view.
Elisheba Wokoma’s vision for cultural placemaking drives Wa Na Wari’s growth as a cultural institution. She served as public art manager for the city’s Office of Arts and Culture and founded and operated Faire Gallery and Café before becoming Wa Na Wari’s curator. Elisheba is a conceptual artist heavily influenced by the Fluxus movement. She sees art “taking the role of philosophy in the 21st century” and providing “the frame for discussing and solving our complex and important civic problems.”
Inye Wokoma has been the Guardian of Estate for his grandmother, Goldyne Green, since 2016. He is instrumental in coordinating a site control vision between Wa Na Wari and the Green family, and work with Black homeowners. As a journalist, filmmaker and visual artist, he explores themes of identity, community, history, land, politics and power. His recent projects represent prismatic explorations of the history, current experience, and future of Seattle’s African American Community.
Curry J. Hackett is a transdisciplinary designer, visual artist, and educator exploring Black relationships to land, media, and memory. A Farmville, Virginia native, his work works across scales and mediums to speculate on the aesthetics and ecologies of the American South. Hackett’s work and ideas have been featured widely.
About the Symposium
Reimagining the Archive: Black Memory as Design Praxis was presented by the Place, Memory & Culture Incubator (PMCI) and the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York, in collaboration with the Harlem Place, Memory & Culture Archive (PMCA).
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Type
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MovingImage
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Creator
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Maldonado, Alfredo
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Wokoma, Elisheba
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Wokoma, Inye
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Hackett, Curry
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Date
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2026-09-17
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Language
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English
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Subject
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Wa Na Wari
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Elisheba Wokoma
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Inye Wokoma
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Curry Hackett
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Black Memory as Design Praxis
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Abstract
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In this keynote lecture, Elisheba Wokoma and Inye Wokoma, co-founders of Wa Na Wari, explore how art, historic preservation, and community connection can create spaces for Black ownership, possibility, and belonging.
