Wa Na Wari means “Our Home” in the Kalabari language of Southern Nigeria. The phrase carries deep personal meaning for co-founder, artist, and land manager Inye Wokoma, whose father’s family hails from that vibrant region.
Located in Seattle’s historic Central District, Wa Na Wari stands as a cultural stronghold in a neighborhood that once celebrated a 98% African American population, now reduced to just 14%, while the white population has risen by over 60% as of 2025.
In the spring of 2019, Inye Wokoma and his spouse, co-founder, artist, and curator Elisheba Johnson, transformed Wokoma’s family home into the Wa Na Wari Art Institution. Their mission was twofold:
- To resist ongoing gentrification pressures on the home while championing Black homeownership in the Central District.
- To cultivate a hub of creative opportunity and community empowerment through art, mental health workshops, financial education, and representation for Black and brown artists, whose voices are often overlooked in Seattle’s arts scene.
Both founders bring deep artistic experience. Johnson, a Fluxus Movement–influenced artist, is the former Public Art Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture and previously founded the Faire Gallery and Café. Wokoma, whose family has lived in the Central District since the 1940s, is a journalist, filmmaker, and visual artist. Together, they envisioned Wa Na Wari as both a creative and cultural sanctuary.
In building Wa Na Wari, the couple was joined by co-founders and artists Jill Friedberg and Rachael Kessler (who stepped down in 2021). Together, the founding team enlisted a network of artists and community supporters who helped bring their vision for the space to life.
Walk the Block Festival: Art Meets Activism
One of Wa Na Wari’s most celebrated programs is the annual Walk the Block Festival, a community art exhibition now in its fourth year. The event spans 24th Avenue between E. Cherry and E. Union Streets, transforming porches, parks, storefronts, and homes into open-air galleries and performance spaces.
Each year, hundreds of participants enjoy visual art, live music, video installations, dance parties, and storytelling. The festival has become a beloved neighborhood tradition and a testament to resilience in the face of gentrification; now even supported by the City of Seattle.
This year’s festival theme, “Gratitude,” invited attendees to “show appreciation for the community, land, and cultural legacy supported by Wa Na Wari’s programs.” The daylong event, held on a balmy September Saturday, ran from 1–7 p.m., drawing large crowds eager to celebrate creativity and community.
Programs That Build and Sustain Community
Wa Na Wari’s impact extends well beyond the festival. Its programs strengthen the fabric of Seattle’s Black and Indigenous communities through art, food, education, and housing advocacy:
- Meals: A community meal program offering free African diasporic and Native American–inspired cuisine twice weekly, prepared by Black and Indigenous chefs.
- CACE 21: Organizes Black homeowners and cultural workers to anchor families in their homes through education on housing policies, mutual aid, and community expertise.
- Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute: Trains a cohort of community members in the art and ethics of oral history, preserving Black memory and stories.
- Artist Residency: Six artists receive a $2,000 stipend, mentorship, and a two-month exhibition to showcase their work.
- BLOOM Garden Program: In partnership with Seattle Public Library, YES Farm, EarthCorps, and the Black Farmers Collective, this initiative explores food justice and food sovereignty in Seattle’s communities of color.
Walk the Block 2025: Art in Motion
This year’s headliner was acclaimed artist, writer, and actor Saul Williams, joined by Grammy-nominated percussionist and producer Carlos Niño. The duo, along with flutist and saxophonist Aaron Shaw, performed selections from their collaborative project Saul Williams meets Carlos & Friends at Treepeople, a mesmerizing blend of improvisational jazz, poetry, and rhythm. Their seventy-five-minute set captivated the crowd and officially launched their 2025 tour.
The festival also featured an online film screening series and panel discussions with notable filmmakers Terence Nance, Amir George, Brian McDonald, and Gilda Sheppard, offering new opportunities for virtual engagement.
A Festival for All
Walk the Block embraces everyone; its motto might as well be “come one, come all.” Alongside the art and performances, attendees explored vendor booths selling handmade goods, beauty products, and local art. Farmers’ markets offered fresh produce, the Seattle Public Library gave away books for adults and children, and a live poet crafted personalized poems on demand. The Seattle Housing Authority was also present, answering questions about housing and displacement, an issue at the heart of Wa Na Wari’s mission.
Music and laughter filled the air as DJs, hip-hop and R&B performers, and Mardi Gras–style street bands kept the energy alive from start to finish.
Walk the Block is in its fourth year and going strong. This year’s festival theme is “Gratitude.” The literature states, “This theme served as an invitation to appreciate and practice thankfulness for the community, land, and cultural legacy,” supported by Wa Na Wari’s various programs.” The event was held on a beautiful, balmy Saturday in late September from one to seven pm. The event transforms all places and spaces on 24th Avenue between E. Cherry & E. Union. The festival utilizes participating homes, porches, storefronts, and parks to build stages and galleries to exhibit works from multiple diverse artists from all over the city.
Preserving Legacy, Inspiring Hope
While gentrification continues to erode the Black presence in the Central District and greater Seattle, Wa Na Wari stands as a beacon of cultural preservation and creative resistance. Through art, food, and fellowship, Inye Wokoma and Elisheba Johnson have built more than an art institution; they’ve created a movement.
Their vision inspires hope that the Black community’s voice in the Central District will not fade quietly but continue to rise, strong and proud. Wa Na Wari remains, quite fittingly, Our Home: a place where art, ownership, mental health, and community pride intersect to light the way forward.
Cheers to the Wa Na Wari team for another inspiring year, and here’s to the many Walk the Block festivals yet to come.
