Between Us gathers painting, photography, sculpture, film, design, public writing, and live music around one question: what does it mean to make African and Afro-diasporic work in Seattle right now — not a category to represent, but a set of real connections: to friendships, venues, audiences, and the institutions we work within.

Artists from other backgrounds are also included, reflecting the cross-cultural exchange that shapes Seattle’s creative life.

The exhibition also examines the language attached to art, including diaspora, community, healing, identity, reclamation, and belonging. These terms may describe real experiences, but they can also shape interpretation before a work has spoken for itself. Between Us leaves room for work that is formal, humorous, intimate, sensuous, unresolved, or resistant to explanation.

The gallery doubles as a social room: seating and a visitor-response wall invite people to linger and talk back, alongside a full slate of public programming — artist conversations, live music, and a second First Thursday reception on September 3.