“Rooted and Rising” Exhibit Spotlights Archival Materials from the African American Collection
release date: August 7, 2025
An upcoming exhibit at The Seattle Public Library’s Central Library’s Level 8 gallery features artwork inspired by a curated selection of powerful archival materials from the Douglass-Truth Branch’s African American collection. Created by five Seattle-based artists, the pieces capture the depth and diversity of Black life in the Pacific Northwest.
Opening on Monday, Aug. 11, “Rooted & Rising: Stories from the African American Archive” is curated by local interdisciplinary artist Imani Sims of Vivid Matter Collective in collaboration with local artists and community leaders. Sims brings a personal and innovative lens to the African-American collection, reintroducing the public to the richness of Black history housed right in their own city.
“Rooted & Rising will transform the gallery into a space of active participation, creative exploration, and community ritual,” said Sims. “Seattle residents will have the opportunity to connect past to present, memory to imagination, and personal reflection to collective legacy.”
The artists featured in the exhibit used archival material from the collection to create works that aim to reimagine the future while contributing new layers to the archive. The artists are Akoiya Harris, DJ Summersoft, Natasha Green, Quenton Baker, and Rae Akino. The artwork features mixed media installations, printed digital art works, reimagined archival texts, black out poems, and nail art.
In addition to the curated exhibit, which is available for viewing through Sunday, Oct. 5 during the Central Library’s open hours, “Rooted & Rising” will include a gallery opening event and interactive public programs that invite audiences to engage with the archival material, explore under-told stories, and imagine Black futures.
“Rooted & Rising” is supported by a grant from the TEW Foundation and by donors to The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
Rooted & Rising exhibit opening and programs
Rooted & Rising Exhibition Opening. Sunday, Aug. 17, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Celebrate the opening of “Rooted & Rising” with an afternoon that promises to transform archival memory into communal ritual and creative action. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the installation, watch performances, and engage in an artist talk back.
Rooted & Rising Artist Conversation and Creative Session. Saturday, Sept. 6, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Douglass-Truth Branch. Join us for a powerful two-hour workshop featuring a dynamic artist conversation with the five featured creatives from Rooted & Rising in dialogue with curator Imani Sims. This hands-on session invites participants to imagine liberatory futures rooted in Black ancestral knowledge, personal truth, and community ritual. Check www.spl.org/calendar closer to the date for information and a registration link.
About Imani Sims
Wonder is Imani’s specialty and draws inspiration from the cosmos to integrate art, ritual, and the Black aesthetic into experiences tailored for QTBIPOC communities. They use tarot, immersive performance, and speculative storytelling to activate Black memory and reimagine futures in which we are seen, safe, and celebrated. Projects like “Kitchen Sessions” (2015–2019), created in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum, Bellevue Arts Museum, and Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, centered intergenerational storytelling through performance by and for the Black community. Imani brings this same commitment to “Rooted & Rising”: to amplify the archive through collaboration and to co-create programming that uplifts and activates this vital history.
About Vivid Matter Collective
Vivid Matter Collective (VMC) is a Seattle-based arts collective rooted in community, cultural storytelling, and the amplification of Black and Brown voices. Formed in 2020 in response to the uprisings for racial justice, VMC first gained recognition for the powerful Black Lives Matter mural created in the heart of Capitol Hill. Since that catalytic moment, the collective has grown into a leading force for public and private art commissions across Seattle.
About The Seattle Public Library
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and empower community. Find more events at www.spl.org/Calendar.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.