Wa Na Wari is very excited to announce that the second Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute will begin in June, 2023.
We are now accepting applications for the six-person cohort. The deadline to apply is 11:59 pm on March 10th, 2023.
What is the Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute (SBSHI)?
SBSHI is Wa Na Wari’s two-year oral history / community story training institute. It runs from June, 2023 to June, 2025. The institute is conducted in partnership with the Black Heritage Society of Washington State and Seattle Public Library, with support from 4Culture.
What is Wa Na Wari?
Wa Na Wari is a center for Black art and stories, sited in a 5th-generation Black-owned home, in Seattle’s historically redlined Central District. Known as the “house that fights displacement with art,” and described as a “container for Black joy,” Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility, and belonging through art, historic preservation, and connection.
Why oral history and why now?
The Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute is one way, among many, that Wa Na Wari seeks to build collective power towards a future of Black ownership and belonging by rooting our work in a legacy of Black resilience, creativity, and self-determination. Training community members in the techniques and best practices of Black memory work is an important step towards shifting power around whose stories are told, how they’re told, and what place those stories hold in the shaping of Black futures.
What should participants expect?
Overview:
Over the course of two years, the six-person cohort works with historians, archivists, geographers, librarians, artists, and others to learn and explore the ethics, techniques, best practices, tensions, and dilemmas of oral history and Black memory work.
Cohort members will acquire skills in archival research methods, audio recording techniques, oral history interviewing techniques, transcription, story editing, audio editing, and public art proposal and activation processes. Previous experience in these areas is not required for participation in the institute.
In year one, the cohort attends workshops, conducts research, and records interviews with community members around three general topics: Black educators, Black barbers & beauticians, and Black experiences on the Seattle waterfront.
In year two, each cohort member proposes and creates a public activation for sharing the interviews they’ve recorded. The institute culminates with an exhibit/installation at Wa Na Wari, in summer/fall 2025, where cohort members share their work with the public.
In addition to working with local faculty, the cohort will spend a week in June, 2023, learning from Alissa Rae Funderburk, oral historian and educator from Jackson, Mississippi. The Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute is co-directed by Zola Mumford and Jill Freidberg.
Compensation:
The six cohort members selected to participate will each receive a stipend of $6,000 in year one and $4,000 in year two. These stipends are paid in installments, over the course of the program, as work is completed.
Requirements / Expectations:
The institute requires a significant time commitment from each cohort member. All of the steps in oral history and memory work are labor intensive - conducting research, finding and building trust with potential interviewees, conducting and transcribing interviews, and making sure all materials are properly archived. Cohort members will conduct this work on their own time in addition to attending workshops, completing required reading, and engaging in discussions with SBSHI leaders and participants. We recommend that cohort members track their own work hours and progress.
Cohort members must live close enough to Seattle to be able to attend all workshops, interviews, field trips, etc. This is not a remote institute.
Cohort members must be available on the following dates:
June 24th - 30th, 2023
Seven-day, intensive, in-person workshop with Alissa Rae Funderburk.
Saturday and Sunday, June 24th and 25th, all day
Monday - Friday, June 26th-30th, evenings 6pm-9pm.
July - September 2023:
2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6pm-9pm, in July, August, & September (virtual workshops / check ins)
Saturday July 22nd, August 19th, and September 23rd, 10am to 4pm (workshops & field trips)
October 2023 - June 2024
4th Tuesday of every month 6pm-9pm (virtual workshops / check ins)
Saturday, October 21st 2pm-5pm (in-person gathering / meal)
Saturday in March, 2024 (date and time TBD) in-person gathering / meal
One weekend (Saturday & Sunday) in June, 2024 (date & time TBD) for story editing workshop
Who should apply?
People with a deep curiosity about local history, especially Black history.
People who love research, genealogy, urban history & geography, libraries, archives, stories, and most of all listening.
People with a deep connection to Seattle’s Central Area and/or to Black Seattle.
People with a strong commitment to community accountability. Community-based oral history requires accountability to community members at all times, in the form of punctuality, follow through, clear communication, and honesty.
People with a solid understanding of how race, class, gender identity, ethnicity, education, sexual orientation, ability, immigration status, and faith shape society, shape personal and collective experiences, and shape relationships.
People who are enthusiastic about approaching community story / oral history work within an anti-oppression / social justice framework, both in how cohort members interact with each other, and in how cohort members approach interviews with community members.
People who are available on all of the dates listed above and who are able to commit several hours of personal time, per month, for the next two years, to learning and conducting oral history research.
People who live in the greater Seattle area and are able to attend all workshops, field trips, and interviews in person.
Applicants must be 18 or over.
Applicants must have access to a quiet place from which to conduct remote interviews (with reliable internet access), and a laptop with an updated browser (Wa Na Wari may be able to provide laptops through a third party if needed).
Application Tips:
Prepare your answers in a document on your computer, so you can save as you go. When you are ready to apply, copy and paste those answers into the application form.
We held a virtual info session on January 24th. View the recording of that session below.
Direct all questions here.
