Storme Webber Explained

Storme Webber
Birth Place:Seattle, United States
Nationality:American

Storme Webber (born 1959) is an American two-spirit[1] interdisciplinary artist, poet, curator, and educator based in Seattle, Washington. She is descended from Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Black, and Choctaw people.

In 2019 she was named a Seattle Living Legacy for building global awareness of the LGBTQ+, indigenous, Two Spirit, and Black populations of Seattle through her art, poetry, performances, and multimedia exhibits.

Early life and education

Storme Webber was born in 1959 in Seattle in Pioneer Square, formerly known as Seattle's "Skid Row".[2] Her bisexual Black Choctaw father from Texas met her Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) mother there at the Casino, one of the oldest gay bars on the West Coast.[3] Webber credits her Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) grandmother from Seldovia, Alaska for "starting her 'on the road of life'".[4] Webber's grandmother raised her, teaching her how to read before she went to school, and how to appreciate music.

At eleven years old, Webber left her family and entered the foster care system. Due to her advanced academic and creative arts skills, Webber qualified for summer program at Lakeside School. After participating in the summer program for two years, Webber received a full scholarship to attend the school full-time. Webber came out as a lesbian at 16 years old; as a teenager she organized a social group for lesbians of color which made her mother—who had come out as lesbian at the same age—very angry because she did not want her daughter to have a hard life.[5]

Webber graduated from Lakeside School in 1977, then moved to New York City to attend The New School. In 2015 she earned her MFA in Intermedia Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.[6]

Career

Webber entered the art, poetry, and performance scene in New York City during the 1980s, where she displayed her first works in galleries in New York and San Francisco. In 1989 she published her first poetry collection Diaspora. In that same year Webber also contributed work to Serious Pleasure, a lesbian erotica anthology published by Sheba Feminist Press in London.[7]

In 2007 Webber established Voices Rising: Northwest LGBTQ Artists of Color to create a safe, welcoming, nurturing community of LGBTQ artists of color in Seattle to brainstorm, create, perform, and raise awareness of marginalization and systems of oppression in the larger society.[8] The community maintains an active Facebook page to promote its events and related news articles.[9]

Webber has received recognition for her multimedia works Blues Divine (2014) and Noirish Lesbiana (2014). Blues Divine is an ancestral mix tape which combines a book of poetry with an audiobook read by Webber. Her museum exhibit Casino: A Palimpsest (2017) combines archival photographs and storytelling with an art installation to record the history of The Casino, one of the oldest gay bars on the West Coast, as told and experienced by her family.

Webber has also produced and performed multiple solo theater works such as Buddy Rabbit, Noirish Lesbiana: A Night at the Sub Room, and Wild Takes of Renegade Halfbreed Bulldagger.[10] These performances have earned acclaim in England, the Netherlands, and Germany.[11] She has also been highlighted in documentaries including Venus Boyz, Hope in My Heart: The May Ayim Story, What’s Right with Gays These Days?, (Living Two Spirit), and international performance tours.[12]

Webber currently teaches creative writing at the University of Washington.

Publications

Books

Contributions to anthologies

Exhibits

2017: Casino: A Palimpsest

Performances

"Buddy Rabbit"

2010: "Wild Tales of a Renegade Halfbreed Bulldagger"[13]

2014: "Noirish Lesbiana"[14]

Film appearances

Webber has appeared in the following films:[15]

1997: Hope in My Heart: The May Ayim Story[16]

2001: Black Russians (narration)[17]

2002: Venus Boyz

2009: What's Right with Gays These Days?

2009: Living Two Spirit

Awards and recognition

2009: Jack Straw Foundation Writer[18]

2012: Patricia Van Kirk Scholarship, Pride Foundation[19]

2015: James W. Ray Venture Project Literary Award[20]

2017: Raynier Institute & Foundation, Frye Art Museum Grant[21]

2017: City Artists Funding Program: Seattle Office of Arts and Culture

2019: Named "Seattle Living Legacy" by Seattle Civic Poet Anastacia-Renee[22]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Storme Webber . . Brainard Carey . November 7, 2018.
  2. Web site: Storme Webber: Casino: A Palimpsest. 2019. Frye Art Museum. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220102/https://fryemuseum.org/exhibition/6645. November 9, 2019.
  3. News: Storme Webber's Stories of Survival. Carley. Christy. August 9, 2017. Seattle Weekly. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220048/https://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/storme-webbers-stories-of-survival/. November 9, 2019. live.
  4. Web site: Shareholder Spotlight: Storme Webber. June 21, 2016. CIRI. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220047/https://www.ciri.com/shareholder-spotlight-storme-webber/. November 9, 2019.
  5. News: Ancestors Know Who We Are: Two Spirit Black Indian Storme Webber. Navoti. D.A.. June 17, 2016. Indian Country Today. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220048/https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/ancestors-know-who-we-are-two-spirit-black-indian-storme-webber-sOAa_Kq-CEyJ3t9zlm6WGw/. November 9, 2019. live.
  6. Web site: February 2017 News and Events. 2017. Goddard College Community News and Events. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220047/https://www.goddard.edu/blog/february-2017-community-news-and-events/. November 9, 2019.
  7. Web site: About Sheba Feminist Press. n.d.. Sheba Feminist Press. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190824125828/https://archive.mith.umd.edu/womensstudies/ReferenceRoom/Publications/about-sheba-press.html. August 24, 2019.
  8. Web site: Voices Rising QTPOC Artists: Mission. 2018. Voices Rising QTPOC Artists. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220048/https://www.voicesrisingseattle.org/mission-index-impact. November 9, 2019.
  9. Web site: Voices Rising – Northwest LGBTQ Artists of Color . February 16, 2018 . Facebook.com . Voices Rising:LGBTQ of Color Arts & Culture was founded in 2007 by Storme Webber. VR is an incubator/respository/nurturer of QPOC art. Voices Rising is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. ... Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington State with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success. . November 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180619151515/https://www.facebook.com/voicesrisingsea/ . June 19, 2018 . live .
  10. Web site: Storme Webber: Home of Good: A Black Seattle Storyquilt . Wana Wari . November 24, 2019.
  11. Web site: Courage Is Going from Failure to Failure Without Losing Enthusiasm . Jen Graves . November 16, 2009 . . November 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191105172518/https://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/11/16/courage-is-going-from-failure-to-failure-without-losing-enthusiasm . November 5, 2019 . live .
  12. Web site: Uncollectable Treasures: Performance with Storme Webber and Ernestine Hayes . September 28, 2017 . Frye Art Museum . November 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191125073438/https://fryemuseum.org/calendar/event/6706/ . November 25, 2019 . live .
  13. News: CD Forum presents artists' new work in 2-night series. May 13, 2010. The Seattle Times. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220046/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/cd-forum-presents-artists-new-work-in-2-night-series/. November 9, 2019. live.
  14. Web site: Noirish Lesbiana [Blog post]]. September 12, 2014. She's With Me: A Feminist Survival Guide to Seattle. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220047/https://sheswithmeseattle.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/noirish-lesbiana/. November 9, 2019.
  15. Web site: About – Storme Webber . stormewebber.com . November 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191125073436/http://www.stormewebber.com/about/ . November 25, 2019 . live .
  16. Web site: Hoffnung im Herz = Hope in my heart: müdilche Posies May Ayim . November 24, 2019.
  17. Book: Black Russians . 700421671 .
  18. Web site: The Jack Straw Writers Program. 2009. Jack Straw Cultural Foundation. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20171206063554/http://www.jackstraw.org/programs/writers/WritersForum/09/index.html. December 6, 2017.
  19. Web site: Six Degrees of Pride Foundation. McClain. Tiffany. June 5, 2012. Pride Foundation. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220047/https://pridefoundation.org/2012/06/degrees-pride-foundation/. November 9, 2019.
  20. Web site: James W. Ray Venture Project Awards. 2015. Artist Trust. November 9, 2019.
  21. Web site: Storme Webber: Casino: A Palimpsest. 2017. 2017 Annual Report Frye Art Museum. live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109235057/https://fryemuseum.org/images/docs/2017_Annual_Report_Final_181210_Web.pdf. November 9, 2019.
  22. Web site: Civic Poet honors our Seattle Living Legacies [Blog post]]. Lindsay. Erika. May 24, 2019. Art Beat Blog (Office of Arts & Culture). live. November 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191109220047/https://artbeat.seattle.gov/2019/05/24/civic-poet-honors-our-literary-living-legacies/. November 9, 2019.

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