At our Thrive fundraiser, we are celebrating the power of creativity and community. One of the ways we are doing that is through a line-up of inspiring performances of both students and local artists!
Learn more about each of our performers and the power they find in art.
All City Choir
All City Choir is led by seasoned Teaching Artist Erica Merritt!
Erica Merritt is a singer songwriter, vocal coach, and master teaching artist. She is also a social and human services specialist with more than 25 years of experience, as an artist as well as a worker in youth and young adult development in the greater King County region. She began teaching choir in 1998, and has continued to teach voice, songwriting and choir with organizations such as Langston Hughes, Arts Corps, MoPOP, The Residency with Macklemore, and The Creative Advantage.
Erica’s work focuses on the belief that art changes the lives of those who experience its transformative and healing powers. Her teaching style includes laughter, critical thinking, self-reflection, full transparency and fosters a growth mind-set. Her student-centered pedagogy creates a learning space where the student becomes the teacher.
She has enjoyed the amazing opportunity to combine her passions of social well-being and music through the art of teaching. Erica takes great pleasure in supporting her students in becoming the best version of themselves.
What is All City Choir and how did it come to be?
All City Choir is comprised of youth ages 16 to 25 from all across Seattle King County area. They are joined together by their love of singing and creating beautiful music. We are not just choir, but a musical family that cheer each other on and keep giving each other reasons to smile. It is a safe space where young creatives can come and express their selves through music and song.
What are some of the practices you use in the choir room to help students thrive?
Self-empowerment is key, so I’m constantly reminding everyone that they are as great as they allow themselves to be, and it all starts with a growth mindset: believing that you can and believing that you will. I constantly challenge the limits that the students put upon themselves and raise the bar higher, and then watch them surpass it.
What has it been like getting ready for this performance?
It has been an invigorating experience. We have about six new members that joined within the last month and we are all trying to get to know each other and each other’s voices while blending in perfect harmony, so I would say intense at times but lots of fun.
How does music relate to the building of a more equitable world?
Music is universal and a great example equity, as every voice is welcomed and valued. This creates a sense of belonging and inclusiveness.
Christian Paige
Christian Paige is an Emmy nominated spoken word poet, a professional speaker and educator who speaks at schools, conferences, and events across the United States. Paige has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people and loves to work with young people who are committed to doing good in the world. Paige is a first-generation college graduate, an Actsix Scholar and is passionate about community, anti-racism, equity, and empowerment. He has spent his entire career in and around education advocating for historically marginalized populations and working to create equitable environments where young people can thrive.
He provides motivation, inspiration, encouragement and truth through school assemblies, professional development sessions, conference keynotes, community gatherings, and poetry performances.
Paige’s work has appeared on national stages, on television, and in museum exhibits. Paige is one of the top youth speakers in the Pacific Northwest and is in demand nationally however, Paige believes there is no place like home. He was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington where he currently lives and serves as The Tacoma Poet Laureate. He believes that our voice is our most powerful tool and encourages others to use their voice to advocate, interrupt, empower, and teach. Christian often uses one sentence to summarize himself. He says, “I am just a somebody, who wants community to work for everybody”.
What does “Thrive” mean to you?
Thriving is having your needs met and as a result, living freely and authentically. It is being myself. Absent of the gaze of others, or the anxiety and pressures of “supposed to”.
How did you get to be a spoken word artist?
I’ve always loved orators and storytellers. As a young person I was introduced to speakers, revolutionaries, Harlem renaissance poets, and other writers whose work changed the world around them. Seeing how their pens and voices shaped their communities inspired me to do the same.
To you, how do creative practices and spaces relate to the building of a more equitable world?
Stories are essential to the fabric of our culture. Art is a language of authenticity. When people share their art and their story with the world, it dispels myths and stereotypes that are so pervasive. Art is essential for an equitable world and is a medium for understanding.
Nailah “Oni” Bulley
Nailah was born in the depths of a creative family, she grew up eating, sleeping and breathing art. She inherited drumming and singing from her father and dancing and business from her mother. Nailah has been dancing professionally since the age of five.
Her focused dance styles are West African and hip-hop dance. Nailah has had the opportunity to be a part of many companies such ADEFUA (30 years), KUTT ‘N’ Up ENT (20 years), Gansango dance and music (11 years), Kouyate Arts (8 years), Nu Black Arts West, Dance This, Broadway bound, KODE RED dance team (EWU) (5 years) and LADII ENTOURAJ. She also created my own dance group by the name of MYND KUNTROL (10 years).
Nailah has a unique style of choreography that she produces and shares with her community. Nailah has been given many opportunities to teach in a variety of places such as weekly community classes, Seattle Center (Festival Sundiata and Folklife festival), Cleveland High School Dance team (2016,2018, &2019 Bubbling Brown Sugar winners) school demonstrations, professional development seminars, and community engagements. She is also the funder of Oni Arts Collective LLC, a way of merging Bulley’s passion for social service and dance.
What does “Thrive” mean to you?
Thrive means to grow through adversity, shinning light in times that we’re made for failure, pushing limits towards success.
Who is somebody who has inspired and nurtured you in your journey as a dancer?
My sister, Chisula Chambers’s always has been a supportive outlet through my many life adventures, especially geared towards dance always helping me thrive, and see my self worth.
My grandmother, Alyce Gloria Harris who always boosted my self confidence and gave me motivation to use my kindness and passions to create.
To you, how do creative practices and spaces relate to the building of a more equitable world?
Creative spaces give people the ability to express themselves and be themselves, without these spaces people would never truly know who they are. If there were more spaces to be creative, there would be less world confusion, more leaders and less worry. Education happens in these spaces. For when you create and share with others, you are more understood, and then all the ism’s have the potential to fall off.
Our Thrive fundraiser is happening on Saturday, March 15, 6:00-9:00pm at WOW Gallery. You can buy tickets here.
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