A Message to the City from Natasha Marin

Good morning. It’s Monday, July 13, and the COVID-19 numbers are as bad as ever, so we’re still keeping these morning messages going—to promote community and connection while we’re all trying to staying isolated.

And also to remind ourselves of how many uncategorizably brilliant artists there are in Seattle.

Take the omni-talented artist and intellectual and activist Nathasha Marin, a creative leader you will never be able to fit into a single category. You may be familiar with Natasha from the project Reparations.me, covered in this feature from 2016 in The Stranger. Or maybe you know her work as an antiracism and digital engagement consultant. Or maybe you have seen the stunning new book Black Imagination: Black Voices on Black Futures, published by McSweeney’s earlier this year.

“Our bodies and actions are under external control, but the well-spring of rebellion is our own imagination,” Gloria Steinem says about the book. “In Black Imagination, Natasha Marin shows us how to free our imagining — as a first step toward freeing ourselves.”

Take it away, Natasha:

Natasha is also a conceptual artist whose people-centered projects have circled the globe since 2012 and have been recognized and acknowledged by Art Forum, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, NBC, Al Jazeera, Vice, PBS, and others.

BLACK IMAGINATION—a series of conceptual exhibitions amplifying, centering, and holding sacred a diverse sample of voices including LGBTQIA+ Black youth, incarcerated Black women, Black folks with disabilities, unsheltered Black folks, and Black children—is her bravest work thus far.

Here’s a photo of Natasha in Tanzania, working on this ongoing project, right before the lockdown order.

Natasha in Tanzania a few months ago, working on Black Imagination, a globe-spanning conceptual art project. Courtesy of Natasha Marin

Her viral web-based project, Reparations, engaged a quarter of a million people worldwide.

If you don’t already have a copy of the book Black Imagination, go ahead and get it right now. As Rich Smith said in a review in January: “Black Imagination‘s sense of humor is as deep as its sense of history.”

To keep up with Natasha’s many projects, you can follow her on Instagram.

Thank you so much, Natasha, for your message this morning, and for everything you are doing to activate our imaginations and create a better future for the planet.

Black transwomen and local Indigenous organizers can always use your support. If you are one such organizer, Natasha asks that you post your donation info, upcoming events, and social media handles in the comments.

Good luck, everyone, facing whatever today brings.

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Previously in this series:

Aaron Bagley’s message to the city on July 10.

Kathy Hsieh’s message to the city on July 9.

Crispin Spaeth’s message to the city on July 8.

Tom and Virginia Dziekonski’s message to the city on July 7.

Pol Rosenthal’s message to the city on July 6.

Betsey Brock’s message to the city on July 2.

Shaina Shepherd’s message to the city on July 1.

Rodger Burnett and Joyce Ramee’s message to the city on June 30.

Charles Leggett’s message to the city June 29.

Rachel Guyer-Mafune’s message to the city on June 26.

Liz Hayes’s message to the city on June 24.

Nicholas Bernard’s message to the city on June 22.

Tariqa Waters’s message to the city on June 19.

Bruce Clayton Tom’s message to the city on June 18.

Isaac Gutierrez’s message to the city on June 17.

Markeith Wiley’s message to the city on June 16.

Aleksa Manila’s message to the city on June 15.

Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell’s message to the city on June 12.

Bret Fetzer’s message to the city on June 11.

Kyle O’Quin’s message to the city on June 10.

Elisheba Johnson’s message to the city on June 9.

Michael Jinsoo Lim’s message to the city on June 8.

Brandon Ivie’s message to the city on June 5.

Kimya Dawson’s message to the city on June 4.

Jennifer Nelson’s message to the city on June 3.

Erin Jorgensen’s message to the city on June 2.

Brangien Davis and Daniel Spils’s message to the city on June 1.

Timothy De Clue’s message to the city on May 29.

Elizabeth Aquino’s message to the city on May 28.

Christopher Frizzelle’s message to the city on May 27.

Elby Brosch’s message to the city on May 26.

Mila Skyy’s message to the city on May 22.

Michael Lee’s message to the city on May 21.

SassyBlack’s message to the city on May 20.

Seattle Symphony horn section’s message to the city on May 19.

Lori Goldston’s message to the city on May 18.

Ibidunni Ojikutu’s message to the city on May 15.

RL Heyer’s message to the city on May 14.

Garth Stein’s message to the city on May 13.

Okanomodé’s message to the city on May 12.

Zoe Scofield’s message to the city on May 11.

Aham Oluo’s message to the city on May 8.

Pete Rush’s message to the city on May 7.

Trent Moorman’s message to the city on May 6.

Renée Valencia’s message to the city on May 5.

Justin Huertas’s message to the city on May 4.

Charles Mudede’s message to the city on May 1.

Kathryn Rathke’s message to the city on April 30.

Anthony White’s message to the city on April 30.

Miss Texas 1988’s message to the city.

Matt Bishop’s message on April 27.

Cherdonna’s message to the city on April 26.

Shenandoah Davis’s message to the city on April 25.

Lorena González’s message to the city on April 24.

Clyde Petersen’s message to the city on April 23.

David Ritt’s message to the city on April 22.

Sara Porkalob’s message to the city on April 21.

Julia Sweeney’s message to the city on April 20.

Linda Derschang’s message to the city on April 19.

Molly Sides’s message to the city on April 18.

Nick Garrison’s message to the city on April 17.

Tomo Nakayama’s message to the city on April 16.

Rebecca M. Davis’s message to the city April 15.

Heather McHugh’s message to the city on April 14.

Brandon O’Neill’s message to the city on April 13.

Kate Wallich’s message to the city on April 12.

Rebecca Brown’s message to the city on April 11.

Lucien Postlewaite’s message to the city on April 10.

Betty Wetter’s message to the city on April 9.

Amanda Morgan’s message to the city on April 8.

Nancy Guppy’s message to the city on April 7.

Jonathan Biss’s message to the city on April 6.

Chris Jeffries’s message to the city on April 5.

Lesley Hazleton’s message to the city on April 4.

John Roderick’s message to the city on April 3.

Bill Carty’s message to the city on April 2.

Price Suddarth’s message to the city on April 1.

Kary Wayson’s message to the city on March 31.

Ellen Forney’s message to the city on March 30.

Major Scales’s message to the city on March 29.

E. J. Koh’s message to the city on March 28.

Ken Jennings’s message to the city on March 27.

Demarre McGill’s message to the city on March 26.

Lynn Shelton’s Message to the City on March 25th.

Timothy White Eagle’s message to the city on March 24.

Cookie Couture’s message to the city on March 23.

Sarah Rudinoff’s message to the city on March 22.

John Osebold’s message to the city on March 21.

Ben Gibbard’s message to the city on March 20.

Nathan Chan’s message to the city on March 19.