Berette Macaulay receives arts award and discusses MFON on Art Zone

In February, two anonymous Seattle patrons of the arts announced the fourth annual Champion of Seattle Arts (COSA) Award winner: Berette S. Macaulay, local artist, curator, and M.A. in Cultural Studies candidate.

“Working with a variety of established local arts organizations, Berette has brought forth recent exhibitions of power and strength, focusing on female-identifying photographers of the African diaspora,” said the COSA patrons.

Of note, Macaulay’s multi-faceted project “MFON in Seattle” is a remarkable collaboration between her, the founders of the important book MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, Frye Art Museum, Jacob Lawrence Gallery and Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW). Macaulay organized events and exhibitions at each venue, bringing audiences of all backgrounds, and many for the first time, into contact with 19 artists’ work from the Pacific Northwest and around the world. One phase of the project, “Exploring Passages Within the Black Diaspora,” curated by Macaulay, is currently open at PCNW through March 19.

“While Berette is an accomplished photographer in her own right, her tireless work and sacrifices to promote other women working in her field caught our attention and made this year’s grant decision an easy one, given our award is for an arts champion, not necessarily just for an artist,” the patrons noted.

On Feb 7, Macaulay was featured on Seattle Channel’s Art Zone with Nancy Guppy. Watch the segment to learn more about the intentions and origins of MFON in Seattle.