Seattle's leading Black arts and culture presenter. Founded by Stephanie Ellis-Smith.

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Press Release Announcement

The CD Forum Announces 2010-2011 Season: What Now? God, Home, and Country Ranging from a reading by best-selling author Terry McMillan co-presented with Elliott Bay Book Company on September 23, to the world premiere of a multi-media work by choreographer Charles O. Anderson’s Dance Theatre X co-presented with Velocity Dance from September ...

Press Release: CD Forum’s 2010-2011 Season

SAY IT LOUD! PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2010 MEDIA CONTACT: Danielle Bias CD Forum Board Marketing Chair Danielle.Bias@live.com CELL: 646-420-8499 The CD Forum Announces 2010-2011 Season: What Now? God, Home, and Country Seattle, WA— Today, the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas (CD Forum) announced a full roster of groundbreaking arts and humanities programs during the 2010-2011 season themed: What Now? ...

Video: Food As Art 2010 Promo

Press Release: Which Way Seattle: Too Old for Foster Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEBRUARY 26, 2010 CONTACT: Amber Flame, Program & Marketing Coordinator E-MAIL: amberf@cdforum.org PHONE: 206-323-4032 Explore the Process of "Aging Out" of Foster Care on March 25 Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas Presents "What's Next - Too Old for Foster Care" Seattle, WA – The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas (CD Forum) presents a ...

Rent Party for Haiti raises nearly $4,000 for Relief Agencies

Organized by CD Forum board members Brenda Walker & Sandra Jackson-Dumont with a host committee of supporters from the Seattle arts community, the event was held at the Crocodile Cafe in Belltown.

Press Release: Cynthia Oliver Company Dance Theatre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A PDF of this release is available here. December 21, 2009 CONTACT:  Amber Flame, Program & Marketing Coordinator E-MAIL: amberf@cdforum.org PHONE: 206-323-4032 CD Forum Presents Cynthia Oliver Company Dance Theatre Rigidigidim De Bamba De: Ruptured Calypso February 19-20, 2010 “Cynthia Oliver delves into the riotously beautiful art of winding, a powerful, erotically charged rhythmic dance named for its sinuous, ...

CD Forum Session

A post-performance Q&A held with our main stage performing artists. These intimate and enlightening discussions offer insight into the world of the artist, allowing the audience to deepen their experience and understanding of the work they’ve just witnessed. UP NEXT: Stay after the performance on May14-15 for a CD Forum Session - ...

Afterglow

A post-performance event where attendees can connect and dig deeper with the performers and artists in an intimate setting. Join us as we celebrate the performers’ hard work with food and drinks following the Friday performances! UP NEXT: Celebrate The CREATION Project Showcase with Afterglow a post-performance party open to all on Friday, May 14. Follow us ...

The Earthquake in Haiti

All connected with the CD Forum extend our heartfelt concern to those directly affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. We invite you to visit our Facebook page wall and share your thoughts and feelings with your fellow community members….

Press Release: American Heritage Series – From Pioneers to Mayors, Blacks in the West

PRESS RELEASE (PDF Version) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | October 8, 2009 CONTACT:  Amber Flame, Program & Marketing Coordinator EMAIL: amberf@cdforum.org | PHONE: 206-323-4032 x115 Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas Presents American Heritage Series: From Pioneers to Mayors – Blacks in the West Seattle, WA – The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas (CD Forum) presents ...

Press Release: Filter House: Nisi Shawl Reading at Elliott Bay Book Company

PRESS RELEASE (PDF Version) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2009 CONTACT:  Amber Flame, Program & Marketing Coordinator EMAIL: amberf@cdforum.org | PHONE: 206-323-4032 x115 Filter House Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas and The Elliott Bay Book Co. Presents Author Nisi Shawl reading from her award winning short story collection “These fourteen superbly written stories will weave around you a ring of dark, ...

Seattle Times: Pacific NW Profiles - Stephanie Ellis-Smith

Written by Tyrone Beason September 25th, 2005 Stephanie Ellis-Smith founded the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas in 1999 to "challenge assumptions about African-American culture," and since then the nonprofit has presented town-hall discussions, stage performances, a black science-fiction festival and a Food As Art event featuring local black chefs. But there's more to this free-spirited ...

Press Release: CD Forum Presents the Seattle Debut of Daniel Beaty’s RESURRECTION

August 12, 2008 Seattle, WA– The Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas (CD Forum) proudly welcomes back performing artist Daniel Beaty. Beaty will perform Friday, September 12 and Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 8pm at Broadway Performance Hall. A CD Forum Session! post-show Q&A with the audience will immediately follow each performance. With a sold-out ...

Food As Art - An Amazing Success!

Food as Art was an amazing success! Thank you to all those who came, ate, bid and gave! Thanks to our generous supporters, we netted over $80,000! Couldn't make it? The pictures are online! Read more about Food as Art. Thanks so much!

Kumani Gantt Named Next Executive Director of the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas

Today the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas' (CD Forum) Board of Directors announced that Kumani Gantt has been chosen as the CD Forum's new Executive Director following a national search. Since 2004, Gantt has been the Executive and Artistic Director of The Village of Arts and Humanities, a nationally recognized arts organization ...

Press Release: Kumani Gantt Named Next Executive Director of the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas

June 16, 2009 Seattle, WA— Today the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas' (CD Forum) Board of Directors announced that Kumani Gantt has been chosen as the CD Forum's new Executive Director following a national search. Since 2004, Gantt has been the Executive and Artistic Director of The Village of Arts and Humanities, a ...

Seattle Times: Local African-American chefs Create a Networking Force

By Tan Vinh, Seattle Times staff reporter March 26th, 2008 Local African-American chefs, who have made it a tradition to gather one night annually to cook for charity, have come to anticipate two questions. Their answers: Yes, there are lots of African-American chefs in Seattle. No, they all don't specialize in soul food. Their "Food as Art" fundraising ...

Seattle PI Opinion: There's Nothing Simple About the Black Vote

By Anthony Miles September 30th, 2004 In an ironic story of this election, The New York Times recently reported that the U.S. Justice Department, which reports to President Bush, is investigating whether the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, conducted a voting fraud investigation in a manner that could have the ...

Los Angeles Times: Black writers crossing the final frontier

by Lynell George, Times Staff Writer June 22nd, 2004 SEATTLE — When novelist Octavia E. Butler set out in the early '70s to step off into the murky territories of science fiction, the consensus was that as a black writer, if you weren't writing about race -- or racism -- you were, frankly, wasting your time. "There were ...

Seattle Times: Central District – Change is Inevitable, but Forsaking Past is Regrettable

by Jerry Large, Times staff columnist November 6th, 2002 Seattle's Central Area isn't itself anymore. Residents and former residents are asking themselves a complicated question about the change: "How central is the Central District?" How central is it to Seattle's increasingly decentralized African-American population? The question is not a new one, but it was recently posed in a very public ...