Storme Webber (born 1959) is an American

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

interdisciplinary artist, poet, curator, and educator based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. She is descended from Sugpiaq ( Alutiiq),

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

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 Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

, formerly known as Seattle's "Skid Row". 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. Webber credits her Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) grandmother from

Seldovia, Alaska Seldovia (Alutiiq: ; Dena'ina: ''Angidahtnu''; russian: Селдовия) is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. Its population was 255 at the 2010 census, down from 286 in 2000. It is located along Kachemak Bay southw ...

for "starting her 'on the road of life'". 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. Webber graduated from Lakeside School in 1977, then moved to New York City to attend

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

. In 2015 she earned her MFA in Intermedia Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

Career

Webber entered the art, poetry, and performance scene in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during the 1980s, where she displayed her first works in galleries in New York and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. 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 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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. The community maintains an active Facebook page to promote its events and related news articles. 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 West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, 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''. These performances have earned acclaim in England, the Netherlands, and Germany. 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. Webber currently teaches creative writing at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Publications

Books * * Contributions to anthologies * * * * * * *

Exhibits

2017: ''Casino: A Palimpsest''

Performances

"Buddy Rabbit" 2010: "Wild Tales of a Renegade Halfbreed Bulldagger" 2014: "Noirish Lesbiana"

Film appearances

Webber has appeared in the following films: 1997: ''Hope in My Heart: The May Ayim Story'' 2001: ''Black Russians'' (narration) 2002: ''Venus Boyz'' 2009: ''What's Right with Gays These Days?'' 2009: ''Living Two Spirit''

Awards and recognition

2009: Jack Straw Foundation Writer 2012: Patricia Van Kirk Scholarship, Pride Foundation 2015: James W. Ray Venture Project Literary Award 2017: Raynier Institute & Foundation,

Frye Art Museum The Frye Art Museum is a modern and contemporary art museum located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1952 to house the collection of Charles and Emma Frye and has since grown to include rotating temporary ex ...

Grant 2017: City Artists Funding Program: Seattle Office of Arts and Culture 2019: Named "Seattle Living Legacy" by Seattle Civic Poet Anastacia-Renee

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Storme 1959 births Living people Artists from Seattle Interdisciplinary artists Two-spirit people American lesbian writers 21st-century American women writers