As I sat down to talk with Inye Wokoma about the multimedia art center Wa Na Wari, I asked him what I thought was a simple question: how did you get the idea to start a multimedia art center here? The answer took an hour and a half. The story is fascinating. It begins in Arkansas where Inye’s grandparents and his seven siblings worked as tenant farmers. But then World War II came and his grandfather, Frank Green, served in the military in the South Pacific . As soon as he returned he decided...

A. McLean Emenegger! That is the name of the dynamic director of the unusually titled AMcE Creative Arts gallery located at 612 19th Ave East. As I walked along 19th Street, its small storefront popped out with the ceramics by Sonja Peterson. The director herself was explaining the significance of several offbeat cookie jars by Ryan Kelly. It was clear that this dynamic woman was articulate! She told me she came from Los Angeles and had worked in all aspects of art for over 20 years. She...

Esther Ervin was born in a small town in New Jersey, but moved to California at the age of 16. Her house was near the Irvine Ranch where she actually saw cowboys herding cattle. Now the Ranch has been developed into housing. She went to Palestine and Israel as an undergraduate. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and went into the Peace Corps for three years from 1977 to 1980. She was assigned to Columbia where she worked with boys living on the street. She gave them language...