Storme Webber (born 1959) is an American

two-spirit ''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...

interdisciplinary artist, poet, curator, and educator based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. She is descended from Sugpiaq (

Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, and

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

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, Washington, in

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, 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''; ) 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 southwest of Homer. There is n ...

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. When she was 11 years old, Webber left her family and entered the

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

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 of age; 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 university, 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 p ...

. In 2015, she earned her MFA in Intermedia Arts from

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

Plainfield, Vermont Plainfield, a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States was incorporated in 1867. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. Plainfield is the location of Goddard College. Geography Plainfield is located at . According to the United ...

Career

Webber entered the art, poetry, and performance scene in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. In 2007, Webber established Voices Rising: Northwest LGBTQ Artists of Color to create a safe, welcoming, nurturing community of

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

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 A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communities. Gay bars once ...

on the West Coast, 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 and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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 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 exhibi ...

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 21st-century American women writers American interdisciplinary artists American lesbian writers American people of Aleut descent American people of Choctaw descent Artists from Seattle Two-spirit people