Storme Webber

Storme Webber (born 1959) is an American two-spirit interdisciplinary artist, poet, curator, and educator based in Seattle, Washington. She is descended from Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Black, and Choctaw 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 Pioneer Square, 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 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.

Webber graduated from Lakeside School in 1977, then moved to New York City to attend The New School.

Career Webber entered the art, poetry, and performance scene in New York City during the 1980s, where she displayed her first works in galleries in New York and San Francisco. 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, England.

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, as told and experienced by her family. 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. 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 Grant 2017: City Artists Funding Program: Seattle Office of Arts and Culture 2026: Torchbearer "Carrying Change" Legend Award