New Jite Agbro art at PCC
This article was originally published in September 2020
Fats Chicken and Waffles. The Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center. The Douglass-Truth branch of the Seattle Public Library. Cherry trees around 19th Avenue and East Union Street.
Those neighborhood landmarks and many more, old and new, are represented at the Central District branch of PCC in a new installation by local artist Jite Agbro. Her artwork in the store’s Northwest corner, titled “The Form That it Takes,” consists of hanging layered panels, made from printed fabric, printed paper, thread and plexiglass. Each depicts an abstracted image of a key location nearby—literally fabric of the community.
“This is a really important piece for me because I grew up in this neighborhood, I’ve been making art in this neighborhood and often about this neighborhood for about 20 years,” Agbro told guests on a virtual tour of the store earlier this year. “I’m hoping that when people come in and they see this piece they’re invited to explore those locations, but also explore what I find meaningful about them”—and why they’ve remained important throughout all the Central District’s changes.
Agbro, who was born in Nigeria and moved to Seattle at age 2, describes her artwork as “an account of context and belonging in shifting socioeconomic landscapes.” She told Real Change newspaper that her first exposure to art was walking by the Pratt Fine Arts Center on her way to school every day, and being invited to join a free class for children. She attended the California College of Fine Arts and Cornish College for the Arts, and earned a degree in Design and Engineering at the University of Washington, the paper said. Her other recent work includes a two-story portrait installation titled “Jite Agbro: Deserving” earlier this year at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. For more see jiteagbroart.com.