“I want black art to be elevated to its rightful place,” Phillips said. “That's all I really care about. And, in order for that to happen, we have to have a whole lot more interaction with the greater arts community.”

One way Arte Noir is creating connections is through partnerships, and one of the key partnerships at opening will be with the Onyx Fine Arts Collective.

“One of the issues that we've been faced with as a people is that we typically don't see and find a lot of history about ourselves, especially in the arts world,” said Earl Thomas, the group's president. “So, one of our objectives, as Onyx Fine Arts Collective, is to showcase our local art and then document the artist. We had, back in 2017, one of the largest exhibits for artists of African descent in the history of the Pacific Northwest.”

Arte Noir’s business model is intentional about lifting up Black artists. All artists with work sold in the space will receive 100% of the profits from the purchase of their pieces. This model is sustainable due to the amount of funding Phillips was able to secure. Arte Noir has also been able to work with some artists to take on the cost of producing the art that will be sold in the space. There are currently about 30 artists on Arte Noir’s roster, and they will all receive direct checks on the front end, with the nonprofit taking on the responsibility of selling the art on the back end.

“It's a unique concept,” Phillips said. “But, having been an arts advocacy for so long, and working to really understand our creative community, I recognize that the lowest paid artists are people of color. And if you say people of color, then you know that black people are at the bottom, or pretty close to the bottom. [So] I'm so dedicated to creating an environment where Black artists can thrive.”

“I want black art to be elevated to its rightful place,” Phillips said. “That's all I really care about. And, in order for that to happen, we have to have a whole lot more interaction with the greater arts community.”

One way Arte Noir is creating connections is through partnerships, and one of the key partnerships at opening will be with the Onyx Fine Arts Collective.

“One of the issues that we've been faced with as a people is that we typically don't see and find a lot of history about ourselves, especially in the arts world,” said Earl Thomas, the group's president. “So, one of our objectives, as Onyx Fine Arts Collective, is to showcase our local art and then document the artist. We had, back in 2017, one of the largest exhibits for artists of African descent in the history of the Pacific Northwest.”

Arte Noir’s business model is intentional about lifting up Black artists. All artists with work sold in the space will receive 100% of the profits from the purchase of their pieces. This model is sustainable due to the amount of funding Phillips was able to secure. Arte Noir has also been able to work with some artists to take on the cost of producing the art that will be sold in the space. There are currently about 30 artists on Arte Noir’s roster, and they will all receive direct checks on the front end, with the nonprofit taking on the responsibility of selling the art on the back end.

“It's a unique concept,” Phillips said. “But, having been an arts advocacy for so long, and working to really understand our creative community, I recognize that the lowest paid artists are people of color. And if you say people of color, then you know that black people are at the bottom, or pretty close to the bottom. [So] I'm so dedicated to creating an environment where Black artists can thrive.”