What a night. Walking into Colman Commons last Friday, the room was filled with shared purpose, BIPOC creative excellence, and a long-awaited return home to community. A Space Inside’s Open Mic found its long-term home at Colman Commons, and it was truly a sight to behold.

As a sanctuary for healing, art, and connection, the space was packed to capacity with people eager to witness one another’s stories. Inside founder Sierra-Leone Jones said the community has missed this platform for self-expression and support, emphasizing that performers are encouraged to be unabashedly vulnerable here.

The evening featured a stacked lineup of talent, including spoken word artists and the event’s co-host Darryl Foto, who performed a personal piece on ego death and letting go. Educator and poet Armando Tibursio Ortiz delivered a slam poetry piece on urban trauma and the need to sustain such spaces for Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities in Seattle. Other attendees included Jazmin Rice, Abigail Echo-Hawk, Marie Kidhe, LSD, co-host Deaunte Damper, and Colman Commons Executive Director Ashleigh McCurdy.

To everyone who shared their heart or simply held space from the audience, thank you for making Colman Commons feel like home. This is only the beginning of this next chapter; A Space Inside’s Open Mic returns to Colman Commons the last Friday of every month.

Grab your tickets for our upcoming nights at tinyurl.com/InsideOpenMic‍ ‍

This Thursday, August 6th, the Colman Commons Grand Opening Art Walk Afterglow is going down from 8-10 p.m. at 811 1st Ave, Suite 91M, Seattle. Be there!

Check out Colman Commons if you’re looking to book a space for your own upcoming event at colmancommons.com