October 2025 Creative Arts Grant Awarded to Ella West Gallery

Video Transcript

Jama: Hi everyone. My name is Jama with Women’s Net and we’re really excited today to talk to our October winners. We have a fascinating, wonderful, and creative, awesome team of women this month and we’re excited to introduce them to you. We’re going to go ahead and get started. We have with us Linda, with Ella West Gallery, and she is our category winner. As you know, this month was focused on creative arts. Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with us to tell us a little bit about your business. And so to begin, Linda, can you please tell us about Ella West Gallery and where you are located.

Linda: Thank you so much Jama. It’s an honor to have this award and it’s also an honor to sit on this panel with Emily and Lettie, Congratulations! Ella West Gallery is a contemporary art gallery nestled in the middle of what used to be, or I guess what still is Black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina. I started the business almost two and a half years ago because I noticed as I was visiting galleries and museums all around the world that there weren’t enough representation of women and people of color. The goal of my gallery is to uplift the formerly marginalized voices in the cannons of art history with this idea that 50 years from now you’ll go into museums and galleries and you’ll see as commonplace women, artists, and people of color. And it’s been a fabulous ride. We’ve probably had over 20 artists that we’ve represented along the way. We have built a community network that is par none. And we’re ushering in a new generation of art collectors.

Jama: Wonderful. And who or what inspired your business?

Linda: So I will say that I’ve always been interested in art. I’m not an artist. A lot of people ask me, are you an artist? Nope. I can’t even draw stick figures. But I’ve always loved the idea of art. I had a seventh grade art teacher back in Charlotte, North Carolina in public school who really inspired me. He recognized that one, I wasn’t going to be a visual artist, but I was really good at writing papers. And he told me back then, you’ll always be an advocate for the arts. And I kept that. And along the way he introduced me to his childhood best friend who was none other than Ernie Barnes. And for people who don’t know who Ernie Barnes is, he is an iconic artist that passed away in 2009 but was born in Durham. And one of his most famous paintings was in a show called Good Times. So as a part of my lifelong relationship with my art teacher, I got to meet Ernie Barnes. And so those are two important people and events that inspired me along the way.

Jama: Fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful story. 

Jama: Linda, can you please tell us what makes Ella West Gallery unique or different than some of the other galleries that are doing a similar thing as you?

Linda: So there are lots of differentiators, but one of which is, (and this is not something that I really brag about, but it is true), is that I’m one of the only Black woman owned fine art galleries in North Carolina. And what that allows me to do is sit at the intersection of being a woman and an African American woman. And so these experiences that are depicted in a lot of the artwork it comes very natural for me to be able to share with potential collectors and with my community. The other thing that differentiates us is that our gallery is centered in community-I mean, like real community. So on any given day, we might be doing a wine tasting. I have a sommelier who will come in, and she’ll pair the wine with the art. Tonight we’re having a slow art tour, which means we’re going to sit down with an arts expert and she’s going to pick one piece and we’re just going to sit there and have wine and just like savor that one piece.

Linda: We are often in a place where I’m inspiring young people, where I’m inspiring the next generation of art. And again, one of my focuses is to not just focus on the people that are quote, you know, the rich and famous who buy art, but to help everyday people understand that art can be accessible. Your collection can be as simple as something like a coffee mug that you bought from a street market on one of your vacations in Mexico. So I think that’s what makes us different- is that while we are a fine art gallery, we, we welcome community and the opportunity to expose other people to what it means to live with art every day in your everyday life.

Jama: That’s wonderful. I would’ve loved to have come to that event tonight!

Linda: I know it’s going to happen. 

Jama: Fantastic. Let’s move on with talking a little bit about business partners or collaborations that you’ve had. I know you spoke a little bit about how you’re working with the community. So maybe can you speak a little bit about some of the partners or collaborations that you currently have, would like to have, or plan on having and how do you plan on working with them

Linda: That’s a great question. So one of the things that I decided when I started this business was that I was going to be very intentional about what I called my cohort. And so as a principal if I need any service for anything, my first go-to is women. So whether it’s a lawyer, whether it’s a cleaning crew, a caterer, a sommelier, my first go to is women, people of color and people in the LGBT+ community. That has led me to just some really rich experiences. My hope is in the future I will be partnering with even more. For example, the one person that has been on my team the longest is a woman. She’s my PR person. She works remotely. In fact, we probably have only been in the room twice together. But she’s like my right-hand person. My hope is that I will be able to continue to develop these relationships as I evolve Ella West gallery into its next iteration, which will include art advisory and a nomadic gallery experience.

Jama: Wonderful. What a great way to partner with a community and with others. Thank you for being with us today and taking the time out to chat with us. We really appreciate it and congratulations again.