Lila Alexis Thomas
Lila Alexis Thomas (she/they) is a Seattle-based figurative painter and educator from Southern Louisiana whose work explores Black and queer intimacy, community, and belonging. Working from life and digital collage, Thomas creates layered compositions that center moments of tenderness, rest, and everyday connection while expanding representations of Black life within the Western canon. Her paintings reimagine spaces of home, love, and sanctuary, inviting viewers to see intimacy and belonging as sites of care, memory, and possibility.
Thomas is a 2026 Artist Trust Fellowship recipient, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award finalist, and a 2025 Collective Power Fund awardee. She is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Actualize AiR and recently curated This Room is Ours: Centering the Black Figure at ARTS at King Street Station, where she also exhibited her work.
Her work has been exhibited at the Seattle Art Fair, ARTS at King Street Station, Hometeam Gallery, Hologram Gallery, Behnke Family Gallery, Gage Academy of Art, Koplin Del Rio, Geheim Gallery, Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University, and other venues throughout the United States. Alongside her studio practice, Thomas teaches drawing and painting through organizations including the Frye Art Museum, Gage Academy of Art, and Seattle University.
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Dora Oliveira
Listen Dora Oliveira Oral History Here
A native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Dance with Dora’s founder and creative director, Dora Oliveira, is a master of her craft who has been choreographing, performing, and teaching Afro-Brazilian dance and music to adults and kids for over 30 years.
Dora is a talented artist whose passion for dance and music inspired her to establish her own company. Her persona is vibrant and authentic, and her bold style allows her to teach her students with boundless energy and fervor.
Dance with Dora brings the joy, strength, and diversity of Brazilian culture to the Pacific Northwest through original productions, festivals, parties, workshops, and weekly classes.
To learn more about Dora and her company, classes, and events, follow Dance with Dora on Facebook and Instagram. Inquiries can be sent to info@dancewithdora.com.