Sited in a fifth-generation, Black-owned home, Wa Na Wari is an immersive community art project that reclaims Black cultural space and makes a statement about the importance of Black land ownership in gentrified communities. Our mission is to create space for ​Black ownership, possibility, and belonging ​through art, historic preservation, and connection. A "container for Black joy,” Wa Na Wari incubates and amplifies Black art and belonging.

Every year we program a Black and Indigenous arts festival called Walk the Block, activating businesses, homes, and streets around the neighborhood with Black and Indigenous art, food, community, and joy. Walk the Block builds bridges between old and new residents; highlights local, national, and international artists; and ignites a sense of possibility for the future of our city.

Walk the Block is more than an art festival and fundraiser. It advances our mission to create more opportunities for Black ownership and belonging. By partnering with Black businesses, community institutions, cultural organizations and homeowners in the neighborhood, we co-create an event that amplifies the continued vibrancy of the Black community in the Central District. Each year the festival grows. In 2023 we paid 80 visual and performing artists to present at Walk the Block. We invited nine community cultural organizations to co-present during the festival.