Tariqa Waters is an activist artist, using humor, color, and pop iconography to attract audiences into her joyous world. It is a space of strength and laughter, of family and music, where beauty is celebrated and misogyny and racism are trapped in used bubble gum and thrown in the trash. Waters’ work often includes everyday objects and brands from her childhood, fostering accessible entry points to deeper issues of social power dynamics related to feminism, race, and class.

Through a unique gallery that evolved through three locations in Seattle, additional curatorial projects with museums, bars, and theatres, and her performance talk show, “Thank You, MS. PAM,” Waters, along with her husband, musician Ryan Waters, and their two children, have uplifted music, fashion, and the work of dozens of contemporary visual artists.   

This first book is both a survey of her paintings, sculptures, installations and public works of the last decade, and a primer on navigating the challenges and opportunities of a family’s creative life.