Common(s) Questions with Priya Frank
Drumroll, please! Today we’re excited to unveil a new recurring Q&A: Common(s) Questions. A couple times a month, we’ll be featuring a community leader who is uniting the Seattle region around a vision of equity, belonging and shared prosperity.
First up is Priya Frank. Born and raised in Seattle, Priya (she/her/hers) is the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Seattle Art Museum. Basically, her job is to reimagine the role of museums in our city, and we’re so excited to learn more about her and amplify her work in our community.
Without further ado…
Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: A fashion designer. I'd strip my Barbies naked and remake their clothes using safety pins. Some of the best outfits I wear today were inspired by those safety pin creations!
Q: What’s your favorite part about your job? What gets you out of bed each morning?
A: I'm working in a field where structural racism has historically defined what museums are and who they are for. In my role, I get to break down those barriers and redefine culture every day by literally walking into the museum, being a part of senior leadership, and building out authentic connections with community.
When folx recognize that SAM is also a space that reflects them and their cultural and lived experiences, a place they actually want to come to hang, where they can be themselves — that is everything for me.
Q: If you could grab coffee with any Seattleite, past or present, who would it be?
A: Danny Culotti. I would ask him if he was okay and at peace and I would let him know he was missed and that I treasure our prom photos and our memories... and that I still have that poem he gave me in 8th grade.
Q: What’s something you’re involved in that other people should know about?
A: I'm co-editing a book and it's challenging me to my core. It's called "Small Wins to Sweeping Change: Working Together to Foster Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism in Museums" and it comes out early next year. My hope is that it will provide a peek into what museums are doing to shift culture and provide a road map for how the field can continue to foster structural changes.
Personally, I did the Noom program and it redefined how I see myself physically, emotionally and psychologically, and what healthy balance looks like, particularly as it relates to the work I do.
Q: What’s one of your proudest moments as a Seattleite? Any regrets?
A: As someone who was born and raised here, I wish I had lived other places. Every time I go somewhere else, I usually find my niche and can quickly build community. But I'm proud of investing in the community I was raised in and achieve my purpose of utilizing my connections to help others find community, passion, and beauty of what it means to live here and not just survive, but thrive.
Q: Where’s the first place you take out-of-town visitors?
A: My neighborhood: Georgetown!! Starting with a wine tasting at Tinte, lunch at Bop Box, and a to-go dessert from Matcha Man Ice Cream & Taiyaki to eat at Oxbow Park for memorable photo ops with the over-sized hat and boots!
Q: Tell me you live in Seattle without telling me you live in Seattle.
A: Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp were the greatest duo of all time. #bringbackoursonics
Know someone we should feature in Common(s) Questions? Send your nominations to Caitlin: c.moran@civic-commons.org.