Christen: Hi Asmara! I’m super excited to chat with you and dig into your brain a little bit. I’ve always been curious. Okay! Here’s my first question. How'd you get here? How did creative grounds get started?

Asmara: Before Creative Grounds, I served on the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art’s advisory board. As a board member I learned that there were a lot of emerging artists that didn't have space to exhibit their work without having to go through a lot of red tape.  I started Creative Grounds in 2019, and initially, the goal was to be able to provide my neighbors, the art community, and my children with the space where they could gather, be around art, books, good people, and connect with one another. I used to live in the neighborhood and wanted to create a gathering space for families & neighbors and create opportunities for artists to sell their work and be seen.

Christen: What was one of the first examples of community you saw in your childhood?

Asmara: The first example of community that I've seen in my life was probably through my mother. I’m originally from Eritrea, (even though I was born and raised here) and everything about my mother and my identity as an Eritrean exudes community. We don't do anything in isolation from one another, from our faith practices, to our cultural and traditional — the ritualistic aspect of our entire being is very much steeped in community. And so, I would probably say my mom..my mom is the OG of building and sustaining community.

Christen: Does your mother continue to create those spaces of community at her age? Or have you seen that change?

Asmara: As she's gotten older and her priorities have shifted, she's the primary caregiver for her mother. Although, that is the personification of community, because you're looking at a generational throughline. Like, her mom took care of her mom, my mom is taking care of her, and that is community, but it doesn't quite look the same way as it did when I was a kid. So now it's different because she splits time between Eritrea & the US. She's still very involved with her faith community through her women’s groups.

Christen: What values have you taken from your mom? And maybe some aunties or other folks in your community? And what things do you take and then pass on to your kids?

Asmara: Yeah, that one's easy; dignity. Everyone deserves dignity. EVERYONE. Those small acts of care can have a lasting impact on someone's life. So don't be an ass. If somebody asks you for help, I consider that to be a big deal. See their dignity and not their trauma and show up!

Christen: So, what does community mean to you?

Asmara: It means belonging, feeling seen. Creating, at least from my perspective. Creative Grounds is obviously my most expansive definition right now in my life, in terms of what community looks like. I think that it's also about creating space for spaces, whether it's a brick and mortar, or in your backyard, for people to gather, to see, to share, and just to belong to something that would be out of their primary scope of belonging. Whether it's with their parents or their significant others. It just looks different when you're with people who aren't necessarily part of your nuclear family or existence.

Christen: You spoke a little bit about creative grounds being your vessel, essentially to steward community, right?

Asmara: That's my favorite word, stewardship.

Christen: Why?

Asmara: Because I realized I know that we don't exist, wait — we SHOULD not exist in isolation of one another. Nothing can be done without stewarding it along with other people. Right? So, we need to be able to care for our planet, care for people. And that's what stewardship is. I tell my kids that everybody that I'm in contact with, everything that I've ever done in my life, outside of creative grounds, is essentially about stewardship.

Christen: Beautifully said. I would love to talk about your experience in your family's kitchen growing up and your family's dinner table. What did that look like for you? What does that smell like? What did it taste like?

Asmara: Growing up, coffee was always a central component of almost every meal. Coffee is definitely a part of every celebration, every gathering. In terms of dinner, again, because I'm from Eritrea, Berbere, which is our spice, I smell it, I know it, I can identify a time, a place, a person; that triggers certain memories. What does it sound like? What does it sound like? That's a good question. It sounds noisy only because it's not something you eat by yourself. You're eating it with a lot of people.

Christen: What were some of your favorite dishes growing up?

Asmara: Shiro, which is a lentil-based dish. I'm a vegetarian, and I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years, so even when I ate meat, I ate very little. So Shiro is a big one. Hamli, which is a spinach base. Or spinach forward dish/ lentil forward dish. Tumtumo, which is also another lentil forward dish, and, oh, I love Njeta (Injera), because you can put it with anything, and you can eat it with salt, just on its own. Oh, no, I forgot something. A lot of people don't know about Ga’at, unless you're Eritrean. It is like a porridge that you shape it into this little perfect ball, and then, in the center, you put Berbere, Esme, which is butter, the equivalent to, like, ghee, and then, if it's too spicy for you, you just put sour cream along the edges of the bowl and you eat it like that. That's my favorite dish to eat on the planet.

Christen: Wait, can I have a plate?

Asmara: Of course. I got you.

Christen: Okay, last question! Similar to the dream blunt rotation, who’s your dream dinner rotation?

Asmara: Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Bell Hooks, Fela Kuti, Gregory Isaac or Beres Hammond. That would be so much fun. Um... Did I say Miles Davis? Oh, Miles Davis. And of course, Assata Shakur.

Interview Conducted by Christen Whitaker - June 2026

Photography by Berchel Douglas Jr.