Avery Barnes

Avery Barnes — also known as “The Connector” by Seattle Met, a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and a 2026 Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 recipient — is a gallerist, advisor, curator, and Seattle Arts Commissioner who has become a force in the region’s cultural landscape. Raised by a single mother in Chicago and Washington State, she left high school her freshman year due to bullying, earned her GED by the end of sophomore year, and became houseless at 17. She found her footing through philanthropic leadership work with a women’s center and indigenous communities in Kenya, later opening a brick-and-mortar gallery at just 22 with no funding or investors. In six years, she scaled that gallery to nearly half a million dollars in revenue. As a gallerist and advisor, she guides artists and collectors through intentional, human-centered experiences built to deepen artist development and collector education. Her advisory work has helped build a cultural ecosystem around local and global emerging African-American artists in Seattle. Within the last year alone, the gallery has sold out consecutive exhibitions, placed over 100 works, and hosting organizations including The Gates Foundation, The Obama Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Disney, and the World Affairs Council. These formative experiences continue to shape her as a thought leader dedicated to amplifying diverse voices and sparking meaningful global dialogue in the art world.