Pioneer Square small business owner excited for All-Star Week

As tens of thousands of people are expected to flock down to the ballparks this week for the All-Star Game festivities, businesses are preparing and hoping for a big impact.

SEATTLE - As tens of thousands of people are expected to flock down to the ballparks this week for the All-Star Game festivities, businesses are preparing and hoping for a big impact.

Pioneer Square in Seattle is the hub of all things sports this week.

On Friday, fans were already making their way down to the All-star Game festivities, and businesses are taking advantage of the extra foot traffic.

However, one shop in Pioneer Square stands out from the other businesses around the stadiums.

"People don’t expect to see a space like this here," said Avery Barnes, who opened Taswira, an African art gallery and street-wear store near Lumen Field.

Barnes, 23, opened the gallery last year.

"This is actually something that happened because I wasn't eligible for financial aid. And so, I just couldn’t go to school," said Barnes.

Instead, the then-19-year-old Barnes wanted to connect to her roots. She went on a two-week trip to Kenya to volunteer and work at a women’s center.

"I was so passionate about who these women were and their stories. And I just…I felt another force came over me. All I could think about since the day that I returned home, is how can I share their stories," she said.

That is where Taswira started. Barnes brought back pieces of art from the women she met in Kenya and sold them at local markets.

Then with the help of a city grant, she took over what once was a vacant space in Pioneer Square and turned it into her gallery.

"It had holes in the floor, holes in the ceiling. It took so much work to put this space together, and I had one chance," she said. "You have to take that one chance, and give it everything you got," she added.

More than a year later, the space provides an opportunity for the community to hear and see the stories of artists from Africa as well as local creators.

Barnes' space is not easy to define, but she says that is how she wants it

Her goal is to create an environment that feels like home.

Barnes says she gives a percentage of all proceeds towards her continued mission to directly address, educate, provide aid, and protect indigenous communities.