Gabriel-Bello Diaz

Gabriel-Bello Diaz (he/him) is a Puerto Rican artist, designer, and advocate for artist communities. After moving to Seattle in 2014 he began as a small business owner creating wearable tech through the combination of 3D printing, laser cutting, and leather sewing to create custom products at the Bemis building where he was first introduced to Shunpike’s fiscal sponsorship program. He has curated half a dozen fashion shows focused on using fashion as an art form to express a deeper dialogue through the support of local organizations like 4Culture and Friends of the Waterfront. “Ancestral Future” is his proudest fashion vision of highlighting indigenous and ancestral traditions of textiles and symbols through digital fabrication to help hidden stories of our community emerge.

With his background in architecture and robotic engineering, he has developed educational programs and curriculums that encourage students to pursue a variety of STEAM careers. Gabriel has been published in several books for his research in robotics and architecture and has grown this part of his career into working with the city and other community partners to expand the resources and classroom philosophy in teaching.

Bridging his skills in fashion, writing, and community organizing he launched a publication, AntiSocial, in 2019 that highlights artists telling their own stories on navigating Seattle through the art industry. This collection of perspectives are accompanied with photoshoots with the writers/artists as models wearing local brands. From cover to cover this fashion editorial speaks loudly on the diversity Seattle has to offer and the beautiful behind-the-scenes collaborations with community members.

From small businesses to individual artists and community organizers, Gabriel has spent his career flexibly navigating through various projects and mediums with this same focus on highlighting underrepresented voices through multidisciplinary collaboration. He continues to support Seattle’s Creative Economy through organizational collaboration and thinking outside of the box to create programs that have roots in DEI and bridge the role of artists and entrepreneurs in Washington State.