The Silk Tent is nearing 6 years on Lancaster Ave, but Rashida Watson, Owner & Founder of The Silk Tent and Ultra Silk Gallery, has been curating and selling folk art, jewelry, and accessories since the 1970s.

A proud contributor to Philadelphia’s arts scene, Rashida was bitten by the creative bug very early in life as her passion took hold at Overbrook High School in West Philly after being drafted into the magnet program and majoring in art. She would attend day-long art classes at the Saturday School Art League and spend summers at Fleisher Art Memorial. This inspired her to enroll in the Philadelphia College of Art (known today as the University of the Arts) in the early 70s. During that time, she created art pieces in just about every medium that you can imagine: painting, sculpture, photography, jewelry, weaving, pottery, and other more experimental works.

At first, she sold her own creations to family and friends, but what emerged was a more lucrative operation of jewelry specifically, as her talented hand and trained eye began to pick up traction in the community.

After college Rashida developed a taste for the exotic

Without a particular goal in mind, she began collecting magnificent artifacts, fabrics, and jewelry from around the world. The emphasis in buying these pieces was placed on the uniqueness and insight of the artist, as well as the authenticity of the culture they were representing.

In dealing with international artists, Rashida was moved to travel to different countries and communicate more directly with them to ensure quality and authenticity in every piece… but also because she was having a great time doing so. She recalls her first trip to Senegal—in traveling to a port city of Africa, she found there was an influx of art from neighboring countries: Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and so on. The imports often had a particular style of their own, such as the Kuba cloth she brought home from Mali, or the Mbuti Tribe’s signature patterns of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By traveling to these countries, she would get the pleasure of experiencing the camaraderie of each community’s art scene. She even suggested it was easy to acclimate herself amongst these like-minded individuals. She used this same method in Indonesia, which she also visited multiple times in search of artistic ingenuity and design innovation.

“Once they find out you're an artist, before you know it, you're talking to a colony of artists — exchanging shared ideas and methods of creating." 

A Museum on Hand

Bringing items back home with each trip would expand an already extensive collection, so with a museum-level gallery cluttering her home, she knew it was time to lay a true foundation and the first Silk Tent store was opened in the late 1980s on 43rd and Pine Street in West Philly. Only a few houses from Rashida’s home at the time.

The inspiration was to create an exotic art experience of African art, jewelry, accessories, and more.

Soon after, she would unveil an additional outlet in “The Gallery” of Center City’s Market East section, which today is known as The Fashion District (at least that's how the Center City District is trying to brand it). These two overlapping outlets brought African folk art and culture to Philadelphia from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s.

From the beginning, Rashida knew that whatever the business format, the goal was always to keep the passion burning rather than sacrificing the passion for profit. Eventually, the responsibility of operating two entities made it difficult to travel and create for herself, so the brick & mortar version of The Silk Tent would begin to tailor to craft shows and offer representation in specialty boutiques and museum stores.

In 2017 she had the opportunity to move back to West Philly and re-establish another retail store. The idea of revitalizing 2nd Fridays and rejuvenating the Powelton Village art community brought her to 3860 Lancaster Ave where the store remains open and operating today.

Ultra Silk Gallery’s Unveiling

Soon after, as she did in the gallery, Rashida again unveiled an artist-focused gallery a block away at 3808 Lancaster Ave, bringing further intrigue and attention to an established but under-appreciated representation of artists in the area with Ultra Silk Gallery.

Ultra Silk is run by Rashida’s daughter, Ms. Kenya, and the gallery focuses more on picture art, large artifacts, furniture, and home decor items from a wide variety of countries, but doing so alongside local artists who exhibit on a monthly basis. Ultra Silk has taken The Silk Tent brand even further by developing Second Friday events showcasing new artists, concerts, films, and other presentations. Between The Silk Tent and Utra Silk Gallery, Rashida and Ms. Kenya have brought art and storytelling to the forefront of the area’s social and creative scene and plan on doing so for years to come.

Be sure to stop by The Silk Tent and Ultra Silk Gallery on Lancaster Ave in West Philly’s Powelton Village to experience authentic African folk art, jewelry, fabric, furniture and more, from all over the world.

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