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SEATTLE OFFICE OF ARTS & CULTURE2017 ANNUAL REPORTTO THE COMMUNITY |
Read a Letter From
Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Arts Commision |
SANCA, Photo by John Cornicello
NW Tap Connection Photo by Jenny Crooks
Square Feet 2018, Photo by Jenny Crooks
Public Art Party, Photo by Sunny Martini
RSJI Arts Leadership, Photo by Jenny Crooks
Photo by Otts Bolisay
Photo by Marcus Donner
Photo by Angela Mele
Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
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Office of Arts & Culture Randy Engstrom, Director |
Dear Seattle,
With 2017 came a wave of both challenges and opportunities to the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) and our peers in the arts and cultural sectors. With much of our sector facing dramatic budget cuts across the country, we are incredibly grateful to have been able to continue and expand our work. Our Office offers more programs, more prospects, and more engagement than in years past.
On Inauguration Day, we hosted a reading of Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History of the United States and reaffirmed ARTS commitment to racial equity and social justice. With the rising cost in Seattle area property values, the issue of maintaining, preserving, and creating affordable cultural space is urgent now more than ever. In 2017, we expanded our Cultural Facilities Fund from $250,000 to $1,250,000, granting us greater ability to support Seattle-based arts and cultural organizations in capital projects. This announcement followed the release of our CAP Report, featuring 30 Ideas for the Creation, Activation, and Preservation of Cultural Space. Additionally, ARTS continued its preparation of our move to King Street Station in 2019.
Along with these new initiatives, our established programs also achieved powerful results in 2017. Our public art program has added over 450 permanently sited works to our public spaces since its inception in 1973 and rotates nearly 3,000 portable works throughout city buildings. Ours was one of the first programs of this kind in the country, and we're pleased that our city continues to innovate in this field, achieving nationwide recognition. The Americans for the Arts Public Art Network awarded our office three Year in Review awards in 2017.
In addition, ARTS invested $3 million to support more than 375 individuals and organizations who are activating arts and culture in their communities all throughout the Seattle area. It really was a whirlwind year of accomplishment and progress. We're very proud of what we achieved – and we've continued to move it forward in 2018.
Our best,
