By Andrew Hamlin
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
COVID-19, economic uncertainty, Seattle’s ongoing homelessness crisis, and communities affected by drug addiction struggles converged over the last few years, resulting in hard times for Seattle’s downtown arts scene over the past several years. Now a new development has come to provide some much-needed help.
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, announced on Tuesday morning, is awarding grants totaling $9,427,545 over the next three years, to a group of eight grantees and projects spread across downtown. The foundation’s Anh Nguyen, who describes herself as the “still relatively new” Director of Arts, Youth, and Communities, remarked that the awards were a long time in the making.
The Foundation itself, said Nguyen, “has a long history of supporting the arts and culture sector
in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest region, as we believe that a vibrant arts and culture sector is essential for a thriving community and economy. As part of our commitment to the sector, we are continually engaging with individuals and organizations in the field and researching gaps and needs.
Downtown Seattle arts & culture organizations receive $9 million in new funding from Paul G. Allen Family Foundation with grantees gather at an event hosted by the foundation. From left: Anh Nguyen, (director of Arts, Youth, and Communities at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation), Joy Shigaki (Friends of Waterfront Park), Pamala Mijatov (Theatre Off Jackson), Tom Mara (SIFF), Line Sandsmark (Shunpike), Scott Stulen (Seattle Art Museum), Nick Ferderer (Base Camp Studios), Krishna Thiagarajan (Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall), and Timothy Firth (Common Area Maintenance). Photo from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
“We’ve seen how critical a thriving arts and culture sector is to downtown Seattle’s cultural vitality,” she added. “Downtown specifically is home to two-thirds of Seattle’s art sector jobs (66%) and 20% of the region’s overall arts employment base, along with 10% of the city’s residents (all data from Downtown Seattle Association). This can all support local businesses, generate job growth, attract tourism, and contribute to the vibrancy and vitality of the neighborhood.”
Yet even with this sector so important to the city, she elaborated, the downtown arts scene faces lasting impacts from the pandemic, recovering slower than other industries and contending with challenges from increasing costs.
“That’s how the suite of grants was initiated,” she said. “It’s an investment focused specifically on increasing downtown Seattle’s cultural vitality, by supporting downtown as a vibrant hub for those who live and work in the area, along with visitors seeking the cultural offerings of our city.”
The grants benefit eight different concerns. $5 million over three years went to Friends of Waterfront Park, working with the City of Seattle to build and steward the city’s own Waterfront Park, scheduled for its grand opening next year. Shunpike, an artist organization devoted to creating and maintaining a community where independent artists and arts groups thrive creatively and economically, received $1,627,545 over three years.
$800,000 over three years went to the Seattle International Film Festival and its mission to discover and share extraordinary films from around the world.
The Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall got $750,000 over two years.
$500,000 over two years went to Seattle Art Museum, partially to restore longer hours for its long-running “Free First Thursday” program, allowing patrons to visit without charge.
Theatre Off Jackson, with a historic venue in the Chinatown-International District space, received $350,000 over three years, with much of that earmarked to upgrade its upstairs space, the larger and more versatile of its two spaces.
Two Belltown causes received $200,000 each over three years: Base Cam Studios, an artist collective running affordable artist studios and galleries, and Common Area Maintenance, a volunteer-run organization operating a gallery, woodshop, community space, and more affordable artist studios.
According to Nguyen, “We identified organizations that are increasing access for audiences, creating more opportunities for a broader diversity of artists to develop and share their work, and contributing to the vitality of the area’s arts and culture sector. The organizations were selected based on the scope of their intended work, readiness, and potential contribution to re-energizing downtown Seattle. We wanted to build a cohort that represents diverse approaches and experiences for operating downtown.”
When asked about the Foundation’s plans after the grants, Nguyen pointed out some longer-term, wider-range projects.
“We will continue to invest in projects to support a more vibrant arts environment, where multidisciplinary artists and audiences come together to celebrate creative expression, tell important stories, and inspire people of varied ages, backgrounds, and lived experiences. … And beyond the arts and culture sector, the foundation’s portfolio also focuses on supporting our communities, including underserved populations and young people, along with funding nonprofit partners working across science and technology solutions to protect wildlife, and preserve ocean health.”
Andrew Hamlin can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.