The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $9 million in grant funding for eight nonprofit arts & culture organizations in downtown Seattle.

A vibrant arts and culture sector is essential for a thriving community and economy. We believe in the power of arts and culture to improve community through greater creativity, perspective-taking, and connection. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $9 million in grant funding for eight nonprofit arts & culture organizations in downtown Seattle. Energizing the cultural vitality of downtown Seattle – an area that’s home to two-thirds of Seattle’s art sector jobs and 10% of Seattle residents – supports the downtown area as a vibrant hub for those who live and work in the area, along with visitors near and far that benefit from the diverse cultural offerings of the city. 

A longtime supporter of the sector, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation invests in arts & culture 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. We are proud to support our neighbors - the local venues, artists, and creators who share this community with us.

Funding for the suite of grants totals over $9 million over three years and includes the following grantees and projects: 

• Base Camp Studios: BCS is an artists’ collective with two galleries and affordable artist studios located in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Funding will facilitate improvements to the previously vacant gallery and community space for proper site accessibility, as well as stabilize artist support and operations. ($200,000 over three years)  

• Common Area Maintenance: Volunteer-run CAM operates a multidisciplinary gallery, woodshop, community space, and affordable artist studios in Belltown. With this funding, CAM will develop a second Belltown site to expand low-cost artist studios and broaden program offerings. ($200,000 over three years)  

• Friends of Waterfront Park: Friends is a nonprofit organization established in 2012 to partner with the City of Seattle to build, steward, and program Seattle’s Waterfront Park, scheduled for grand opening next year. Funding will support community-led cultural programming at Waterfront Park. ($5,000,000 over three years)  

• Seattle Art Museum: SAM has been the center for visual arts in the Pacific Northwest since 1933. It offered a long-standing “Free First Thursday” program, but evening hours were eliminated during the 2020 pandemic shut-down. We are providing seed funding to reestablish the evening portion of the program and bring it back to a self-sustainable model through community support. ($500,000 over two years) 

• Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall: The investment will enhance and activate public spaces at Benaroya Hall and create an inviting environment that cultivates new and diverse audiences. The grant will support public art displays, public programming, and community performances. ($750,000 over three years)   

• Shunpike: Shunpike envisions a community where independent artists and arts groups thrive creatively and economically. Our funding will deepen Shunpike’s efforts to empower artists through equitable access to vital expertise, opportunities, and business services in Seattle. ($1,627,545 over three years)  

• SIFF: SIFF’s mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. Our funding will allow the expansion of the community engagement program, “SIFFsupports,” and improve accessibility conditions to accommodate visitors of all abilities. ($800,000 over three years)  

• Theatre Off Jackson: TOJ believes in empowering artists to tell their unique stories and the stories of our community. To enhance programming and audience engagement, we are funding operational staffing and facility updates at their historic venue in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. ($350,000 over three years).