Today, 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.
The suite of grants will increase access and opportunities for audiences and artists alike via upgraded and expanded cultural spaces downtown, as well as free or low-cost programs that showcase diverse, multidisciplinary artists. Grantees include Base Camp Studios (BCS), Common Area Maintenance (CAM), Friends of Waterfront Park, Seattle Art Museum (SAM), Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall, Shunpike, SIFF and Theatre Off Jackson (TOJ).
“A vibrant arts and culture sector is critical for our economy and an essential element of any thriving community,” said Anh Nguyen, director of Arts, Youth, and Communities at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “As a Seattle-based foundation, we value our neighbors—the local venues, artists and creators—who share this community with us, and we support audience access to a range of experiences that increase perspective-taking, cultural understanding, and community connection.”
These grants will help fuel organizations’ ability to pursue critical and creative programming and initiatives as Seattle arts and culture organizations continue to address pandemic-related impacts such as lower ticket sales and subscriptions; and decreased sector employment.
“This generous philanthropic gift will go a long way toward supporting our beloved downtown arts and cultural institutions," said Jon Scholes, President & CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association. “The arts and culture sector contributes significantly to the creative fabric and economic vitality of this dynamic city, drawing millions of visitors from around the region each year. I invite everyone to engage, or re-engage, in the arts and all that the downtown has to offer.”
Funding for the suite of grants totals $9,427,545 over three years and includes the following grantees and projects:
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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 that was cut short in 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)
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Seattle Symphony 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)
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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)
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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)
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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).
"We are fortunate to live in a city with remarkable arts and culture organizations and talent, and this suite of grants represents just one way to support the sector," said Nguyen. “Reenergizing downtown is something everyone - from creators to arts enthusiasts, from locals to those passing through the city - should have a stake in.”
A longtime supporter of the sector, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation invests in arts and culture to support thriving communities where multidisciplinary artists and audiences come together to celebrate creative expression, tell important stories, and inspire people of varied ages, backgrounds, and lived experiences.
About the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation:
Founded in 1988 by philanthropists Jody Allen and the late Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, the foundation invests in communities across the Pacific Northwest to enhance the human experience of arts & culture, center under-served populations, and mobilize young people to make impact. In addition, the foundation supports a global portfolio of nonprofit partners working across science and technology solutions to protect wildlife, preserve ocean health, and create lasting change. The foundation also funds the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which works to advance cutting-edge research in all areas of bioscience.