241 Local Arts & Culture Organizations Selected As C.A.R.E. Grant Partners 

The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) is excited to announce the awardees for the 2023-2025 Centering Art & Racial Equity (C.A.R.E.) grant. This grant is investing $1,941,000 in funding to 241 Seattle-based organizations. C.A.R.E., previously known as Civic Partners, is ARTS’ refocused funding program that supports race and social justice-centered organizations. The current name reflects the positive evolution of the program over the past 12 years.  

The C.A.R.E. grant awards three consecutive years of funding to Seattle arts and culture, heritage, and arts service organizations with a minimum three-year history of providing accessible programming for Seattle residents and visitors. Organizations funded through the C.A.R.E grant center an arts-focused mission, are aiming to be anti-racist and who value, implement, and uphold inclusive practices through an intersectional racial equity lens. Through this grant over 200 Seattle-based arts and cultural organizations are joining other collegial organizations to create a more equitable, vibrant, and relevant arts sector.  

In this cycle of C.A.R.E. grant funding 60% of funded dollars are going towards BIPOC and BIPOC-Progressing organizations. Also, for the first time Indigenous organizations are receiving the highest average grant award and 34% of the funding for BIPOC organizations is going towards Black organizations. Across the 241 organizations there have been significant investments in racial equity, ranging from hiring, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) consultants or coordinators; forming IDEA committees; creating racial equity strategic plans; increasing partnerships and programming that center BIPOC artists; evolving decision-making processes to create more equitable collaboration models; and increasing artist, staff, volunteer and board diversity. 

“Every organization has a role in creating a more equitable city, and Seattle’s arts and cultural sector has an incredible reputation throughout North America for leading the way in working towards greater racial equity.”

Kathy Hsieh, Cultural Investments Strategist, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

In 2023, there was a 21% increase in C.A.R.E grant applications compared to the previous 2019 cycle and 28% of the awardee organizations are new. 

An example of programs to be presented by awarded organizations include: 

• A collaboration between Pork Filled Productions, the oldest Asian American sketch comedy troupe in Seattle, with Jet City Improv to produce “The Joy Market” – a production that features the first cast of all improvisers of color in Jet City’s 30-year history.  
• The creation of an African Cultural Arts Center with ADEFUA, an African cultural organization. 
• Theatre training programs that teach the process of theatre while accessing the healing power of Native cultural traditions through Red Eagle Soaring, which exists to empower urban Native American youth.  
• Deaf Spotlight’s Short Play Festival featuring original, never-been-produced short plays by, for, and with Deaf theatre artists. 

What Awardees Are Saying 

“Thanks so much. We are celebrating this outstanding news. This has made our day! Our team works so hard day in and day out. This news affirms that we are on the right path toward community empowerment through our work.” 

LaNesha DeBardelaben, Northwest African American Museum

“WOW! We are amazed and elated to receive this incredible and encouraging news! We are thrilled and grateful and humbled to be an awardee of the C.A.R.E grant.”

Berette Macaulay and Savita Krishnamoorthy, Black Cinema Collective 

“This year was the first time we were able to bring together people from various backgrounds. For the STFF [Seattle Turkish Film Festival] posters and visuals, we have commissioned female and LGBTQ+ artists from Turkey and Ukraine to give voice and artistic freedom to historically marginalized minorities. On our Short Film Competition Jury, we had 3 jurors from very different backgrounds (BIPOC, Eastern European).”

Turkish American Cultural Association of WA 

“We regard racial equity as a top priority, one that is essential to our progress and growth. . . 75% of the authors in the Word Words and Hugo Lit Series are ethnically diverse writers and poets. Hugo House is committed to presenting writers from marginalized and underserved communities. We are excited about the partnerships we have developed…”

Hugo House

“More than just words, our commitment to racial justice is defined by action. Creating a five-year strategic framework in 2019, and adopting the framework in 2020, was one of the first steps we took in committing to real and lasting change within our organization. We created this framework through a year-long strategic planning process that involved analysis of relevant data and interviews involving more than 100 people in the community.”

Classical 98.1 

Meet the 2023 – 2025 Awardees

• The 14/48 Projects 
• 18th & Union 
• 206 Zulu 
• The 5th Avenue Theatre 
• A Contemporary Theatre 
• Acts on Stage 
• ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop 
• American Asian Performing Arts Theatre 
• Artist Trust 
• Arts and Visually Impaired Audiences (AVIA) 
• Arts Corps 
• ArtsEd Washington 
• ArtsWest 
• Asé Theatre 
• Bailadores de Bronce 
• Base 
• Beacon Arts 
• The Big-Brained Superheroes Club 
• Black Arts Love 
• Black Cinema Collective 
• BlueStreet Voices 
• Book-It Repertory Theatre 
• Burke Museum Association 
• Bushwick Northwest 
• Byron Schenkman & Friends 
• The Cabiri 
• Café Nordo 
• Camp Jitterbug 
• Cascade Public Media 
• Cascadia Poetics Lab 
• The Center for Wooden Boats 
• Center on Contemporary Art 
• Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas 
• Chamber Music Guild 
• Clarinettissimo 
• Clarion West 
• Classical 98.1 
• Columbia City Beatwalk 
• Common Area Maintenance 
• Community Justice Project 
• Copper Canyon Press 
• Cornish College of the Arts 
• Coyote Central 
• Creator Source Studios 
• CultureWorks 
• DAIPANbutoh Collective 
• DASSdance 
• Deaf Spotlight 
• Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) 
• Densho 
• Detective Cookie Chess Club 
• Donkeysaddle Projects 
• Duwamish Tribal Services 
• Early Music Seattle 
• Earshot Jazz 
• El Centro de la Raza 
• Emerald Ensemble 
• Entertainment Resource Alliance 
• Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle 
• eSe Teatro 
• The Esoterics 
• Ethnic Heritage Council of the Pacific Northwest 
• Evoke Productions 
• Experience Education 
• The Feels Foundation 
• Filipino American National Historical Society 
• Floating Bridge Press 
• FREE2LUV 
• Freehold Theatre Lab Studio 
• Friends of KEXP 
• Friends of Little Saigon 
• Frye Art Museum 
• Gage Academy of Art 
• Gallery 110 
• Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center 
• Golf Pencil Group 
• Greater Seattle Choral Consortium 
• GreenStage 
• Harmonia Orchestra & Chorus 
• Henry Art Gallery 
• Highland Park Improvement Club 
• Historic Seattle 
• HolisticU 
• Hollow Earth Radio 
• Holocaust Center for Humanity 
• HONK Festival West 
• Hugo House 
• Humanities Washington 
• Infinity Box Theatre Project 
• Inspired Child 
• Intiman Theatre 
• Iranian American Community Alliance (IACA) 
• Jack Straw Cultural Center 
• Jazz Night School 
• Jet City Improv 
• Joe Brazil Legacy 
• The Key to Change 
• Khambatta Dance Company 
• La Sala 
• Ladies Musical Club 
• Lake Union Civic Orchestra 
• Latino Theatre Projects 
• Leela Kathak 
• Live Music Project 
• Living Voices 
• Lone Wolfz Artz 
• Look Listen and Learn 
• Macha Theatre Works 
• Meany Center for the Performing Arts, University of Washington 
• Men in Dance 
• Mirror Stage 
• Mode Music and Performing Arts 
• MOHAI 
• Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) 
• Music Center of the Northwest 
• Music Northwest 
• Music of Remembrance 
• Na’ah Illahee Fund 
• National Nordic Museum 
• NFFTY 
• Nile’s Edge Healing Arts 
• Northwest African American Museum 
• Northwest Boychoir & Vocalpoint! Seattle 
• Northwest Chamber Chorus 
• Northwest Film Forum 
• Northwest Folklife 
• Northwest Girlchoir 
• Northwest Puppet Center 
• Northwest Symphony Orchestra 
• Ocheami 
• On The Boards 
• One Reel 
• One Vibe Africa 
• Onyx Fine Arts Collective 
• Open Books: A Poem Emporium 
• Orquesta Northwest 
• Pacific Northwest Ballet 
• Pat Graney Company 
• Path with Art 
• Philharmonia Northwest 
• Photographic Center Northwest 
• Pork Filled Productions 
• Pratt Fine Arts Center 
• Prison Education 
• Queen Anne Historical Society 
• The Queens Project 
• Rain City Rock Camp 
• Rain City Symphony 
• The Raven Chronicles 
• ReAct Theatre 
• Real Change News 
• Reboot Theatre Company 
• Red Eagle Soaring 
• Reel Youth Film Camp 
• The Residency 
• The Rhapsody Project 
• Russian Community Center of Seattle 
• Seattle Architecture Foundation 
• Seattle Art Museum 
• Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) 
• Seattle Arts and Culture for Antiracism (SACA) 
• Seattle Asian American Film Festival 
• Seattle Chamber Music Society 
• Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival Committee 
• Seattle Children’s Museum 
• Seattle Children’s Theatre 
• Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority 
• Seattle Classic Guitar Society 
• Seattle Collaborative Orchestra 
• Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium 
• Seattle Design Festival 
• Seattle Girls Choir 
• The Seattle Griot Project 
• Seattle JazzED 
• Seattle Jewish Chorale 
• Seattle Latino Film Festival 
• Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra 
• Seattle Moisture Festival 
• Seattle Musical Theatre 
• Seattle Opera 
• Seattle Peace Chorus 
• Seattle Print Arts 
• Seattle Pro Musica 
• Seattle Public Theater 
• Seattle ReCreative 
• Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra 
• Seattle Rep 
• Seattle SeaChordsmen 
• Seattle Shakespeare Company 
• Seattle Symphony 
• Seattle Theatre Group 
• Seattle Turkish Film Festival 
• Seattle Women’s Chorus and Seattle Men’s Chorus 
• Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra 
• Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Association (SYAMFA) 
• Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras 
• SEEDArts 
• Seniors Creating Art 
• Sevadar Seattle 
• Seward Park Clay Studio 
• Shunpike Arts Collective 
• SIFF 
• SOIL Art Gallery 
• The Sound of the Northwest 
• Sound Theatre Company 
• South End Stories 
• South Hudson Music Project 
• South Seattle Emerald 
• Southwest Seattle Historical Society Log House Museum 
• Spectrum Dance Theater 
• Stone Soup Theatre 
• Strawberry Theatre Workshop 
• Taproot Theatre Company 
• Tasveer 
• TeenTix 
• Thalia Symphony Orchestra 
• Theatre Off Jackson 
• Theatre Puget Sound 
• Thistle Theatre Inc. 
• Three Dollar Bill Cinema 
• Totem Star 
• Town Hall Seattle 
• Unexpected Productions 
• Unified Outreach 
• Union Cultural Center 
• United Indians of All Tribes Foundation 
• University Heights Center (UHeights) 
• The UpNUp 
• Urban ArtWorks 
• Velocity Dance Center 
• The Vera Project 
• Veronica Project Space 
• Voices Rising: LGBTQ of Color Arts & Culture 
• Wa Na Wari 
• Washington Ensemble Theatre 
• Whim W’Him 
• The Williams Project 
• yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective 
• Young Shakespeare Workshop 
• Youth in Focus 
• Youth Speaks Seattle 

Additional information about this program is available here.