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Downtown is Vibrant: The Path Forward with Arts and Culture

by on March 27, 2025
Director Kayim shares our plans for supporting the arts and culture sector. Photo by Marcus Donner.

There is no downtown recovery without arts recovery.

On March 19, we hosted an event with the Office of Economic Development and Seattle Center to talk about our collective work of lifting up the arts and culture sector as a critical piece of a revitalized downtown.

More than 200 arts and culture leaders joined us at ARTS at King Street Station to connect, celebrate, and learn about how we’re also partnering with community to weave arts and culture throughout the revitalization of downtown and Seattle as a whole.

A huge thank you to all of you who were able to join us. It was nice to just be together in the same space after all this time.

Below, we’ve included a few resources and next steps.

Our Shared Opportunities

  • A total of $11M in new investments to support the arts sector from 2025 to 2030.
  • Our new Creative Placemaking division designed to support arts-based community development, including grants and activations across: Hope Corps, ARTS at King Street Station, Downtown Activation Plan activations (Pioneer Square, CID, 3rd Ave), Cultural Districts & Facilities, and Creative Economy.
  • We Still Dream a Future is our overarching theme to unite arts activations in 2025 and 2026.

2025 Grants

View all of our grants.

Resources from the Event

You can find more information from the event on the informational flyer here.

Sign up for our email list to stay informed about our funding opportunities and work to support arts and culture citywide.

All photos by Marcus Donner.

Gülgün greets some guests
Ashraf speaks to guests in the foyer
Kelly speaks to a couple of guests
Randy, Yoon from the Waterfront, Tim and Sarah
Rana and some guests in the foyer
Calandra and Chieko from 4Culture
Asian guests speak in the gallery
Guests mingle in the gallery
A guest in a wheelchair chats with two others
A low vision guest, Barbara, walks arm in arm with Kathy in the gallery
Mingling in the Living Room
Jahnvi plays the clarinet and is accompanied by a pianist.
Jahnvi Madan Duet provided music
Quenton reads in front a full audience.
Quenton Baker opens the event with a poem.
Gülgün at the mic, art hanging on the gallery walls behind.
A different angle on the full audience
Markham grasps the side of the podium.
Markham McIntyre, Director of Office of Economic Development, talked about the importance of arts and culture in their work
A full audience
Marshall gestures at the mic.
Marshall Foster, Director of Seattle Center talks about their role in downtown activation
A different angle on the full audience with art in the background
Alex speaks in front of a slide that says Creative Placemaking investments
Alex Rose, in her new role as Creative Placemaking Manager, talks about funding from our office
Another angle on the full audience
James speaks in front of a slide that says We Still Dream a Future
James Coley, King Street Station Program Lead, talks about “We Still Dream a Future”, the theme our call for downtown activations and exhibitions
Audience members sit amongst art in the gallery
Guests talk in the gallery
Jahi and Nadia in the gallery
Department of Neighborhoods staff talk to Lady A
Teisa, James, and Surface
A group of Black guests sit in a circle talking
A slidedeck of photos runs and one woman watches it in the crowded gallery
Kelly, Sharon and Randy
Lady A and Gülgün talk
Mary and Rick from the Queen Anne Historical Society
Guests in the gallery
Three guests pose
People mingle in the gallery
Two guests
Guests in the Living Room
Guests mingle

Downtown is vibrant
Filed Under: Art Beat, Art in the City, Cultural Space, Galleries, Grants & Funding, Public Art, Racial Equity Tagged With: , ,

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