Funding will support World Cup celebrations in every district and downtown experiences led by local artists and cultural leaders
Seattle, WA – Today, the City of Seattle announced nearly $1.3 million in investments to activate public spaces, celebrate local culture, and bring people together across the city through grants for World Cup community celebrations in all seven districts and downtown arts activations from local artists. We Still Dream a Future, a series of Downtown activations, installations, and exhibitions promise to ignite the community’s collective imagination despite these dark days; and 2026 World Cup Community Celebrations will activate neighborhoods throughout the city for residents and visitors to connect and celebrate throughout this historic event.
“Seattle is at its best when we come together — in our neighborhoods, in our downtown, and in the public spaces that reflect and shape our diverse communities,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “As we prepare to welcome the world to our region in 2026, these investments will help fuel the creative energy that is foundational to our city’s spirit. From the U-district to Delridge to the Central District and downtown, every corner of our city will be filled with experiences that connect and showcase the vibrant, welcoming, and fun Seattle we love.”
“This is a powerful opportunity to engage residents and visitors alike,” said Gülgün Kayim, Director of the Office of Arts and Culture. “Everyone will have the chance to experience not only the heart of our city, but its neighborhoods as well. These projects will amplify the voices of our local artists and ensure that Seattle remains a place of imagination, connection, and hope, especially in these challenging times.”
The World Cup 2026 Community Celebrations awards fund community-based organizations across all seven City Council districts to host cultural events, watch parties, activations, festivals, and celebrations that reflect the diversity and energy of Seattle. $485,000 has been awarded to 13 organizations and one community group:
- District 1: Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, Duwamish Tribal Services, Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association
- District 2: El Centro de la Raza, Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle
- District 3: ARTE NOIR, BeautyBoiz, LANGSTON
- District 4: U District Advocates
- District 5: Lake City Collective
- District 6: Ballard Alliance, Fremont Arts Council
- District 7: Native ACTION Network
These investments ensure that all residents and every neighborhood — not just those closest to stadium venues — can participate in the World Cup experience and host accessible, community-based experiences.
“We are incredibly grateful to the City of Seattle for this visionary investment in our communities,” said Peter Tomozawa, CEO of Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026. “By ensuring that every neighborhood, not just those near the stadium, can host celebrations and cultural experiences, the City is broadening the benefit of the World Cup to reach all residents. These investments in local artists, cultural organizations, and neighborhood activations mean that this once-in-a-generation moment will reach every corner of our city.”
The Office of Arts and Culture (OAC) is also funding We Still Dream a Future, a series of public art activations, installations, exhibitions, and performances throughout the Downtown core, including in the Chinatown-International District, Pioneer Square, Stadium District, and around Union Station and King Street Station.
More than 32 organizations were awarded a total of $769,000 in Creative Placemaking investments from Downtown Activation funds and Hope Corps, a grant supporting creative workers who contribute to Seattle’s cultural and civic life. Organizations will provide free programming Downtown, with an emphasis on artist- and community-led outdoor experiences during peak summer months.
Awardees for Hope Corps activations include:
- Akoiya Harris
- Framework Cultural Placemaking and Velocity Made Good
- Friends of Little Saigon
- Living Voices
- Massive Monkees
- Nakisa Dehpanah
- Solo Magic
- The Children of Shelly’s Leg
- The Residency
- Titus Ross
- Vanishing Seattle and Trees with Taha
ARTS at King Street Station activation awardees include:
- Anuradha Samrat
- Common Area Maintenance
- Heidi Grace Acuña
- Joe Brazil Legacy
- Khu.éex’
- Little Brown Language
- Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat
- Stephanie Ann Ball
- Sunshine from Polynesia
- Tory Trujillo
- United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
ARTS at King Street Station exhibition awardees include:
- Ashley Ponce
- Black Arts West Alumni Association
- Delbert Richardson
- Gabriel-Bello Díaz
- Jennifer Leigh Harrison
- Lila Thomas
- Kat Noel, Jenna Hanchard, Janell Jordan, and Eula Scott Bynoe
- Nhi Vo
- RYAN! Feddersen
- Split Six Productions
These awards were shaped and selected through community-driven processes. We Still Dream a Future grantees were chosen by the ARTS at King Street Station Advisors, ensuring that programming reflects racial equity, diverse cultures, and a wide range of artistic disciplines. For World Cup 2026 Community Celebrations, proposals were identified through a collaborative invitational process informed by broad community input including the OAC, Seattle Center, Office of Economic Development, Department of Neighborhoods, and City Council, with final selections by experts experienced in large-scale arts and cultural production and grantmaking.
Together, these investments uplift artists and neighborhood organizations, strengthen community connections, celebrate the cultures that define Seattle, and build momentum toward an exciting, welcoming, and connected city.
To stay updated about these upcoming events, activations, and exhibitions in 2026, sign up for our email list.
What People Are Saying
Council Member Rob Saka, District 1
“I’m thrilled that District 1 is hosting three of these 2026 World Cup Community Celebrations. Across Delridge, West Seattle, and South Park, neighbors and community will be gathering to celebrate our wonderfully diverse cultures and the World Cup! I hope to see you there!”
Sam Read, Deputy Director, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
“It was an honor for the Department of Neighborhoods to work with OAC in identifying and investing in opportunities for community to be part of the global excitement of the 2026 World Cup festivities. These organizations represent the diversity and vitality of our city, and I’m confident they will turn these World Cup Community Celebrations into powerful cultural moments that bring people together and showcase the best of what Seattle has to offer.”
Alicia Mullikin, ARTS at King Street Station Advisor
“These activations use art to speak about personal history, experiences, and dreams for the future. Each selected artist has a unique story to tell, and I am looking forward to seeing them all come to life.”
About the Hope Corps Grant
The Office of Arts & Culture launched Hope Corps in 2021 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread loss of work and income in the creative sector.
While its focus has shifted each year, one thing has remained the same: Hope Corps supports Seattle’s creative workforce by funding and incubating career advancement opportunities that contribute to the well-being of Seattle.
In addition, Hope Corps awardees benefit from being part of a Community of Practice, with regular convenings offering workshops, networking, and ways to share their work.
About ARTS at King Street Station
ARTS at King Street Station is a dynamic space for arts and culture in the heart of the city, dedicated to increasing opportunities for people of color to generate and present their work. Housed above Seattle’s historic King Street Station, this 7,500-square-foot gallery and cultural space includes a studio for artists-in-residence and offices for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.
Exhibitions and public programs come to the gallery through an open application and are selected by a cohort of King Street Station Advisors who represent a range of Seattle’s communities and artistic disciplines.
About the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Formed in 1971 with a mission to activate and sustain Seattle through arts and culture, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (OAC) manages the City’s public art program, cultural partnerships grant programs, The Creative Advantage arts education initiative, and cultural facilities such as the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, ARTS at King Street Station, and ARTS at Denny Substation.
In alignment with the City’s Race and Social Justice Initiative, we seek new solutions that use arts as a strategy to drive not only our office, but the City as a whole toward racial equity and social justice. We will continue to break barriers and build arts-integrated tools that challenge the status quo and push us toward the inclusive society we envision.
We are supported by the 16-member Seattle Arts Commission, citizen volunteers appointed by the Mayor and City Council.
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