Dear Seattle Arts and Culture Community, I write to you today with a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility as the newly appointed Interim Director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. I am honored to be trusted with furthering Mayor Harrell’s One Seattle vision, knowing that our unity… [ Keep reading ]
Written by Tina LaPadula The Creative Advantage implementation team is thrilled to have Gabriel as part of our initiative to establish equitable access to arts education for every student in Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Gabriel joins forces with visual and performing arts leaders Gail Sehlhorst and Pam Iveciz at Seattle Public Schools as well as Seattle Office of Arts… [ Keep reading ]
Elevating Black Artists and Recovery With Appointment of royal alley-barnes Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced that royal alley-barnes will be appointed to be the Interim Director of ARTS and the first Black woman to hold the position. Director alley-barnes will lead ARTS during this critical time in recovery while the next administration seeks a new permanent director. “I am incredibly… [ Keep reading ]
Ashraf Hasham will join the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) as the Youth Arts Manager, providing visionary, strategic leadership for ARTS Creative Youth Program team. The goals of the Creative Youth Arts program are to incorporate racially equitable approaches and outcomes in public arts education and Creative Youth… [ Keep reading ]
“Differences must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic.” – Audre Lorde After six incredible years leading the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) Creative Youth programs, I’m excited to announce that I am leaving… [ Keep reading ]
Public Art Boot Camp, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s award-winning program, is the subject of the publication Capacity Building for Racial Equity in Public Art (pdf). ARTS’ Public Art Program specifies that 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be set aside for the commission, purchase, and… [ Keep reading ]
Written by Tina LaPadula The past two years have been especially challenging for educators and students, as we all struggle to find space for restorative and creative learning. This year’s Creative Advantage Professional Learning Series endeavored to address the rising tension and anxiety with goals to support reflection, healing, and… [ Keep reading ]
S. Surface is a Seattle-based curator of art, design and architecture, currently King Street Station Program Lead with the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. Previously, Surface was co-curator of The Alice, an artist-run exhibition space and writers’ residency, and Out Of Sight 2017, a regional survey of Pacific Northwest… [ Keep reading ]
This October, Grantmakers in the Arts held their annual conference in Detroit. This year’s conference not only focused on racial equity in grants making it also highlighted the city of Detroit’s legacy of activism; and vibrant arts, music, and design communities. Lara Davis, Arts Education Manager here at the Office… [ Keep reading ]
Mytoan Nguyen-Akbar recently joined the Office of Arts & Culture as a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow and Impact and Assessment Manager. She has most recently developed curriculum for the Seattle Community Colleges, taught sociology courses on race, immigration, inequality, and belonging at Seattle University and the University of Puget Sound, and… [ Keep reading ]
