Cultural Facilities Fund - Arts | seattle.gov

2019 Cultural Facilities Fund Recipients

206 Zulu
$31,741.60
Through this project, 206 Zulu will be able to maximize sound quality in its 735-capacity Ballroom within the historic Washington Hall when providing accessible spaces and serving youth, low-income and people of color communities through the upliftment, preservation, and celebration of Hip Hop culture.

Black Power Unlimited/Cypher Café $10,000

Black Umbrella
$83,250
The construction of a recording studio on the 2nd Floor of the building housing Black Umbrella will expand their programming capacity to include vocal, instrumental, and sound engineering opportunities, increasing Black Umbrella's ability to fulfill its mission of fostering the growth and development of artists, providing a resourced community and driving force in the creation of a supportive, inclusive, and nationally vindicated hip-hop scene in Seattle. Additionally, Black Umbrella plans to host weekly drop-in studio hours free for educational use, and discounted rates for people within the community.  

Blue Cone Studios
$19,875
This project will increase Blue Cone Studios' capacity to fulfill its mission of providing affordable, accessible space and creative programming to artists, especially emerging artists from marginalized communities. Blue Cone Studios will be able to seek out, collaborate with, support, and promote local bipoc, queer, and neurodivergent artists.  

Chief Seattle Club
$100,000
This project increases Chief Seattle Club's capacity to provide culturally appropriate, sacred space to nurture, affirm, and renue the spirit of Urban Native Peoples. This includes housing, holistic health services, legal aid, a café/art gallery social enterprise, and other social services. The public can view artwork throughout the exterior of the building including a Welcome Pole, Coast Salish Brickwork, and etched glass on the exterior of the Café/Art Gallery.  

Coyote Central
$90,000 
Coyote Central will create a youth arts center in Lake City to provide year-round arts programs for youth ages 10-16, with a goal of engaging 1,500 young people in hands-on arts learning each year by 2020.  Coyote North will also be an open resource for neighborhood families, bringing them together for youth-curated art exhibits, events, and performances. All Coyote North programs will prioritize equity of access, experience, and leadership for youth impacted by oppression.  

Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center
$100,000
The funded improvements will allow the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center to enhance its programming and services to better protect its facilities, artworks, staff, and community members. This will increased capacity for Duwamish Tribal Services to meet its mission of promoting the social, cultural, political and economic survival of the Duwamish Tribe, to revitalize Duwamish culture, and to share their history and culture with all peoples.  

Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle
$87,182
This project will enhance the safety, usability and accessibility of the Eritrean Association Community Center, and increase their capacity to promote cultural pride, leadership, and professional and social support for Eritrean community members and other African refugees and immigrants in need.  

James Washington Cultural Center
$10,000
The mission of the James and Janie Washington Jr Foundation is to promote and preserve the art and legacy of James and Janie Washington Jr. to inspire creativity and build community.  

Mini Mart City Park
$55,000
This project will transform a former gas station into a pocket park and arts-oriented community center in Georgetown. Mini Mart City Park aims to help prevent residential, commercial, and cultural displacement in the region by serving as a hub for local art and community programs, gatherings, and public conversations.  

MLK F.A.M.E. Community Center
$10,000
The Martin Luther King Jr. Family Arts Mentoring & Enrichment Community Center (commonly known as MLK F.A.M.E. Community Center) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting social, cultural, economic and community service for Seattle area residents of all ages, races, cultures and ethnicities.  

Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery
$13,963.50
This project increases the usability of the Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery, accompanying an increased capacity to host accessible arts and cultural programming and exhibitions, workshops and special events, as well as an art supply lending library program. The project space fulfills a gap in art programming focused on the Latinx and POC community in Seattle, specifically in South King County.  

Nile's Edge
$10,000
Nile's Edge is a healing arts center that serves as an incubator to support practitioners who use creative, preventative, and sustainable methods.  

Northwest Film Forum
$31,500
Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) and Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) intend to pursue a joint pre-capital feasibility study on the potential collaborative redevelopment of PCNW's site, where it has been housed since 1997. Parallels in history, location, financial growth, and communities of each organization underscore many reasons that this project is a logical, urgent, and fiscally-aware opportunity that could create a future-forward visual media center for the region.  

On the Boards
$12,991
Funding will support the creation of evaluations and work estimates for needed improvements to On the Boards' venue. These necessary analyses will enable them to repair their building as part of a much larger project to make it more accessible, safer, visible, and functional. At the completion of this remodel, their building will have more space to support more art, artists, and audiences.  

Seattle JazzED
$55,000
Seattle JazzED is partnering with Capitol Hill Housing to co-develop a youth performing arts center and affordable housing in the north Rainier Valley.  

That Brown Girl Cooks LLC
$90,000
Creation of a Black-owned restaurant in the Central District of Seattle provides the public benefit of cultivating a space that honors the cultural history of the neighborhood, creating opportunity for the Black community to repopulate the area, and establishing a cultural hub where Seattleites can experience Black culture within a historically significant location. The project will serve as an inaugural landmark for the Central District.   

The AMP:  AIDS Memorial Pathway
$21,000
The design and fabrication of public artworks to be situated within a new space for reflection, remembrance, and storytelling of the AIDS pandemic in Washington and its impact on the LGBTQ community, especially among people of color and transgender men and women. The project will augment the AMP's goals of 1) providing a place for remembrance and reflection; 2) using technology to share stories of the AIDS pandemic in Washington; and 3) making a call to action to end HIV/AIDS, discrimination and stigma.  

Theatre Puget Sound
$31,500
They plan to replace the floors in all of the rehearsal studios and Theatre 4 and install new black-out curtains in all of them to better serve the broader performing arts community that rents their spaces.  

Velocity Dance Center
$15,750
Velocity Dance Center will do a feasibility study to identify critical facility and operations improvements for functionality, comfort, and access, particularly in the most public spaces - the theatre and studios. The study will include a community input component; when completed, the study will be made public on Velocity's website. The study will support Velocity's mission to provide equitable access to dance education and performance and artist services, particularly to members of the community who identify as people of color, LGBTQ+ and disabled.  

Vermillion Arts, LLC
$31,095
Venue improvements will be made to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for staff, clientele and artists including upgraded bathrooms. Vermillion is committed to ongoing social, cultural and artistic support of artists and patrons of all disciplines. Beyond making the space accessible for occupancy, Vermillion also offers, at no charge, space and resources for groups and individuals to use for events that benefit the communities most in need of available space and access for income building opportunities.  

Volunteer Park Trust
$30,000
They are replacing the crumbling, concrete performance stage in Volunteer Park with a modern Amphitheater. The new structure will meet the broadest level of community needs for a versatile outdoor performance and rally space, expand performance diversity and racial equity, and provide full ADA compliance, as well as improve acoustics, noise control, safety, and access.  

Wa Na Wari
$10,000
Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility, and belonging through art, historic preservation, and connection.

2018 Cultural Facilities Fund Recipients

Amplifier Foundation                       
$28,000.00                         
Amplifier Art Lab Relocation and Build Out                           

The Amplifier Art Lab is a physical space dedicated to amplifying the voices of grassroots movements by providing a platform for art and community engagement in Seattle. We are seeking funding to support construction needs in the new facility to better suit the operations and public programming of our non-profit.

Avole Coffee                       
$30,000.00                         
Liberty Bank Building - Return to the Roots of Coffee                      

Cafe Avole is attempting to expand into the Central District, in partnership with Africatown and the Liberty Bank Building. We want to use the new location as a platform to celebrate the diverse cultures of Ethiopia and venerate the country's vast coffee knowledge. We sought out local Ethiopian artists to design the space, as we plan to create an authentic and modern African coffee experience.

Black & Tan Hall                               
$80,000.00                         
Black & Tan Hall                               

Funding will support the next phase of the construction and renovation of 5608 Rainier Avenue to allow occupancy.

Byrd Barr Place                 
$55,000.00                         
Renovation Planning for Historic Firehouse Building                         

Since 1968, BBP has operated out of City of Seattle Fire Station 23, built in 1909. The site is a beautiful focal point in the neighborhood, and listed on the historic register.  This grant project will support the renovation of this building to capitalize on the creativity, knowledge and vibrancy of the Black community and ensure that the property will continue to serve a public benefit.

Chong Wa Benevolent Association                          
$70,000.00          
Seismic Retrofit               

Chong Wa Hall is a historic building within the National Register Seattle Chinatown Historic District. The proposed structural upgrade will meet current City of Seattle URM seismic requirements. Improvements include "bolts plus" seismic upgrades, tuck point repair and sealing of exterior masonry surfaces.

Coyote Central                  
$29,450.00                          
Coyote North: Lake City                

Coyote Central is seeking to establish a 'Coyote North' facility in Lake City that can provide middle-school age youth from families of color, immigrant and refugee families, and low income families with equitable access to high quality, socially aware arts programming.  In this pre-capital phase of the project, Coyote will work with Lake City community partners and families to determine the feasibility of establishing a dedicated Coyote youth arts facility and to develop a plan of action.

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association                          
$70,000.00                         
Elevate Youngstown                      

DNDA's Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is a jewel of the diverse Delridge neighborhood, a model for engaged community collaboration, hosting and producing arts and cultural activities. "Elevate Youngstown" is our concerted effort to revive and restore the historic Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, visited by over 45,000 people annually.

Densho               
$60,000.00                         
Create New Community Space on Historic Jackson Street                              

The renovation and ADA compliant upgrade will allow Densho to host public programs, convene community meetings and receptions, conduct teacher workshops, and create workspaces for visiting artists, scholars, and interns.

Earl's Cuts and Styles                       
$70,000.00                         
Earl's Cuts and Styles Relocation to Liberty Bank Building                               

At the end of 2018, Earl's Cuts and Styles is losing its original home at the corner of 23rd and Union as the Midtown Center block has been purchased for redevelopment. Earl's has the opportunity to relocate across the street into the Liberty Bank Building, a new construction mixed-use affordable housing project affirming to the Black community, opening in early 2019. Earl's is securing funding for the significant capital expenses of tenant improvements to the retail space's cold shell.

Eritrean Community in Seattle & Vicinity                               
$23,396.00                         
Eritrean Community Hall Renovation                      

Our main gathering hall needs significant renovations in order to safely and adequately serve our community and other groups who would like to use our facilities for cultural events.

Ethiopian Community in Seattle                
$55,000.00                         
Ethiopian Community Senior Affordable Housing Project (The Ethiopian Village)

The Ethiopian Village, as a neighborhood presence, will address historical disparities with programs/services; strengthen intergenerational connections and cultural pride with exterior colors evoking the Ethiopian flag and Ethiopian designs (e.g. the Axum) throughout its heart - a multicultural community center, its dual-language early childhood center, meeting spaces, public plaza, coffee shop, commercial kitchen, and façade. ECS will seek additional funds for affordable senior rental housing.

Filipino Community of Seattle                    
$50,000.00                         
The Filipino Community Village Innovation Learning Center and Gathering Space

The FCS Innovation Learning Center and Community Gathering Space includes 4,800 square feet for services for seniors, youth, families, victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, as well as other community members in need. The proposed project will meet community needs by providing a safe, welcoming and inspiring place for youth, expanded space for frontline community programs, and a cultural home for the Filipino community.

Freehold Theatre Lab Studio                      
$10,500.00                         
Final Build-Out for Black Box Theatre Space at Freehold

Freehold would like to establish a 99-seat, fully flexible performance space with the technical capability to support diverse, artistically ambitious, independent productions, dance and multi-media events. 

Friends of Detective Cookie Chess Park                 
$31,088.00                         
Detective Cookie Chess Park The Detective Cookie Chess Park will serve as a tribute to Det. Cookie, while activating an underutilized, open-air space for her club to meet, as well as providing a safe, free, public space for youth and adults from across cultures to meet and play chess at any time. With this grant proposal we are seeking pre-capital funds to re-hire the Landscape Architect and Civil Engineer to continue design and permitting with SDOT. 

Friends of Little Saigon                  
$65,000.00                         
Little Saigon Cultural Gathering Space

Funding from ARTS will support capital and post-capital funding to jump start a community vision for a Little Saigon Cultural Gathering Space. A safe space to share and practice Vietnamese arts and culture, provide resources, and gather for special holidays and events.

Indie Genius Media                        
$16,000.00                         
Indie Genius Media SPACE Office Buildout for Sound Our request for the Cultural Facilities Grant is centered around soundproofing and noise reduction so that we may be better-positioned for future live events, film screenings, music performances, cultural preservation, and collecting local oral histories.

Jack Straw Foundation                  
$31,500.00                         
Creating Accessible Gender Neutral Bathrooms

Complete critical accessibility upgrades to our building by converting our six currently non-compliant restrooms to ADA compliant gender neutral restrooms that will increase social equity as well as meeting code.

La Sala                 
$33,217.00                         
Latinx Northwest Latinx Northwest (LTX) is a collaborative effort by three Seattle-based organizations: La Sala, Seattle Amistad School, and the Latino Community Fund. Our mission is to create a contemporary Latinx arts and culture hub in Seattle. In 2019, a new summer pop-up will (1) demonstrate what Latinx Northwest has to offer, (2) widely distribute the results of our 2018 community engagement process, and (3) broaden our network as we complete a feasibility study.

Martin Luther King Jr. Family Arts Mentoring & Enrichment Community Center                  
$31,499.00                         
MLK Community Center Gym Renovation

Renovation of the gym includes replacing the floor and basketball backboards. The floor dates back to the 1950's and it and the subfloors need repair/replacing. Replacement of the existing basketball backboards with retractable backboards will allow the gym to function as a multiuse room, a definite asset to the community.

Multicultural Community Center                                
$50,000.00                         
The Multicultural Innovation Center

Project Cultural Facility Funds would provide pre-capital expenses: architectural and interior design services, engineering services and project management for the 5,400 square foot Cultural Innovation Center to reflect the vision and aspirations expressed by the hundreds of our community stakeholders--immigrants, refugees and communities of color--who have participated in listening sessions and community meetings over the past two years.

Náakw Dancers                
$24,500.00                         
Tlingit Cedar Strip Canoe

Our cultural facilities proposal is to build a full-size 28'x4.5'x3.5' cedar strip canoe. This will be a fully functional cultural treasure that will be used in the Salish Sea to provide healing to underrepresented and often forgotten nations of indigenous people with a focus on the youth, their empowerment, their education, and their knowledge acquisition. This cultural facility will create intergenerational healing.

Reel Grrls                            
$27,278.00                         
Sound Proofing Pound Studios

Reel Grrls seeks support for sound proofing Pound Studios. In 2017, Reel Grrls secured a partnership with Pound Gallery to be the home of RG Productions and other programs.

Royal Esquire Club                          
$23,800.00                         
The Royal Esquire Club Cultural Preservation Project

This project is part of the Royal Esquire Club's vision of modernizing its facility to preserve the type of facility required for contemporary performances.  

The Rainier Arts Center                
$50,000.00                         
Rainier Arts Center Renovations

Rainier Arts Center, SE Seattle's multicultural performing arts center, is planning to improve the community's access to the Center and expand its capacity. This project will improve the performing artists experience in the Center and add new affordable, flexible-use spaces.

The Hillman City Collaboratory                  
$24,500.00                         
Hillman City Salon and Café

Cultural Facility Funds will be used to design and re-envision three dimensions of the Collaboratory. The Mixing Chamber into a space with professional quality stage, sound and lighting equipment. A cafe that serves as a creative salon-a safe, all ages space for people of color to socialize, converse, and enjoy art together. A commercial kitchen that can be rented out to up and coming chefs, used for cooking classes programmed by Taste International, and a place to produce food for salon events.

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center                      
$70,000.00                         
Daybreak Star Lift System

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center has been the premier venue for the exhibition and performance of Native arts and culture in Seattle since 1977. Though both floors of Daybreak Star contain arts spaces, there is currently no elevator between them.  As part of a program of major renovations planned over the next three years, we seek to install a lift system to increase accessibility for Elders, young children, and people with mobility impairments.

Vietnamese Cultural Center                       
$35,000.00                         
Walkways and parking lot for the visiting handicapped.

Create walkways and parking spaces for those visitors with mobility issues. Grade, smooth, and pave an existing dirt parking lot to create greater access to the Center.

Wing Luke Memorial Foundation                             
$32,500.00                         
Wing Luke Museum "Homestead House"Feasibility Study in the Chinatown-International District

Completing a feasibility study for The Wing's "Homestead House" project in the Chinatown-International District, preserving an historic home as community/cultural space while developing the underutilized portion of the lot with housing and artist spaces to retain community ownership, preserve our Asian Pacific American community vitality, and meet community demand for expanded cultural/artistic spaces and healthy neighborhood activity.

2016 Cultural Facilities Partners

A Contemporary Theatre
$13,300
ACT will be installing a captioning system into both the Falls Theater and the Allen Theater. This system, which will serve a limited number of seats, will allow patrons to read along with the performance. This is part of the theater’s larger accessibility plan and will benefit hearing impaired audiences.

Charles and Emma Frye Free Public Art Museum
$2,400
The Frye Art Museum will be installing an ADA-compliant automatic opening device on the front door.

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association
Youngstown Arts Center
$35,000
The Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association will renovate and repair the historic Youngstown Cultural Arts Center theater at the south end of the building. This will include a large-scale project to repair the building’s foundation.

Densho
$2,160
This project improves Densho’s process of digitizing historical materials by replacing and upgrading failing and aging digital network wiring with high throughput (Gigabit) capacity wiring and network switches.

Freehold Theatre Lab Studio
$30,000
Freehold Theatre Lab Studio will create a new home in the Freedman Building in Seattle's Chinatown/International District. Funding will assist in the transformation of a 7,000 square-foot basement space in a mixed-use residential building into a Black Box Theater, two studios, offices, and a library.

Historical Society of Seattle & King County (MOHAI)
$12,400
MOHAI will be installing automatic door operators to correct restroom accessibility obstacles that create an unwelcoming environment for members of the community.

Nikkei Heritage Association of Washington
$16,480
This “Phase II project addresses the need for a new roof, rebuilds a breezeway between two buildings, and works towards a solar power solution for the future of the structures. Phase I of the project renovated and protected the first floor and foundation of the building.

Northwest Choirs
$30,000
Northwest Choirs (Northwest Boychoir and Vocalpoint! Seattle) will undertake a major renovation of their permanent home, located in the University Heights Center. The scope of this nearly 5,000 square foot project includes two large rehearsal rooms, two smaller breakout practice rooms, offices, a reception area, and acoustic and lighting upgrades throughout the space.

Pottery Northwest
$5,600
Pottery Northwest will be undertaking a series of building updates to increase the safety, comfort, and community awareness of their ceramic studio. This includes updating restrooms, ventilation, and exterior signage.

Ripple Productions (Café Nordo)
$3,101
A two-part improvement to Café Nordo’s performance space in an historic, brick building in Pioneer Square will include: 1) The purchase and strategic installation of sound baffling panels to improve acoustic quality, and 2) the purchase and installation of a fan system to improve air circulation and temperature control.

Seattle Repertory Theatre
$20,000
The Seattle Repertory Theater will undertake a major upgrade of their PONCHO Forum, a small black-box performance and workshop space that last saw major improvements in 1983, the year the building was constructed. Their Cultural Facilities Fund award will support the replacement of the HVAC system serving the space, bolstering the comfort and usefulness of the PONCHO venue.

SouthEast Effective Development (SEEDArts)
$35,000
Funds will help to build and equip a professional low-power FM radio studio, which will include a broadcast studio, community production space, classroom for training, offices for volunteers and staff, and an engineering room.

University Heights Center
$18,448
University Heights Center's building, a 1902 former schoolhouse, is home to 11 arts, educational, and cultural organizations. Funding will be used to repair water damage to the main entrance, and a section of the historic cedar rain gutters.

Washington Trust for Historic Preservation
$16,816
Funding will be used to renovate two public bathrooms on the second floor of the historic Stimson-Green Mansion, preventing water damage to landmarked historic interiors in the entry hall, and restoring full use of the facilities.

2015 Cultural Facilities Partners

Increase accessibility to the historic 1929 Chong Wa Hall with an ADA-compliant restroom and upgrade to the two staircases in the auditorium to meet code requirements.

$21,375

Construction of a multi-cultural community center to provide space for cultural opportunities on Beacon Hill. The center will feature a commercial kitchen and professional stage.

$32,500

Upgrades to the lobby and replacement of their marquee as the final phase of a 3-year capital improvement project.

$27,500

HVAC system upgrade and roof repairs to the historic SIFF Cinema Uptown.

$25,000

New seats, carpeting, theatre lighting and patron assisted listening systems for the Center Theater.

$16,500

Renovating the main entryway to be ADA compliant, and installing a sprung dance floor.

$16,500

2014 Cultural Facilities Partners

Repairing and restoring the space to its original condition after a recent flood.

$12,611

Providing full fire protection for the Seattle Landmark Washington Hall building.

$24,743

Finishing the installation of a theater in 109 Main St, creating the permanent home of Ripple Productions and the Cafe Nordo shows.

$10,800

Building out an office space, film library, and screening room in their new location at 12th Avenue Arts

$5,000

2013 Cultural Facilities Partners

Upgrades to bathrooms and kitchen for students, installation of new drinking fountain

$5,100

Improvements to wood and metal shops (ventilation, heat, and safety)

$9,000

Creation of new storefront access for new facility at Seattle Center, and new "in-studio" performance space

$35,000

Theater Schmeater
Installation of new stage in new theater space

$6,000

2012 Cultural Facilities Partners

James and Janie Washington Foundation
Roof & Furnace Replacement

$7,500