4Culture News

Interested in being a part of the grant-making process? On-Site Reviewers go to events presented by arts and heritage organizations funded by or applying for our Sustained Support grants—orchestras, theaters, dance groups, galleries, choruses, festivals, museums, and more. They then write up short reviews of their experience, which are given to the panels that determine funding, providing a patron’s-eye-view of each organization.

The Washington Museum Association represents museums of all types and sizes throughout Washington state and offers an annual conference for peer-to-peer learning, networking, and idea exchange. This year’s conference is happening June 19 to 21 at Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. The theme is “All Stories Are Told Here,” and we’re excited to offer $500 stipends!

Our Sustained Support grant program offers unrestricted funding every two years—it helps culture thrive in our region by keeping the lights on at King County cultural organizations, and it’s growing! For the 2019-2020 cycle, we’re proud to be awarding more than $2.5 million to 447 organizations, and especially excited that 88 applicants were brand new to the program.

In 2015, we partnered with Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Council to invest a historic $28 million in our region’s cultural infrastructure. Now, almost four years later, we continue to see the results of that investment as more and more of these major renovations and building projects are completed. The latest is the Sunset Garage in North Bend!

After more than 30 years as a historical society without a permanent physical location, the Highline Heritage Museum is opening its very own doors this summer! We’re proud to support the project through several grants, and excited to offer this sneak peek from the museum’s Executive Director Nancy Salguero McKay:

Just like history itself, our Heritage department has been in a state of flux this past year! Brian Carter became our Executive Director in August, leaving his former position of Heritage Lead open. We were thrilled to have Chieko Phillips, formerly the Heritage Support Specialist, head up the department in the fall. Now, we welcome Megumi Nagata into Chieko’s vacated position!

We are honored to announce the recipients of our Arc Artist Fellowship!

Did you know that King County has an art collection? We’re proud to be its caretakers, and thrilled to announce that it just got bigger!

The King County Council has created a Task Force to evaluate 4Culture through an equity and social justice lens. In the coming weeks, the Task Force invites you to give feedback and engage in dialogue with its members at a series of community input sessions:

Last year, a Yale study found that Latinx communities are especially ready to take action on climate change. Inspired by this collective will, and committed to growing our practices in equity and inclusion, we partnered with King County Water and Land Resources Division’s Stormwater Services Section to creatively engage local Latinx communities. We invited Spanish-speaking artists to apply for a new role in the Stormwater Section: Artist in Residence. This month, we’re thrilled to announce that Hernan Paganini was awarded this unique commission and has already begun work centering art in fostering dialogue and environmental change.

We are proud to have awarded a grant to the Black Heritage Society of Washington State (BHS) to preserve the legacy of Edwin T. Pratt, Seattle’s renown civil rights leader. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of his assassination, BHS shares how they are putting these funds to work:

Monday–Friday, December 17–21, 2018
9:00 am–5:00 pm

The Tolt Historical Society is settling into a beautiful new home just in time for the holiday season! After relocating from Carnation Farms in July, the Society and its collection now occupy the historic Hjertoos House, just south of Carnation. The Hjertoos House is a large, late-Victorian farmhouse with a prominent dairy barn, and a King County Historical Landmark. It is situated on the Carnation Tree Farm, which is on the National Register of Historic places.

As a public agency, it’s 4Culture’s job to make sure that all King County residents can access our resources and see themselves in the work we do. Deep inequities—especially related to race and geography—persist in our county and world. Too often, they prevent us from reaching all the people and communities we need to serve.