Hello! I’m Sol Dressa, Community Outreach and Engagement Support Specialist here at 4Culture. I’m so excited to help relaunch Hello 4Culture and help expand access to arts, science and cultural funding across King County! I will be traveling throughout the region to hear directly from communities—their ideas, questions, and concerns. As an artist, organizer, and staff member at 4Culture, I’m thrilled to connect with those who build spaces for communities of color—spaces that celebrate joy and play, honor ancestors through arts and culture, and foster healing and intergenerational learning.

Hello 4Culture is a program designed to engage King County residents in conversations about their individual projects, goals, and creative pursuits. Because of the pandemic, it’s been on hold for a while. Now that we are relaunching it, my mission is to ensure we’re building relationships that center those who have been disproportionately left out of cultural funding and public art opportunities. Over the next year, we’ll host pop-up Hello4Culture events and office hours, offering opportunities to ask questions about our grants and programs.

To that end, I’m thrilled to invite you to an upcoming Hello4Culture event in partnership with Friends of Little Saigon. Please join us on Saturday, March 1 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Friends of Little Saigon’s space at 1227 S Weller Street, Suite A in Seattle. The event will be a BIPOC Arts Swap! Enjoy delicious food, exchange art with fellow local creatives, and learn more about how you can get involved with 4Culture grants and public art opportunities . At this event, you can:

• Share and trade your artwork (or a piece of artwork that you own) with other artists and creatives.
• Discover more about 4Culture grants and Friends of Little Saigon and how you can get involved.
• Connect with BIPOC artists and creatives in King County.

Any medium of art or craft is welcome! This event is open to all who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). We look forward to seeing you there, and stay tuned—more Hello4Culture events are in the works.