Our Resurgence Campaign
This past year has taken so much. Isolated us from our families, communities, and in theater, even from our art form. This unexpected time has brought a sense of desolation, a charring of our world as we knew it to be and has, as crisis does, brought us to a new sense of resiliency. What is ahead for us is hope, a new forest to be built, a reclaiming that we can forge, not just a return to what was but an opportunity for regeneration.
RESURGENCE is ArtsWest’s capital & social justice campaign that will not only revive us, but will allow us to rise stronger than we were before.
We know that to weather any storm, we need to own our building, our foundation, allowing us to retire the only debt held by ArtsWest. We need to make post-Covid modifications in our space, tackle repairs for our 20 year-old building, provide new tools to meet our audience & artist access needs, as well as new equipment that will allow us to be the best home for artistic theater excellence. Most of all we know it is the time to invest in our community, to not just be what we were, but to do better than before creating brave spaces for those voices historically marginalized. We want not just our world back, but a new community. One that nurtures every seedling as we know that the smallest seed can change the shape of our forest.
Our goals by the Numbers
· $1.2 Million over the next three years
· $415,000 by Summer 2021 – to own our building and pay-off our only debt – RAISED
· $685,000 for physical post-Covid & accessibility modifications, repairs, equipment & website
· $100,000 for social justice and investment in human resources
$811,514 pledged to date!
To make a donation, please contact Managing Director Inji Kamel: injik@artswest.org
Donations can also be made through this pledge form:
Resurgence: Our Art
At ArtsWest, our art is woven into everything we do. We are happy to share with you Resurgence, a story by Justin Huertas.
Our home in West Seattle – Home
In November 1999 after an extraordinary capital campaign, Meredith’s Five and Dime Store was gutted and refurbished launching a new home for the arts in West Seattle – ArtsWest. The efforts of these founders gave us a 20-year history of producing compelling theater, showcasing visual artists on our Gallery walls and offering arts education to spark our creative spirits. It is now our turn to complete this legacy by paying off the only debt remaining for the theater and to own our building securing a home for the arts in West Seattle.
Our modifications, repairs, and equipment – Tools
Our 20-year old+ building has served us well, but now it needs a little TLC. A roof needs replacing, soffits rebuilt, a fresh coat of paint & flooring, but most importantly we need to meet the access needs of our patrons and prepare for a post-Covid world with modifications such as a hearing loop, projection abilities for captioning, HVAC system updates, rehearsal room and dressing room changes to accommodate artists with disabilities.
Our social justice work – Community
We know that it is the time to center humanity, to invest in equity, diversity and inclusion, to value process over product. As an organization we have made changes, but we have more work to do to challenge our power-structures, provide brave spaces for historically marginalized voices, and to weave anti-racist and anti-oppressive values into the fabric of our organization. We are committed to providing EDI training for all those in our ArtsWest family so that we can learn together – artists, creators, staff, board, patrons, donors, volunteers. We will provide resources for those that find economic barriers to get the basic tools of a headshot and resume as the reason they can’t show up at an audition, a permanent gallery installation dedicated to teaching us how to lean into theater experiences that are culturally different than our own, and with support from our anti-racist consultants ensure that we have funded the changes necessary so that every interaction with ArtsWest is one that provides equity, inclusivity and accessibility.
We invite you to join us in forging our new stronger return, our Resurgence.
