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Looking at Seattle's Cultural Ecosystem from a Community Perspective

Looking at the Cultural Ecosystem from a Community Perspective

The Arts Ecosystem Research Project is a joint initiative by the MFA in Arts Leadership Program and Lemieux Library, and the larger Seattle arts and culture community. It is dedicated to researching, documenting, and sharing information on the Seattle region’s dynamic arts and culture sector. In 2023, AERP reached out to the community in a new way to enrich and augment the ARTL MFA research that AERP features on its public website and via Seattle University’s Scholarworks. Two well-respected cultural writers with deep roots in the regional community were commissioned to look at an ecosystem aspect of their chosen arts topic. AERP has recently published these two new ecosystem research pieces on the AERP website and on Scholarworks. Each delves into a topic reaching beyond individual arts entities to examine the connections and relationships that have shaped the cultural ecosystem in Seattle, hold lessons for future arts leadership, and add to the breadth of AERP’s archives.

Asian Pacific American Visual Artists in a Modern Seattle: 1960s to 1980s (2023) by Mayumi Tsutakawa

The relationships and community networks of Asian American and Pacific Islander visual artists in the Seattle from the 1960s to the 1980s reveal their responses to social and cultural conditions. These artists found ways to advance their artistic achievements through a variety of means including community-focused art clubs and less traditional venues, augmenting limited opportunities for recognition of native-born and those recently arrived from around the Pacific Rim, and resulting in an enduring impact on the Seattle art world.

Many Streams Make a River: Seattle Dance 1990 to 2015 (2023) by Marcie Sillman

This article examines the development of Seattle’s dance ecosystem with a focus on four seminal dance organizations (On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, Spectrum Dance Theater and Pacific Northwest Ballet) during a period of dynamic regional growth between 1990 and 2015. The author provides an introduction to these organizations and notes the connections and interrelationships among various organizations and artists, told through her experience from decades of arts reporting, and personal interviews with leaders in the dance community.”

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Authored by Claudia Bach and Stefanie Fatooh.

Editing provided by Byron Au Yong and Jason Hall.