Grantee: Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture

While ArtFest has been popular in Spokane for 32 years, the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture requested funding to help support a new music initiative as part of the annual event. Between 160-175 artists participate each year in ArtFest, many of whom are return vendors because of the quality of the festival. Artists come from a variety of backgrounds including painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber, metal, photography, printmaking, among others. With the help of SAGA, new music and performance artists will be added to the lineup. Over 30,000 visitors attend the three-day event, and while enjoying ArtFest, they also participate in other activities in Spokane, such as shopping, dining, and other cultural activities. Besty Godlewski says, “The MAC views the event as important community outreach, providing the public access to the arts in a festive atmosphere, as well as providing artists an avenue to present their work to a large audience.”

WITH SAGA SUPPORT:

ArtFest is free to the public, but requires substantial resources from within the museum to produce. Support from SAGA not only supported the music component of ArtFest, but also enabled the museum to broaden its reach to the neighborhoods and communities in and around Spokane and ensure the high quality reputation of the event, showcasing the best work of local and regional artists and supporting them as they try to reach new markets and new audiences.