As a small awards program, the smART ventures grant encourages innovation and widens cultural participation, particularly by individuals, organizations, and communities that may not qualify for other funding programs. Accepting applications year-round, smART ventures is flexible, inclusive and simple. It provides funding ranging from $500 to $1,000. The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) encourages small active investments that can have big impacts.

“ARTS is proud to invest in these 46 community-led projects that reflect direct participation in the local arts sector. smART Ventures contributes to financial support that removes barriers for new artists. Communities value participatory art experiences of all sizes.”

royal alley-barnes, Interim Director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

ARTS is excited to announce the 46 projects that smART Ventures funded in 2022.  

2022 smART Ventures Awardees 

  • These Whispers – An online virtual panel discussion event around the making of this collaborative film 
  • Momentous Gesture – An exhibition at SOIL Gallery 
  • Reckoning – A print-based installation and community collaborative performance piece at Seattle Central College’s M. Rosetta Hunter Gallery 
  • 2 – A one-night-only performance of 7 individual dance artists 
  • Camp Read-a-Rama – Native American Read-In 
  • Global Visionaries – A workshop on Music and Social Justice Movements 
  • Arami Walker – Revitalizing BIPOC retail spaces with live music.  
  • Raúl Sánchez – Poetry in the Park 
  • Coriolis Dance Collective’s The Art of Seafaring 
  • Louisa Yardley’s U District Community Box Wrap 
  • Aaron Asis’s Belltown Mural 
  • this is concrete II – A performance ritual at the Georgetown Steam Plant by MALACARNE and choreographer Alice Gosti 
  • It’s All a Circus – A dance performance by Alana O. Rogers Dance Company as part of the Seattle International Dance Festival 
  • Neighborhood Whimsy Walks 
  • Ballard Pop-Up Gallery 
  • Grasses Grasses Grasses: poetry and healing with 6 Indigenous poets at Hugo House 
  • Bloom FR – An exhibition at Common Area Maintenance 
  • Carpathian Mountain Villages of Ukraine – A photography exhibition at Spark and Thread Gallery 
  • Seattle City Flag 
  • The Art of Music Series in West Seattle during 2nd Thursday Art Walks 
  • Ode – K’an, an evening length immersive dance performance created for Mini Mart City Park 
  • SHOW FACE – A site-specific performance at Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. Civil Rights Memorial Park 
  • E.P.I.C. Fest at North Seattle College 
  • Monologue of n Women – A devised theatre piece at Theatre Puget Sound 
  • The Yusephinum Project – A multimedia installation at Cornish’s 9th Avenue Gallery 
  • Let the Water Flow – A graphic novel  
  • Homegrown: A Work-in-Progress Memoir Reading – A reading from Susan Lieu’s upcoming memoir The Manicurists Daughter 
  • Vinyl JP Music Fest in SoDo 
  • People in the Square at Skid Road Theatre 
  • Vietnamese Senior Association’s Moon Festival 
  • Seattle Stories – An exhibition by Kerry D. Sutton in Georgetown 
  • Columbia City Beatwalk Meets the Seattle Design Festival 
  • Sacrament and Gluttony: The Last Potato by DAIPANbutoh Collective 
  • The Application of Harm Reduction – An illustrated journalism piece for Real Change News 
  • Stephanie Simek: tied to the moon, tide to the moon – An exhibition at Veronica Arts Space 
  • Sorry Clover – A solo dance piece at YAW Theater 
  • West Seattle Junction Association’s Gorgeous Lights of Winter (GLOW) 
  • Real Change Zine 
  • Ballet Rituals at Aether Seattle 
  • REWORK HAUS Open Sewing Studio 
  • The Feels Foundation PIECES Vendor Market  
  • BIPOC Children’s Book Day at Town Hall Seattle 
  • Filipino Holiday Festival at Dr. Jose Rizal Park 
  • Flight / An Evening of Dance at Lagunitas Brewery 
  • Purrdie Burrdie and Friends – A Black and Brown children’s book 
  • Two Goldfish (Who Became Heroes) by Yun Theater 

Here’s What Awardees Are Saying 

“After both SHOW FACE events, the dancers expressed how deeply grateful they were for the opportunity to freely dance and connect with their community in a low-pressure performance setting. Many expressed how anxious they had been feeling about returning to performing and how relieved they were to have connection and celebration be the focus of their first performance since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Audience members expressed being touched by the joy and excitement that the dancers created in the park and by the physical closeness they witnessed the dancers having with each other. Several audience members said they had never seen a performance of this kind before and looked forward to seeing more dance community events in city parks.”

Audrey Rachelle Stanley, SHOW FACE

It was a great success – both the workshop and the live concert . . . Sin Fronteras brought a beautiful and educational opportunity to our students and our community through the power of their resilient music and stories . . . They also spoke about how powerful music can be (and is) in today’s social justice movements – relating the topic to what students feel and experience right now. Students were able to gain insight into many facets of life in Latin America and were able to authentically connect with the powerful stories and spirits of the three members of Sin Fronteras. After the workshop Sin Fronteras played live music that set the tone for an incredible evening, with traditional instruments that added an exciting flair for guests to enjoy while the strong flow in general made for a night of unforgettable music and a deeper connection to Central American music and the messages behind their songs.”

Sarah Popelka, Global Visionaries 

SmART Ventures accepts applications on a rolling basis. You can learn more and apply here. work to eliminate institutional racism in our programs, policies and practices. The Office is supported by the 16-member Seattle Arts Commission, citizen volunteers appointed by the mayor and City Council.