About Us
Living Artists Collective is closed as of 2024. Our mission was: “Support practicing visual artists so they can remain in increasingly expensive cities.”
The Problem
Cities like Seattle are making less and less sense for artists without a financial safety net.
Artists are relied upon to create culture: throw events, craft art for public consumption, and generally make their neighborhoods desirable. Then they are priced out of living there.
What We Did
Living Artists Collective was a nonprofit organization empowering low-income artists to spend more time creating and less time struggling to make ends meet. We offered grants, held public art events, provided educational materials for artists and the public, and helped build artistic community. All these programs were designed to fairly pay and lift up the city’s hardworking creatives.
Our Vision for the Future
We want a community filled with art appreciators that possesses a clear roadmap to retaining culture-making artists. We want artists to have increased creative freedom and access to practical resources. We want to see more low-income artists living, working, and thriving in Seattle.
It’s a great start to purchase from local artists. This empowers creatives to build their own businesses and support themselves.
It’s even better to financially support low-income creatives so that Seattle prices can be a more manageable reality.
Our Programs
Grants
One-time financial awards given to qualifying low-income visual artists via application process. 3 artists received $1,000 each on February 2, 2024.
Events
Shows, gatherings, and presentations open to the public that display art, educate the viewer on why artists are important, and sell that art to attendees. Check out past events here.
Artist Community
Meet-ups, collaborations, social gatherings, and more in service of connecting folks and delivering a sense of belonging.
Artist Education
Articles, guides, demonstrations, shared resources, workshops, peer examples, and more in service of furthering the artist’s technical skill and business knowledge.
Public Education
Stories that showcase artists, art supporters, and those in creative industries. This is in service of creating a more artistically-aware culture that values local artists and their work.
