About ArtsWest

The mission of ArtsWest is to produce artistic events so compelling that they require conversation, improve the imagination, and promote cultural vibrancy as a core value for the communities of Seattle.

Since moving into a beautiful playhouse and art gallery near the corner of California and Alaska Streets in the heart of the West Seattle Junction, ArtsWest has entertained over 225,000 visitors with over 500 productions and exhibitions.

Recently named on Opportunity Knocks’ list of Best Nonprofit Places to Work (the only winner in the state of Washington), ArtsWest is proudly supported by hundreds of individual donors and volunteers, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture/King County, the Washington State Arts Commission, PONCHO, and ArtsFund, as well as dozens of corporate and foundation supporters.

ArtsWest’s summer education program for students aged 8-21 is one of only 3 in the United States to have garnered 3 consecutive awards from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The ArtsWest Playhouse

ArtsWest’s theater is a 3/4 thrust, fully raked house with excellent stage views and no obstructions from all 149 seats. Intimate and versatile, the house has the feel of a small playhouse while affording artists and audience members alike all the advantages of a contemporary technical theater.

ArtsWest Gallery

ArtsWest’s gallery is a generously-sized exhibition space that features work by contemporary artists from the Pacific Northwest region. The exhibitions, usually including three to five artists, run for approximately seven weeks each. Receptions are on the second Thursday of the month, in conjunction with the West Seattle Art Walk. Learn more about the gallery here.