An Open Letter to Bellevue Art Museum

Update:

I want to make this public statement for a couple of reasons, the primary being to express my gratitude for the overwhelming support shown by over 400 people who added their signature to the Open Letter to Bellevue Art Museum. Many of the signees know me in some capacity, but many do not. Yet everyone stood in agreement that a major institution, the magnitude of Bellevue Art Museum, exercised a failure in leadership, and that failure resulted in severe damage. 

In the midst of a global pandemic, where personal loss was indiscriminate in its devastation (although impacting communities of color at a documented higher rate than other communities), navigating the ordeal with BAM felt at many times hopeless. Even so, it was never my intention for this to become a public matter. For at least a year, I made every effort to hold Bellevue Art Museum and their (now former) director, Benedict Heywood accountable internally with as much discretion as possible. The accountability I was promised never materialized and the wounds festered.   

My second reason for making this statement is to be clear that I could not stand idly by and allow what I experienced to be repeated with other artists who may find themselves in similar circumstances at Bellevue Art Museum. Institutions that invite diversity must be held accountable for their actions.  It is not our job to be artists, visitors, supporters, and DEI consultants, all at once. We have all been taught that the fish rots from the head. Leaders are responsible for assuring that the institutions with which they have been entrusted remain fresh and healthy.   

There is great risk in speaking up as Black people and people of color. The consequences can be severe. But silence is indeed complicity and I refuse to comply with acts that are out of order, insulting, and professionally, physically, and mentally damaging. 

There is more to navigate with the leadership of BAM, which will continue. I am grateful for the general support shown.

In gratitude and with hopes for significant positive change, 

Tariqa Waters 

—

March 15, 2021

To Bellevue Art Museum’s Board of Directors:

We write to you as members of our region’s art community to express our fundamental disgust and distrust with Benedict Heywood, Executive Director of Bellevue Art Museum (BAM). 

In this letter, we document abuses that Heywood has inflicted on Tariqa Waters, curator of Yellow No. 5 (which runs at BAM from November 6, 2020 to April 18, 2021), her mostly BIPOC exhibition artists, and others over the past year affiliated with this exhibition.  As an artist, curator, and owner of Martyr Sauce, Waters is also the 2020 Neddy at Cornish Award Winner — the incredibly competitive and esteemed award for Pacific Northwest Artists. Tariqa Waters is BAM’s first Black and Black woman curator; this is the person Heywood treated with so much harm and continued disrespect. 

BAM’s stated commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion includes: 

• “Equitable practices ensure that diversity of population and thought are represented, respected, and valued in our exhibitions and programs. We will lead by example and work diligently to advocate for the changes that will improve our museum to ensure that the visitor experience reaffirms the Museum’s values and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to providing a workplace free of racism, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and disrespectful or other unprofessional conduct, whether intended or unintentional. Racism in any form is unacceptable, and our actions speak louder than words.”

This statement — especially its emphasis on leading by example, advocating for changes, and providing an anti-racist and anti-oppressive workplace — rings hollow given the past year’s experience by Waters, her exhibition artists, and others in the arts community. 

Thus the spirit of this letter comes from a need for accountability and repair. In particular, we write this letter to document how Heywood’s actions have deeply harmed Waters, the artists in Yellow No. 5, and the broader arts community. In documenting this harm, we intend to hold accountable Heywood and the Bellevue Art Museum board and staff to confront BAM’s racism and other intersectional systems of oppression, and to repair relationships. We want BAM to do better than they have done. To that end, this letter closes with our demands of BAM’s board, including the removal of Heywood. 

Here is our account of abuses by Heywood:

First, Heywood failed to give Tariqa Waters budgetary guidelines when she began curating ‘Yellow No. 5.’ After Bellevue Art Museum approached Tariqa Waters to curate Yellow No. 5, Waters repeatedly asked for a budget. Heywood refused to give her a budget. For curators, budgets are essential to plan their work, including paying artists and paying for materials. It must be stated that curators can not do their work — especially at this institutional scale — without a budget. It was highly unusual and unreasonable of Heywood to not provide a budget to Waters, and furthermore extremely undermining of her work. Not giving Waters a budget demonstrated not only a deep lack of courtesy and professionalism, but also a lack of respect for Waters as a curator and as a human being. 

Second, Heywood revealed his fundamental racism, scorn, and lack of respect for Tariqa Waters as a curator by speaking contemptuously about her to (white) exhibition artists during a virtual meeting. In July 2020, Waters called a Zoom meeting to (again) discuss budget transparency and equity with Benedict Heywood. She also asked exhibition artists SuttonBeresCuller (SBC) to attend this meeting as their initial proposal required considerably more funding than was requested by any of the other artists. When Waters stepped away from the Zoom call, she overheard Heywood speaking to SBC (who are white). To paraphrase, Heywood said: “Now back to Tariqa — just between the three of us, she doesn’t do what we do. She doesn’t know anything about what it’s like to curate in a museum. She just has her little gallery in Pioneer Square that she runs. She’s like a fun time. Don’t worry about the budget. Whatever you need. You will be fine with money.” 

A few pieces of Heywood’s statement run especially foul. First there is an assumption — shared only with other white artists — that Tariqa Waters, a Black woman, could not fathom an understanding of curating at a museum. Second, Heywood explicitly promises these white artists funding — something that Tariqa Waters had been requesting from the beginning of her curatorial work with Bellevue Art Museum. Third, Heywood’s trivializing of Waters’ record as an artist and curator (“fun time” “little gallery”) revealed his racist and dismissive views that underpinned how he failed to support her process. 

Third, Heywood repeatedly dismissed Tariqa Waters and the harm he caused her, even after the November 2020 opening of ‘Yellow No. 5.’ Despite the harm Heywood caused to her, Waters decided to proceed with curating this show to support the exhibition artists who are mostly artists of color. Heywood deliberately ignored Waters throughout the initial run of the show, demonstrating not only his unprofessionalism but also his racism and sexism. It was not until a December 2020 meeting — that Waters herself called (through the help of Vivian Phillips) — that Heywood even began to acknowledge that he might have done anything wrong. In that December 2020 meeting, Heywood even admitted that he knew what he said in July 2020 was wrong, but said it anyway. However, after this meeting, Heywood continued to ignore Waters, shuttling communication to other staff.

Fourth, Heywood dismissed harm caused to others affiliated with this exhibition. By failing to initially provide a budget, Heywood set up Waters to fail (which she did not). By failing to provide a budget, Heywood made working conditions for the exhibition artists highly precarious and unsure. In addition, there was a documented incident where writer Jasmine Mahmoud experienced a racist encounter with a security guard at BAM while viewing Yellow No. 5, which Heywood merely described as “unpleasant.” Furthermore, BAM staff solely blamed the security guard, taking no responsibility for the culture that led to this incident.

Fifth, after the December 2020 meeting, Heywood and the museum’s board failed to issue a public apology they had promised to Tariqa Waters. In December 2020, Tariqa Waters accompanied by Vivian Phillips and Jasmine Mahmoud, held a virtual meeting with BAM’s board president, Rebecca Lyman, and Benedict Heywood. This meeting was called by Phillips and Waters (rather than by BAM) to privately discuss these ongoing issues and to address the harm Heywood caused. 

To be clear, the December 2020 meeting was called so that an open letter like this would never have to be written. At the end of this meeting, Lyman and Heywood promised — verbally and later in writing — to issue a public apology to Waters, and to take other steps to hold themselves and the board and staff accountable. To this date — three months after that meeting — no public apology has been issued directly to Tariqa Waters. BAM has failed to deliver on their promise to be accountable and equitable, and to confront issues of racism.

Furthermore, after the December 2020 meeting, the following language curiously appeared buried on BAM’s “About” page under a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement,” but did not specify that this language was about specific harm caused by Heywood to Waters and her community:

• “BAM’s Board of Trustees, leadership, and staff recognize that we have not always achieved the expectations we set for ourselves and have not treated members of our artistic community with the respect they deserve. To the extent we have fallen short, we deeply and sincerely apologize. We have formed a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, driven by both the board and staff, to ensure that we all have the insight and tools required to recognize and acknowledge our biases, and we will be providing mandatory training and course correction to ensure that we fulfill the promise to ourselves, the community, and our mission.”

To reiterate: this language is buried in the “About” page and not addressed to Waters. The clandestine appearance of this statement — rather than the promised specific public apology to Waters — comes across as shady and hidden, rather than as BAM holding itself accountable for the actions of Heywood and other staff members. 

Given this harm and unforgivable lack of BAM leadership, we request the following:

• Immediate removal of Benedict Heywood as Executive Director. Heywood has repeatedly revealed himself as incapable of performing his job adequately and in alignment with BAM’s mission. To hire a guest curator without a budget is a failure of his position. To badmouth a guest curator to her artists — especially a Black curator to her white artists — is a failure of his position and of BAM’s stated mission and values. To ignore a curator’s repeated requests is a failure of his position. 
• A Public Apology written by the Board addressed to Tariqa Waters naming the specific harm caused to her by Heywood and others at BAM. This public apology must include the list of actions that Heywood took including not giving a budget to Waters, the first Black woman to curate a group exhibition at Bellevue Art Museum. The public apology must also include future norms of hiring guest curators so that this failure will never happen again to anyone else, especially to BIPOC curators and artists. This public apology is an important step in repairing a relationship with Waters, the Yellow No. 5 exhibition artists, and her greater community. By writing a public apology, BAM shows that it can publicly hold itself accountable, admit past and present mistakes, and make equitable steps towards repairing relationships so that future curators — especially BIPOC curators — never have to experience the abuse, neglect, and harm that Waters and her artists endured. By writing a public apology to Waters, BAM shows that it can live up to its stated values — which ring hollow given the past year’s abuses. 
• At least two year’s worth of transparency about the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work that BAM purports to be doing. Under BAM’s “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement,” the following language appears: “We have formed a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, driven by both the board and staff, to ensure that we all have the insight and tools required to recognize and acknowledge our biases, and we will be providing mandatory training and course correction to ensure that we fulfill the promise to ourselves, the community, and our mission.” We demand regular (at least quarterly) public updates as to what specifically BAM is doing as part of this committee work. 

We ask for acknowledgement of this letter and response to our demands by March 31, 2021. 

Signed, (to add your name to the letter, click here)

Tariqa Waters, Artist, curator, founder of Martyr Sauce

Vivian Phillips

Jasmine Mahmoud, writer & Assistant Professor, Arts Leadership, Seattle University

Romson Regarde Bustillo, Artist, Exhibiting Artist for Yellow No. 5

Aramis Hamer, Yellow No. 5 exhibiting artist

Clyde Petersen, Artist, Yellow No. 5

Kenji Stoll, Artist for Yellow No. 5

John Sutton, Artist, SuttonBeresCuller, Yellow No. 5

Zac Culler, Artist, SuttonBeresCuller

Ben Beres, Artist

Monyee Chau, Yellow No.5 artist

Christopher Paul Jordan, artist

Elisheba Johnson, Wa Na Wari Black Arts Center

Julia Freeman

Jake Prendez, Owner of the Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery

Satpreet Kahlon, BAM Biennial 2021 selected artist, co-Founder yəhaw̓, co-Founder New Archives

Christopher Shaw, Engineer/Artist

Kemi Adeyemi, Assistant Professor and Director of The Black Embodiments Studio

Roxy Hornbeck, Assistant Professor, Arts Leadership, Seattle University

Faye Gleisser, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art

Dan Paz, Artist

Mel Carter, Artist

Buddy Todd, Artist and Bellevue Community Member

Leslie Collins, Nonprofit Management Consultant

Tim Lennon, Executive Director, LANGSTON

Thomas Wolfgang Bouwer, Student

Maya Barush

Debra Peri

Ann Magyar

Jenny Ku, Artist, arts community member

Ciel

Craig Cundiff, Artist

Jill Freidberg, Wa Na Wari

Janet Galore, Co-director, The Grocery Studios

Greta Climer

Diana Adams, Gallery Owner

Phoenix

Tera Beach, Executive Director, Spectrum Dance Theater

Wesley Frugé, Intiman Theatre

K. Bosshart, Community member and patron of BAM

Christina Roberts, Associate Professor, Seattle University

Amy-Ellen f. Trefsger

Irene Torres, Former Bellevue Arts Museum Guest/ Mixed race household/ East Side community resident

Amiya Brown, Artist and Educator

Sarah Anderson, Community member and small business owner

Nabra Nelson, Theater Artist

Diana L. Fairbanks, Ed.D., Artist/Program Director

Sarah Glick

Hazel Marie

Susan Robb, Artist

Elias Ananda

Erin Shigaki, Artist

Kit Bernal, artist and curator

Emily Dietrich, teacher and writer

Juan Alonso-Rodríguez, Juan Alonso Studio

Alfe G. Wood, Seattle University

Amanda Doxtater, Assistant Professor of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington

Liz Tran, Artist/ Educator

nia michaels

Kate Sweeney, Artist

Em Halladay Ptacek Choi

Cheryl Nance

Jodi Waltier, Artist

Laura Hamje, Artist

Kevin Maifeld, Director, Arts Leadership Programs, Seattle University

Lorrie Cardoso, Advocate of the Arts

Lisa Sheets, Artist

Mark Mitchell, Artist

Andy Fife, Independent Nonprofit Consultant and Arts Advocate

Che Sehyun 최세현, Creative Director

Patsy Clark Urschel

Julian Peña, Artist/Designer/Gallery Owner

Mytoan Nguyen-Akbar

Ebony Arunga, Arts manager, advocate and entrepreneur

Jennifer La Rue

Dustin Curtis, Trivia Puppet Company

Joy Randall, LCSW

Gretchen Lenihan

Shima Bhamra, Artist

Alison Cheung

Keri Kellerman

Wyly Astley, Artist

Ann-Marie Stillion, Artist

Ellen Hochberg, Artist

Daniel R Smith, Creative Director

Juliana Kang Robinson, Artist

Asia Tail, artist, co-founder yəhaw̓

Becky Forland, Ms

Michelle Kumata, Visual Artist

Joanne Bohannon, Artist

Steve Peters, Composer/Sound Artist

Christina Reed, Artist

Linnea Johnson, Museologist and Nonprofit Communicator

Tukwila Jones

D.K. Pan, Artist

Minh Carrico, Artist, curator, and educator

Kamla Kakaria, Artist

Jim Snowden, Actor, Author, Playwright

Nicole Bearden, Founder/Host Critical Bounds Podcast

Thea Quiray Tagle, Independent curator and assistant professor, University of Massachusetts Boston

Tim Hunkapiller, Dr.

Beverly Aarons, Writer

Betsy Best

Carina A. del Rosario, Cultural Worker

Marita Dingus, Artist

Preston Hampton

Michelle Dunn Marsh, Publisher, Minor Matters; former Executive Director, PCNW; former Deputy Director, Aperture Foundation; former tenured professor, Seattle Central Community College

Meghan Elizabeth Trainor, artist

Mayann Alguire, Artist, Metalsmith

Anida Yoeu Ali, Artist & Educator

Monica Street, artist and educator

Rickie Wolfe, Artist

Marie T Kidhe, Community Engagement & Event Strategist | RieImagine Solutions LLC

dani tirrell, Curator Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas

Lola E Peters, Board Member, Onyx Fine Arts Collective

Adair Rounthwaite, Associate Professor, University of Washington

Francis Danna

Ma’Chell Duma, Art’s Critic

Olivia Littles, Ph.D Anthropology, museum scholar, grant writer

Kelda Martensen, Artist, Educator

Lisa Myers Bulmash, Visual artist

Jessica Rubenacker

Martha Dunham, PhD Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Sculpteuse

Sukhie Patel, Printmaker/Arts Educator, Partners in Print

Evelyn Sanford, Director of Programs, Pratt Fine Arts Center

SuJ’n Chon, Artist and Curator

Gia Frazier Abbott, Board Member, Onyx Fine Arts

Calexander Bouwer, Student

Rosa Gimson

Zara Perts-Nash

roldy aguero ablao, artist, cultural practitioner

Nicholas Polimenakos

Lauren Davis, Gallerist

Jeff Mihalyo, Artist

Hanako O’Leary, Artist

Maria McDaniel

Mary Kate Anselmini, Education Manager, Bellevue Arts Museum

Kevin J. O’Conner, Poet, Artist, Photographer, Musician, Copy Editor

Benjamin Hunter, Musician; Community Arts Create; Black & Tan Hall

Anthony F. Murgolo, Concerned citizen

Eliza Maylynn Eslinger 潘美臨, Bellevue Arts Museum Staff

Elliott Gregory, Store Manager, Bellevue Arts Museum

Stacie Ford-Bonnelle, MOHAI

Erin Cotton, Education Outreach Coordinator, Bellevue Arts Museum

Bif Brigman, Collector, Historian and Former Gallery Owner

Naomi Macalalad Bragin, Assistant Professor, UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences

Meridian Smith, Video Artist

Jackie Sin, Arts Educator, Bellevue Arts Museum

Martín Sepulveda, Artist, Producer

Michelle Hagewood

Christopher Schmidt

Sharon Arnold, writer

A. Paradiso

Susan Kunimatsu, writer, International Examiner

Naomi Mittet

Rozarii Lynch, Artist

Holly Thompson, Collections Assistant, Henry Art Gallery

Tara Tamaribuchi, Artist

Dawn Dailey, Curator, Public and Youth Programming, Museum Educator, Artist

Micaela Bartunek, Artist/designer

Nikki Barber, Visual artist, instructor

Pam ehrlich, Artist

Davora M. Lindner, Creative Director, Prairie Underground

Norie Sato, Artist

Amrita Huja, Co-Director, King Street Co-op

Britta Johnson, Artist, High Wall founder and co-curator

April Guerre, student

Jana Nishi Yuen

Joie Bassham, Educator

Becky Brooks

Nikki Parkinson

Erika Lindsay, arts administrator

Saya Moriyasu, Artist

Cristian Lopez, Theatre Artist

Jane Richlovsky

Stanley T Takemoto, Citizen

Dean Wong, photographer, writer

Simba Mafundikwa

Richelle Dickerson

James B. Watkins, Retired restauranteur

Colleen Shelton, Current Bellevue Arts Museum Employee

Randy Engstrom, Advocate

Danah Kim, TAC member/ Volunteer

Claire Jauregui

Terry DuBois

Esther Ervin, MFA, owner Esther Ervin Creative Source, LLC; Curator Garfield Superblock Art Project, Onyv Fine Arts Collective, Seattle Metals Guild

Sidney Watson

Matthew Offenbacher, artist

Caroline Simpson, Associate Professor, UW Seattle

Anthony Vincent, Retired

Yoon Kang-O’Higgins

Cheryl Delostrinos, Seattle Artist, co-founder of Au Collective, A&R Queen Ford Productions

Linda Ando

Kansel Cultura Hasgattago, Tibia Kicker

Jennifer Zwick

Zack Elway, Public School Teacher

Marisol Sanchez

June Sekiguchi, artist

Glenn Nelson, Founder, The Trail Posse

Zorn B Taylor, Artist | Photographer

Damon Brown, Artist

Jackie Mendenhall, Special Events Manager, Bellevue Arts Museum

Pol Rosenthal, Time-based Artist

J. Rycheal, Creative Director/Artist

Yonnas Tesfai Getahun, Writer, Curator and Musician

Dawn Dailey, Guest Curator, Bellevue Art’s Museum, Public and Youth Programming, Henry Art Gallery, Museum Educator, Artist

Khatri, H, Bellevue resident

Karen Judge, M.D.

Andrew Drawbaugh, Artist

Alison Post, Artist, Arts Admin

Lisa Dixon Howard, Alliance for Pioneer Square

Jennifer Dixon, Artist

Etsuko Ichikawa, Artist

Ross Peizer, Museum patron

Bettina A. Judd, PhD, artist, poet and Assistant Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Washington, Seattle

Emily Turner, Museum educator

Vivian Chan

Alexis L. Silva, Artist, Curator, Writer

Paul Mailman, cinematographer

Richard Wood

C Davida Ingram, artist, writer, curator, educator

Ashley Conradi, Local community member

MalPina Chan, Artist

Tatiana Garmendia, Artist, educator

Lily King, MFA, former BAM employee 2018, currently works at an anti racism and anti poverty organization

Reiko Tduzuki

Vivian Hua, Writer, Director, Community Organizer and Arts Leader

Katherine Grace Bond, writer

Kyle Gonzalez, Student (SAM annual membership holder)

Rebecca Beer

Lorena Hernández, Program Manager

Taelore Rhoden, Community Events Manager, Historic Seattle

Susanō Surface, Juror, 2021 BAM Biennial: Architecture and Urbanism

Rainbow-Renee Wyola Manier, Soul Alchemist

Sakura Schlegel, Artist

Ayesha Ubayatilaka

Anne Jaworski, Retired, former board member Richard Hugo House

Anne Lovinger Earhart, Artist/Educator

Ruby Love

Hannah Ferne Hong, Entrepreneur, Business owner, DEI Executive Assistant, Writer, Concerned Community Member, Mother

Wilbur Hathaway, Bread Tab Artist, Moosaicist

Ryleigh Brimhall, Mixed Media Artist

B Weeks, Engineer and Art Appreciator

Rose Mathison, Museologist

Joey Veltkamp, Artist

Cathy Sarkowsky, Artist/Philanthropist

Kate Rose Johnson, artist

Scott Kolbo, Artist

Andrew Santa Lucia, architect, selected artist for BAM Biennial 2021, Director, Office Andorus

Holly Ballard Martz, Artist

Chieko Phillips

Margaret Schmit

Constance Essinger, Human Being

Perri Rhoden, Visual Artist, Member of Vivid Matter Collective

Kira Burge

Ryan Waters, Guitarist / Producer / Musical Director

Robin Ennis-Cantwell, Educator, Artist

Sue Yu, BAM volunteer with the Teen Art Council

Julie Dubravetz, Entrepreneur/business owner

Elizabeth Brinton, Artist and Teacher

Rebecca Anzalone, BAM Membership Manager

Clarissa Gines, arts administrator

Joy Hagen, Artist, Studio 103

Emily Carlson

Yaoyao Liu

Molly G, Student and emerging museum professional

Elise Walker, Artist

Lou Cabeen

Albert Rubio, Admissions Counselor – Cornish College of the Arts

Doreen Mitchum

Bri Gabel, Museum professional

Zach Frimmel, artist, arts organizer

Teresa Richards, Supporter of the Arts

Angelina villalobos soto, Artist

Marie

Markie Mickelson, Artist; Neddy at Cornish Manager; VER at the Henry Art Gallery

Jenna Green, arts professional + former intern at Bellevue Arts Museum

Anne Marie Nequette, Artist

Andy Stoller

Hilary Northcraft, Arts Professional

Sara Pizzo

Jeff Rouse, Musician

Ben Gannon, Artist

Maggie O’Rourke

Ann Astorga, Museologist

Kenneth Doutt, Museology Graduate Student

Ellen McGivern

Kat Pesigan, Museology Graduate Student

Caleb Ruppert, Artist

Philippe Hyojung Kim, Artist, Co-director and curator of Specialist Gallery

Emily Zimmerman, Curator

Kathey Ervin, Artist

Gwen Lowery, artist

Bruce Hanson, Artist, Musician, Activist

Nan Wonderly, Artist

Erika Bentley Holland, Administrative Assistant

Patricia Hagen, Artist

Connor Descheemaker, citizen; former nonprofit arts manager and current architectural nonprofit professional

Jeff Youngstrom

Brendan Wiederien, BAM TAC/Volunteer

Lauren J. Barnhart, Artist & Author

Ellen Hochberg, Artist

Ries Niemi

Jessica Huynh, UW Museology M.A. Candidate

Suze Woolf, Artist

Adriana Wright, Artist, Educator, Arts Administrator

Shawn Roberts, STG AileyCamp Director

Sheila Klein, artist

Laura Becker

Andy Le

Jaime White, Comms and Dev, Pottery Northwest

Lane Eagles, Associate Curator, Bellevue Arts Museum

Erika Enomoto

Niki Keenan, Artist

Bergen Rose, Artist

Joshua Young

Kyle C., Former Bellevue Arts Museum Employee

Philip Nadasdy

Amy Sawyer

Alyssa Williams

Inye Wokoma, Wa Na Wari

Keith Ash

Karen Getzinger, Bellevue resident

Mandy sin

Sarah Olivo

Celeste Kean

Cameron Doane

Laura Bentley, Artist, Partners in Print

Hugo Moro

Val Thomas-Matson, Executive Producer

Stanley N Shikuma, President, Seattle Chapter JACL

Victoria Loe, Communications specialist

Megan Harmon, Artist/Curator

Aly Bedford, Theater artist

Alexander Dunai, Entrepreneur

Sarah Kavage, Artist

Nate Dwyer

Haeyeun Kim, Development Coordinator, Bellevue Arts Museum

Lily Frenette

Kamari Bright, Creator

James Thompson, Artist, Technician

Amberlee Joers, Artist, Administrator

Sarah Strasbaugh

Justin Scoltock, Bellevue Arts Museum Employee

George Northcroft, STG Board,Citizen of the City of Bellevue

Gloria Northcroft, Citizen of the City of Bellevue

Andrew Walsh, Registrar, Bellevue Arts Museum

Kelsey Donahue, Museum Educator

Lucile Chich, Former Assistant Curator at Bellevue Arts Museum

Lisa Buchanan, Artist

Sean Lafferty, Artist, Art Handler

Dylan Neuwirth

Oscar Tuazon, Artist, exhibiting at Bellevue Arts Museum

Andrea Riveras

Alex Muller

Leo Berk, Artist

Linda James, artist, instructor

Tyna Ontko, Artist, Member of SOIL Gallery

Lauren Semet

Terry Novak, Executive Director, PCNW and Co-Chair Capitol Hill Arts District

Cable Griffith, Artist

Aaron Haba, Artist

Margaret Bullock

Stephanie Schloredt

baso fibonacci, artist

Ellen Ito, Artist, curator, Collection Manager

Jocelyn Beausire, Artist, Writer

Jessica Wilks, Museum Registrar

Josephine Rice, Artist

Kevin Fenske, Security Lead

Maura Ahearne

Noona, Doctor

Laura Hart Newlon, Artist, Educator, co-director Specialist Gallery

Michael Joers

Aidan Sakakini, Artist + Stylist

Rajneet Lamba, Physician

Jill Sahlstrom, NW Born Artist

Jessica Cheng, Artist

Anna Allegro, Museum Educator

Kyana Wheeler, Anti-racist educator and organizational change strategist, Museology adjunct professor

Kika Westhof

Chandler Woodfin

Josh LaBelle

Colleen RJC Bratton, Artist and Curator, SOIL Artist-Run Gallery

Laura Miller, Asst Mgr Cinemark Reserve next to BAM

Stephen Rue

Sharron H. Starling, Cornish College of the Arts

T.s. Flock, Arts Writer

Chanta Chhay

Johanna Gosse, Assistant Professor of Art History and Visual Culture, University of Idaho

Kree Arvanitas, RebelDog Studio, Visual Artist

Susanna Bluhm, Artist

David Blakesley, Artist

Ronda Roubanis, Designer

Charles Atkinson, Queer Artist

Faith Brower, curator

Erin Elyse Burns, Artist, Assistant Professor at Cornish College of the Arts, member of SOIL Art Gallery

Zoe Reid, Artist/Art Handler

Cara Egan

Lily Egan

Benjamin Hirschkoff, Artist

Ben Wildenhaus, Head Preparator and Exhibition Designer

Jackie Au, Art Enthusiast and Supporter

Soo Hong, Artist

Rayna Mathis, Seattle Art Museum

Alex Hyman

Margie Livingston, Artist

Shann Thomas, Visual Artist

Mary Ann Peters, artist

ARI, Artist

Byron Au Yong

Hilary Lee, Administrator, Artist

Zoe Donnell

Misti Hlavacek, Artist/Owner- KenSue Creative

Teddy Wiedman

mahal, superhuman

Emily Pothast, Artist and writer

TIMEA TIHANYI, artist

Rubin Quarcoopome, Designer

devon de Leña, Artist & Producer

Kimberly Williams, Social Media Coordinator

Julia Heineccius, artist, educator

Ariana de Leña

Paul Nunn, Artist and Arts Administrator

Ross Kirshenbaum, Artist/Musician

Kimisha I Turner, Artist

Ben Zamora, Artist

Zola Mumford, Researcher, Writer, Film Curator, Librarian

Dr. Gwendolyn Jones, Professor Emeritus, Antioch University Seattle