Professional Membership

Featured Member

Art is Everywhere. Writer-director Keri Healey and Printer’s Devil Theatre, in partnership with the IKEA store in Renton, WA, present The IKEA Cycle: Tiny Domestic Dramas as part of the 2005 King County Performance Network. A series of short, episodic theater scenes will be staged on the arranged “sets” of IKEA’s furniture showroom, letting shoppers enjoy theater as they search for that perfect reading lamp.

Seeking to reach new audiences, 4Culture began the King County Performance Network in 1997, as an initiative to connect contemporary dance artists with communities throughout the greater King County region. Eight of Seattle's most innovative choreographers and companies toured 15 suburban and rural communities, reaching new audiences with challenging and provocative new work. Since then, the Performance Network has received national recognition as a role model for connecting urban artists with suburban audiences, including an award from the National Association of Counties. The Performance Network continues to reinvent itself in response to the field, and has expanded to include contemporary dance, music, and theater in more communities every year.

This fall the Performance Network will expand yet again, with a season of “Site-Specific Art Happenings” taking art out of theaters, museums, and galleries and putting it into the streets, reaching audiences where they live and work. Fifteen artist/ensembles have created site-specific art happenings—art performances, installations, or events developed in direct and specific response to their locale. King County residents might be surprised by art while shopping at the mall or walking the dog. They might meet dance in the produce section, experience a three-part harmony during rush hour, or discover ancient art in their local park. This season of art happenings will allow artists to explore new ways of interacting with art and the environment, while King County residents will be exposed to art in original and unexpected ways.

Located in Seattle, 4Culture is King County's cultural services agency. It was established in January of 2003 to continue the 35-year legacy of the King County Office of Cultural Resources. 4Culture is a new model for public support of cultural programs, combining the resources of the public sector with the flexibility of a nonprofit. Through the integration of four program areas—arts, heritage, preservation, and public art—4Culture stimulates cultural activity and enhances the assets that distinguish King County communities as vibrant, unique, and authentic.