We are thrilled to announce the return of an in-person Celebration of the Arts Luncheon on Thursday, September 14, 2023 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle. This event will welcome arts patrons, civic and business leaders, and members of our thriving arts community in support of ArtsFund’s mission and core programs. We look forward to celebrating Washington State’s arts and cultural sector with you!
ASL interpretation, closed captioning, visual descriptions, and printed programs in braille will be available during the event. To view a virtual walk-through of the lobby, please click here, and of the ballroom, please click here. We offer these accommodations and encourage others to do the same in alignment with our mission, vision, values and the belief that access is not only a right, but benefits everyone in a community.
Location
Sheraton Grand Seattle 1400 6th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
Parking Information
Valet is available.
For more information and parking rates, please click here.
Due to the volume of local events, please allow extra time for parking.
Public transit and ride-hailing is encouraged.
Attire
Business Casual
For day-of inquiries, please contact Genevieve Green, Engagement Coordinator, at 206-203-2255 or genevieve.green@artsfund.org.
| Run of Show
10:45 A.M. Check in begins
11:30 A.M. Doors open; entertainment by arts partners begins
12:00 P.M. Program begins; keynote by Marc Bamuthi Joseph
1:15 P.M. Program concludes
| Keynote Speaker
BAMUTHI (Marc Bamuthi Joseph) is a 2017 TED Global Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. Bamuthi’s opera libretto, “We Shall Not Be Moved”, was named one of 2017’s “Best Classical Music Performances” by The New York Times. His evening length work created in collaboration with composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, “The Just and The Blind,” was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and premiered to a sold out house at Carnegie in March 2019. His upcoming opera “Watch Night” is inspired by the forgiveness exhibited by the congregation of Emanuel AME church in Charleston, and will premiere at The Perelman Center in New York in 2023.
While engaging in a deeply fulfilling and successful artistic career, Bamuthi also proudly serves as Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He is in high demand for his creative approach to organizational design, brand development, and community mediation, and has been enlisted as a strategic partner or consultant for companies ranging from Coca Cola to Carnegie Hall. His TED talk on linking sport to freedom design among immigrant youth has been viewed more than 1 million times, and is a testament to his capacity to distill complex systems into accessible and poetic presentations. Bamuthi’s community development philosophy, called “The Creative Ecosystem”, has been implemented in dozens of cities across the United States and is the subject of several critical writings, including one of the seminal essays in “Cultural Transformations: Youth and Pedagogies of Possibility”, published by Harvard Education Press.
Bamuthi is the founding Program Director of the exemplary non-profit Youth Speaks, and is a co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals which activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life. His essays have been published in Harvard Education Press; he has lectured at more than 200 colleges, and has carried adjunct professorships at Stanford and Lehigh, among others. A proud alumnus of Morehouse College, Bamuthi received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the California College of Arts in the Spring of 2022.
Click here to hear our keynote speaker Marc Bamuthi Joseph in a recent DoubleXposure Podcast hosted by Vivian Phillips and Marcie Sillman.
| Sponsorships
Sponsorships are available. Please click on the button below to learn more. Any questions may be directed to Marlena Dzis-Corey, Vice President of Development, at marlenadzis-corey@artsfund.org or 206-788-3049.
Doors open at 11:30am. Program begins at noon. ADA entrance and seating is available.
Can’t make the event? Click HERE to make a donation.
Sponsorship Levels & Benefits
All ArtsFund events are mask-friendly spaces. Please stay home if you are experiencing a fever or any COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days , or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed or is suspected of having COVID-19.
ArtsFund thanks our “Celebration of the Arts” Sponsors*
Presenting Sponsors
Inspiration Sponsors
Exhibition Sponsors
Creation Sponsors
Reflection Sponsors
Liz Berry & Michael Hill 
*as of 8/10/2023