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Overview
Seattle Art Museum operates three art venues in Seattle—the downtown museum, the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront—where visitors explore art through exhibitions, educational programs, and site-specific installations drawn from a collection of about 25,000 objects from more than 140 cultures. The museum curates and presents art to the public, using its galleries and programs to help people see connections between art and daily life. Its distinctiveness comes from spanning multiple venues and cultures in the Pacific Northwest, offering a broad range of exhibitions and learning experiences beyond a single-location collection. The goal is to make art accessible to a wide audience, deepen understanding of visual culture, and inspire curiosity through public programs and immersive installations.
About Seattle Art Museum
Industries
Social Impact
Education
Entertainment
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington
Founded
1906
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- ArtsFund awarded SAM $153,520 in 2026, supporting near-term programming.
- 2026 programming is dense, driving visitation across all three locations.
- Stulen's 2026 capital-light renovations improve dwell time without major construction risk.
What critics are saying
- Workers unionized in June 2026; contract negotiations start immediately.
- SAM lost $300,000-$400,000 in federal funding during 2025 cuts.
- A January 2026 staff-shortage closure exposed brittle operations and possible labor instability.
What makes Seattle Art Museum unique
- SAM spans downtown Seattle, Volunteer Park, and the waterfront in one institution.
- Scott Stulen is reimagining spaces with open entrances, seating, and public art.
- 2026 exhibitions pair regional identity with global names like Ai Weiwei and Calder.
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Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
Short Term Disability
Flexible Spending Account
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Holidays
Wellness Program
Commuter Benefits
Company News
Columbia City Gallery is partnering with Seattle Art Museum on this juried exhibit in response to Ai, Rebel: The Art & Activism of Ai Weiwei - SAM's retrospective on the renowned contemporary artist.
SEATTLE, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) presents Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei (March 12–September 7, 2025), the largest-ever US exhibition of works by the globally renowned conceptual artist. Ai, Rebel surveys Ai Weiwei's career over four decades and highlights his artistic strategies for questioning forms of power, disrupting artistic canons, and challenging political authoritarianism. This is the artist's first US retrospective in over a decade and features 130 works from the 1980s to the 2020s.Ai Weiwei (Chinese, b. 1957) is a celebrated artist and activist whose work examines history, society, and culture. Ai, Rebel offers the rare opportunity to engage with his wide-ranging body of work, including black-and-white photographs, LEGO and toy brick works, large-scale installations, and videos. It features iconic works such as Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995), Study of Perspective (1995–2011), Sunflower Seeds (2010), and Illumination (2019), as well as several works making their international debut
The Seattle Asian Art Museum is launching a series of screenings of Korean films Wednesday night with a showing of Bong Joon-ho's The Host complete with a costume contest with prizes, as well as Korean snacks and candy.
Seattle Art Museum is one of the beneficiaries of funds from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser)The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is getting in on continued efforts to reenergize downtown Seattle, announcing Tuesday that it is committing $9 million to eight nonprofit arts and culture organizations around the city’s core.Across visual arts, theater, film and even the improvements being made to Seattle’s waterfront, the grants being issued by the late Microsoft co-founder’s philanthropic arm are intended to increase access and opportunities for audiences and artists alike.“A vibrant arts and culture sector is critical for our economy and an essential element of any thriving community,” said Anh Nguyen, director of Arts, Youth, and Communities at the Allen Family Foundation, in a news release.The funding totals $9,427,545 over three years and includes these grantees and projects:Base Camp Studios: An artists’ collective with two galleries and affordable artist studios located in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Funding will facilitate improvements to the previously vacant gallery and community space for proper site accessibility, as well as stabilize artist support and operations. ( $200,000 over three years)An artists’ collective with two galleries and affordable artist studios located in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood
Scott Stulen, who had led the Philbrook Museum of Art as its president and CEO for the past eight years, will leave the museum to become the Illsley Ball Nordstrom director and CEO of the Seattle Art Museum.
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About Seattle Art Museum
Industries
Social Impact
Education
Entertainment
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington
Founded
1906
Seattle Art Museum is Hiring for 3 Jobs on Simplify!
Find jobs on Simplify and start your career today