February Art Walk is our First Anniversary Celebration!

The last month and a half have been very busy, and we're sorry for letting things slide. Very exciting news to share: February's White Center Third Saturday Art Walk, which is happening on February 20th from 6 PM until 9 PM, will be White Center for the Arts' one year anniversary!



Stay tuned for the artist list in the next few days!! And, we are adding a new venue.



Also, here is a letter that you should read. If you support community arts in White Center, please consider these words:

"Dear Lovers of Art in White Center,

White Center for the Arts (WCFTA) believes that the White Center community’s rich tapestry of culture and local arts should be shared with everyone. Our work to establish a permanent home for the arts in the neighborhood is off to a great start! In the past six months we:

· Established an after-school art program in the local Highline District Middle and High School

· Established the Third Saturday Art Walk, exhibiting more than 25 local artists in 9 months time.

· Are hosting Community Artists Meetings to open the lines of communication

· Established a working relationship with local, county, and state arts organizations and continue to identify and foster new partnerships within the community to create a web of services and support for artists and youth.

· Partnered with the YWCA at Greenbridge to showcase local artists in the lobby on a quarterly basis, and are working with Youth Media Institute and the Highline School District to implement non-violent extracurricular creative youth activities in the schools and in the White Center Downtown Business District.

But we have more work to do, and we are in urgent need of your support so that we can create the anchor of our vision and visiability, DREAM Community Gallery. We are asking for a small donation of $10.00 from 100 people, a $15.00 donation from 55 people, and 10 $100.00 donations. You will be supporting the entire White Center Cultural Community, helping to give visibility to local artists in all media, ages, and neighborhoods. A gift right now will assure that WCFTA can continue on our mission to be a catalyst for the coming together of the arts and cultural community of White Center. The time has come for a permanent home for the arts in White Center. Our current projects are:

· DREAM, a Community Gallery sustained by an in-house Coffee House, providing un-juried exhibition space for local artists and performers, and providing a safe gathering place, and empowering activities, for youth

· Development of our arts education programming

· Collection of oral histories and artifacts for a permanent local history collection

· Facilitating cross medium and cross cultural collaborations, and continuing to bring positive business to White Center through the Art Walk

We appreciate gifts of any amount, and in return WCFTA is working hard to promote art and culture in the daily life of White Center residents. We are to receive a $5,000 grant. We need more to open our Community Gallery by February 20^th, the first anniversary of White Center for the Arts. We have scheduled two dance performances, a musician, and two artists for the evening of February 20^th, and they are counting on your gift to help make this happen. When combined with the work of our dedicated volunteers, established, emerging, and students artists, the community as a whole will benefit from seeing our mission to bring art, and the celebration of culture and heritage to all of White Center and its neighbors, succeed.

To give a tax deductible donation, visit our website:

http://www.whitecenterforthearts.org/

Sincerely,

Shelli Park, Chair, White Center for the Arts

P.S. You may be fortunate enough to have an employer that will match your gift. This is a great opportunity to give maximum impact with your gift to White Center for the Arts."

Even if you don't live in White Center, but know that this is a worthy cause, please donate and know that you are supporting strong work in a beautiful community.