Northwest
Tacoma Art Museum was founded by a group of volunteers in 1935 and has since grown to become a national model for regional, mid-sized museums. The museum is dedicated to exhibiting and collecting Northwest art, with the mission of connecting people through art. The museum’s permanent collection includes the premier collection of Dale Chihuly’s glass artwork on permanent public display.
Tacoma Art Museum opened its current facility on May 3, 2003, when it moved from a former bank building that was built in 1920. Nearly twice the size of its previous building, Tacoma Art Museum’s new $22-million Antoine Predock-designed structure provides the space to exhibit more of the permanent collection. In designing the building, Predock drew inspiration from the region’s light, its relationship to the water, the neighborhood’s industrial history and character, Mount Rainier, the Thea Foss Waterway, and the surrounding structures in what is now known as the Museum District.
The Seattle Art Museum is a major arts institution with four facilities: The Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Aisian Art Myseum, Olympic Sculpture Park, and SAM Gallery. Their comprehensive collection fits their comprehensive mission of bringing to their visitors the art of many cultures and many periods up to the contemporary art of the northwest and beyond. SAM collects and exhibits objects from across cultures, exploring the connections between past and present. Currently the collection consists of approximately 23,000 objects.