First of all, let me say, Wow! What a fantastic show, with such great energy, a seamless setup and takedown, open hours spanning 4 weekends, and two super fun parties — all crammed into two months! We estimate between the parties and our regular open hours, around 1800 people saw the show.
Aside from providing a fun and compelling experience, I believe Seattle: City of the Future was quite successful in furthering Third Place Technologies’ core mission of fostering a collaborative community at the intersection of art, technology, and civic engagement. Emergent themes included greening Seattle, embodying inclusion and diversity, adaptations to new technologies, and holistic system design.
Be sure and see Levi Clark’s 3D model walk-through of the event here, to get a feel for the maze, or these media mentions to learn more:
- For Seattle & Art: The Future is Now! on PublicDisplay.Art by Marty Griswold
- June 13 Evening Magazine find us at minute 3:16; and at Take a sneak peek into the future at this new art exhibit by Jose Cedeno (KING 5)
- With restaurant plans off the table, Capitol Hill’s old R Place starts new life as The Teal Building arts space with Seattle: City of the Future exhibition on the Capitol Hill Blog Seattle by CHS
- Seattle City of the Future Exhibit Takes Over RPlace Building For June on Seattle Gay Scene by Michael Strangeways
- Mike’s adventures in art: City of the future and MoPoP’s ‘My Mic Sounds Nice’ by Mike Davis at KUOW
It really does take a village to throw an event like this, so I want to thank our partners, PublicDisplay.Art (Marty & Erica) and TamarindTree (Tam), without their immense support this event could not have happened. Also, thanks to all our volunteers, the selection committee, the TPT board, the buildup and takedown crew (Brad, Mason, Cece, Amrik, Dan), our supporting organizations, including PoliteSociety for helping with marketing, Jilted Siren for helping with the bar, Totally Legit for all their lighting and event production supplies, TimeWarp for their tables and sign, Levi and his fantastic 3D model, Cam Manny for organizing the opening party bar, and Jeffrey Larson and all his incredible help including poster design and manning the building — and then of course all the ARTISTS who really went over the top to create such wonderful installations!
As you know, a part of our goal was to raise enough money from the door to give back to local artists and local LGBTQ+ youth groups. So, here are our final numbers:
- Total expenses: $47,598, including artists grants ($17K), buildout and takedown costs ($18K), event production costs such as marketing, insurance, the opening party ($9K) and open hours door and security ($2K).
- Total revenue: $54,940, including ticket sales from 1270 tickets ($16K), donations ($16K), ArtsFund and 4Culture grants ($12K), a fundraiser ($5K), and our opening party ($6K).
- Profit: $7342, to be split 50/50 between our artists and a donation to local a LGBTQ+ nonprofit (the Lambert House + $1K directly from the Bling Ball). It feels really great to give back to the community!
Thanks again, Seattle:City of the Future has been a truly fabulous experience!
— Shelly
Shelly Farnham, President