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Visual Arts
The Seattle visual art scene is at once monolithic and diverse. Monolithic because for too many people, the only game in town is the Seattle Art Museum, a huge organization that hogs funding and is the face of established art in the city. Diverse because, if you’re willing to dive deeper, there’s a wealth of smaller museums and galleries with some amazing art on display.
The Seattle Art Museum (known as SAM) focuses mainly on established regional art (Native American artifacts) and traveling “masters” exhibits. The museum also has a smattering of permanent classics by the likes of van Dyck, Durer, Pollock, Warhol, and Rubens, as well as a decent collection of non-Northwest folk art from Africa, Oceania, and Asia. SAM is currently undergoing a massive expansion, with four new floors and a large outdoor Olympic Sculpture Park.
Two smaller gems in the city are the Henry Art Gallery and the Frye Art Museum. The Henry, the oldest museum in town, focuses mainly on exhibitions by new artists, often envelope pushing ones like James Turrell’s light and space experiments and a collection of sound art to be experienced on a giant communal bed, known as the “Bed of Sound.” The Frye is more traditional (and free) but also features new exhibitions by contemporary artists. And if you want to be really ahead of the curve, check out some of Seattle’s numerous art galleries, mostly centered around Pioneer Square but increasingly migrating to Belltown. Like many cities, Seattle’s First Thursday Art Walk is celebrated by free admission to most galleries and museums.
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