Our Mission

Northwest Art Alliance is dedicated to connecting the power of art, fine craft, and community.

OUR VISION:

Northwest Art Alliance is a multi-reach organization, NWAA seeks to develop a network of connections that foster the power or art and community.

Our goals are to:

• Produce successful markets that showcase regional artists, their art and fine crafts in quality venues.

• Celebrate diversity through member artists and marketplaces by a specific focus on the arts of our diverse cultures, as well attention to our under-served communities. 

• Create value by connecting artists with opportunities for education and career advancement.  Provide support to artists in the form of scholarships, a volunteer network, and the fostering of community with other artists and supporters.

• Create opportunities for supporting community service organizations that expand awareness and communicate the value and power of art. 

• Model a healthy, sustainable non-profit organization with defined goals, positive leadership and solid financial foundation.

OUR GOALS:

1. Our Events

   1. Financially sustainable models and locations. 

   2. Diverse in audience, as well as participating artists.

   3. Creative designs with fresh, high quality artists and venues. 

2. Our Connections with Community

   1. Initiate relationships with more diverse communities of artists and patrons.

   2. Network with other organizations that support NWAA artists.

   3. Network with other organizations that support public visibility of art & craft. 

   4. Explore opportunities to bring awareness of the arts to underserved communities.  This may include workshops, scholarships, videos or other action as part of “Global Village” initiative. 

   5. Donate space at markets to community organizations that support creativity.

3. Deepen the connection with our Artist Community by providing services and supporting development as career artists including:

   1. Volunteer network for artists that need help.

   2. Scholarship opportunities for professional development.

   3. Connection with other artists to create a supportive network.  

GOALS for 2023:

1. ARTIST SUPPORT: Successful Markets to showcase artists in quality venues.

2. CELEBRATE DIVERSITY: Celebrate and showcase diversity by a focus on arts of diverse cultures and under-served communities

3. UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY: Utilize technology to create value and connect with other goals for marketing, website, blog, education, career development, scholarships, etc.

4. BUILD COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Create opportunities to support community, develop relationships, partnerships, membership, media, NWAA marketing and service organizations connected to art.

5. SUSTAIN A HEALTHY NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: Model a healthy sustainable non-profit organization with a focus on finances, grants, infrastructure, and strength with personnel recruitment/retention.

OUR STRATEGY:

Change can be good for an organization. In 2018 and 2020, NWAA updated the Vision, Goals and Initiatives statement above to expand the role we play within the community, to expand our connections, to celebrate changes in art, to reach a different demographic profile and more.  

As part of this introspection, we began to take meaning steps toward cultural understanding and shared cultural experiences. We want art to be available to a greater number of people, we hope to bring visibility to the wonderful ethnic diversity in art and artists, and we are striving for an expanded outreach. Art is an essential component in a healthy community. 

Northwest Art Alliance represents 996 artists in various shows, events, and activities. This is a three-year total number, unduplicated, and shows the importance of our organization in the effort to connect the community with artists. Because of Covid, many of our new efforts planned for 2020 and for 2021 were on hold… but we shifted to virtual shows and other online features. This was a very challenging time and the future of the organization was in jeopardy. But with your support of NWAA, we were able to weather the storm and have returned to in-person events.

Our one full-time employee is the Event Director who is very much the hub of the wheel.  The artists, our programs, our projects, our sponsors, and our community are the spokes of this wheel.  The hub connects all of these parts and pieces and keeps us moving forward. Most of the efforts to move the organization forward utilizes volunteers and part-time staff.

We want artists to thrive with economic vitality. We want art to be in your homes and bring happiness into your daily life. The purchase of art from NWAA represented artists keeps them in business and creating new art!  

Thank you in advance for your donations and patronage.