Mission
To foster a creative, inclusive art‐making community, providing access to quality education and professionally equipped studios for everyone. We promote the joy and transformative power of art and actively support the development of visual artists.
Your artist is inside.
Programs:
Pratt offers art classes for all ages, all skill levels and all abilities. Students receive professional artist instruction in an environment that allows participants to expand their skills as widely as their aptitudes and imaginations permit.
Pratt also offers independent access to its professionally equipped studios, providing shared access to the resources required for artists and hobbyists to pursue their crafts.
Pratt is the only facility in the Northwest where absolute beginners and established professional artists work side-by-side creating art in: glass; metal, stone and wood sculpture; jewelry and metalsmithing; painting; drawing; printmaking; and mixed media.
History:
Pratt Fine Arts Center serves as a lasting tribute to Edwin T. Pratt, a man who relentlessly championed open and equal access to educational and housing opportunities for all of Seattle’s residents. Pratt Fine Arts Center honors his memory by continuing to pursue its mission of making art education accessible to everyone, for people of all ages, all skill levels, and all backgrounds.
Operating as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization since 1976, Pratt has had a huge impact on the creative health of our community and launched the careers of many established local, regional, and nationally known artists. What began as a small arts center with big dreams has grown to become a beloved resource for thousands of students and hundreds of working artists annually.
We recently celebrated Pratt's 40th anniversary--40 years of making art! Below is a tour of Making our Mark, a commemorative exhibition at Bellevue Arts Museum featuring work from nearly 300 talented teaching artists throughout Pratt’s influential history. You can also see a video about Pratt and our history, and learn more about our current operation, by clicking on Pratt's most recent Impact Report.
Commitment to Racial Equity:
Pratt Fine Arts Center recognizes that institutional racism, through conscious and unconscious practices, creates vast disparities in access to publicly funded services, including arts education and support for artists. We have committed to racial equity as a core value and ongoing practice, allocating resources to the breakdown of systemic barriers and the development of equitable solutions organization-wide. To learn more, click here.
Pratt Fine Arts Center is supported in part by 4Culture, ArtsFund, the Klorfine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and the Washington State Arts Commission.
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Pratt depends on generous contributions to keep our class rates affordable, to offer Pay-What-You-Can classes for local children, to provide scholarships and tuition assistance for those in need, and to bring renowned Master Artists to campus to share creative intelligence from all around the world.