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City Hall gallery schedule, new exhibitions and a major arts grant boost reported to Bothell Arts Commission
Summary
Commissioners heard gallery scheduling and marketing updates — Sherry Rooden’s exhibit through April 1, Bethanne Lawson invited for May–June and Raya Wu tentatively planned for June — and staff reported that a ForCulture grant will provide $26,000 per year through 2027, increasing local arts funding capacity.
At the Jan. 16 meeting the Bothell Arts Commission received multiple program updates: the City Hall Gallery schedule, marketing plans for a new mural wall, and a substantial increase in recurring arts grant funding from the regional ForCulture program.
City Hall Gallery and exhibits: staff and the gallery committee reviewed current and upcoming shows. Sherry Rooden’s show, featuring Chinese abstract work on rice paper, paint, ink and cold wax, is on display through April 1, with social- and city‑newsletter promotion planned. Grant recipient Raya Wu requested the gallery for a month-long program of exhibitions and activities focused on the Asian American diaspora in June and staff said they would hold the space for that request. The gallery committee also invited artist Bethanne Lawson to exhibit in May and June to bridge the gap between Rooden’s April close and Raya Wu’s June request.
Mural wall and gift for federal representative: staff reported strong public and council support for a recently installed mural wall and discussed preparing a framed image of the mural for presentation to U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene during an upcoming council visit to Washington, D.C.
Funding boost from ForCulture: staff reported that the city’s Local Arts Agency (LAA) award from ForCulture will be $26,000 in 2025 and that comparable amounts are anticipated for 2026 and 2027, creating roughly $78,000 in funding across those three years. The commission discussed using the influx to strengthen grant programs, artist support and collaborative projects with Parks. Staff said the city’s application referenced elements of the cultural plan and that program decisions about timing and use of those funds will be developed in coming weeks.
Other programming: commissioners discussed mural- and gallery-related marketing (postcards, social media hashtags), an artist meet-and-greet tied to a UW Bothell screening/presentation, and outreach to businesses to host art shows during First Friday/Art Walk programming.
No formal funding decisions were made at the meeting; staff will return with proposals on how to allocate the new ForCulture funds and timeline recommendations for gallery programming.
