BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON.-Bellevue Art Museum Board Chair Rick Collette has announced the significant progress the organization has made toward opening its doors on October 28, 2004. Highlighting the list of important steps are:

A new mission focusing on craft and design has been adopted

A new business plan has been developed

Important, unique partnerships have been created with Pilchuck Glass School and The Burke Museum

Building modifications are scheduled to begin in July

Dramatic opening exhibitions have been selected

Five new Board members have been named

The 58th Annual Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair will be held July 23-25

These accomplishments are positive steps toward establishing the Museum as a cultural center point, offering the community a unique, compelling and sustainable institution that builds on its cultural legacy.

Following the close of the Museum at the end of September 2003, the Board and remaining staff have worked with a wide array of constituencies to test a vision and mission that reaches back to the Museum’s roots of craft and design. It will return to its rightful position of being one of the country’s few institutions and the region’s only museum to focus on the display of works of craft and design. The new craft and design focus fits well into the cultural arts fabric for the region and will add to a national conversation on craft and design.

A business plan, to be used as a road map for a sustainable operation, has been developed with the help of regional business leaders. The effort has been led by Board member Frank Statkus of the Boeing Company. The plan calls for a lean annual operating budget of $2.2 million. An exhibition justification process has been designed to insure that exhibitions relate appropriately to the mission, all costs are identified and that an integrated planning process is in place.  The business plan has identified $1.4 million in costs necessary to open the facility.

Key to the success of the plan is financial support from the community. Significant progress has been made toward that end by setting the table for broad-based support. Bellevue Art Museum and The Pilchuck Glass School have created a partnership that includes a permanent gallery in the Museum honoring this important school and the glass movement. The Museum is in a unique position to provide visibility to Pilchuck and to the dynamic and exciting art that is nurtured by the school’s presence here in the Northwest. This partnership will provide both institutions with access to those who love the medium of glass.     A second partnership has been established with another important local institution, The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.  The Bellevue Art Museum’s ability to display the objects from The Burke’s vast collections allows the Museum to bring depth, context, insight and inspiration to its exhibitions. The partnerships involving these three institutions will create one of the most dynamic and enjoyable craft and design experiences available under one roof in the region.

The landmark building that was designed to showcase contemporary art and house an art school will be modified to meet the needs of the Museum’s new mission.  Former classrooms will make way for new gallery spaces. The first floor will be redesigned to create a comfortable gathering space that highlights craft and design, welcomes visitors and encourages them to extend their stay. An expanded retail space will present the works of local and national artisans working in a variety of media. Cafe 510 will be reconfigured to create a more inviting place for visitors to linger in comfortable surroundings. The Museum’s goal is to firmly establish the Cafe as the preferred "third place" in downtown Bellevue.

Four dramatic exhibitions will fill the Museum when the doors open on October 28th, showcasing the new craft and design mission:

The Artful Teapot: 20th-Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection

The Artful Teapot explores the teapot as a vehicle for artistic expression in the twentieth century. Drawn from the Kamm collection of over 6,000 objects, the 250 teapots and tea sets in this exhibition represent the work of over 100 artists including some of the twentieth- century’s best-known painters (Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney), sculptors (Arman, Michael Lucero) and ceramists (Betty Woodman, Adrian Saxe, Beatrice Wood). The exhibition is curated by Garth Clark and is organized and circulated by Exhibitions International, New York. Augmenting and enriching this show will be many pieces relating to tea ceremonies and traditions curated from The Burke Museum’s collection and several local collectors.

Looking Forward, Glancing Back: Northwest Designer Craftsmen at Fifty 

This 115-object exhibit showcases contemporary and historical works by NWDC artist members from the five-state region represented by the organization. Jewelry, furniture, fiber arts, ceramics, and baskets will be among the wide range of media presented by participating artists. Guest-curated by Lloyd Herman, distinguished authority on the contemporary craft movement in the United States and Director-Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery.

Silver in Service

"Silver in Service" is a 100-object exhibit that displays the private collection of Seymour Rabinovitch, a regional patron who has commissioned precious metal works of art from world-famous artists in North America and the United Kingdom.

Pilchuck Glass School Gallery

The gallery will feature Pilchuck artists who have helped create the central role Pilchuck has played in the worldwide studio glass movement.

The Board Development Committee is pleased to announce five new members of

the Board of Trustees who bring their unique talents and energy to support the

Museum’s effort: June Bartell Civic volunteer, a special interest in art education for youth and families. Generous regional civic participant. -- Ronald E. Bayley President and CEO of Mercer Island-based Bayley Construction, Inc., a regional construction company. He is a Mercer Island resident. Kathy Bennett Artist interested in art education. She is a Bellevue resident. She and her husband Jim were donors to the Museum’s capital campaign.

Bill Monkman CEO, Kirkland based Precision Aerospace Corporation. Member of the Young President’s Organization and active in community affairs.

Susan Thurston Second generation of prominent Bellevue family, real estate and investment management, Museum donor, art collector and civic volunteer.

Education has long been a strength for the Museum. Credit goes to a committed core of docent volunteers who have devised exceptional educational programs for students and general Museum visitors alike. Their commitment to quality program design and presentation skills has earned them national recognition.  A teen docent program, literacy in world languages and outreach through school district partnerships are but a few of the valuable contributions that they provide.

Planning for the 58th Annual Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair, the Museum’s largest program and fundraiser, is well underway. The juried event will be held July 23 - 25 in its usual location along Bellevue Square’s West Drive and on the ground level of the Square’s parking structure. Three hundred twenty four artists will offer high quality art for sale along with entertainment, food concessions and artists’ demonstrations. Across the street, inside the Museum, parents and children will find Kidsfair, a free hands-on art experience for the whole family.

In the discussion with press and guests at today’s event, Board Chairman Collette emphasized the importance of community support in the future success of Bellevue Art Museum.  "We have met with over 500 people since last September," said Collette, "and they have sent us a very clear message that this institution is valued by the region and they expressed their overwhelming support for a craft and design-focused museum.  We intend to honor the commitment we made to them by opening Bellevue Art Museum in October with an exciting new artistic direction and sustain it with consistent, high-quality exhibitions and outreach to the community."

The Museum is actively soliciting financial contributions, which can be made on-line by going to the Museum’s web site at http://www.bellevueart.org and clicking on the donations button or by sending a check to Bellevue Art Museum P.O. Box 1705 Bellevue, WA 98009.