Northwind Arts Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)3 volunteer organization dedicated to promoting the arts in our region by sponsoring educational programs, lectures, readings and workshops, and by providing juried and invitational venues for displaying the work of regional artists, both visual and literary.

Mission
Northwind Arts Alliance connects the arts and community. Our mission is to cultivate, promote and encourage the arts; to showcase and serve artists; and to foster arts education and appreciation for the greater community. Northwind sponsors arts activities for young and old.

Contribute
Northwind Arts Alliance relies on your donations for most programming. Show entry fees, sales, work admission and space use fees cover only some of the costs of maintaining the Northwind Arts Center, which include rent, utilities, maintenance, publicity, juror and speaker honorariums, “best of show” awards, and basic administrative costs. Northwind Arts Alliance asks for your annual support in January & February of each year, but welcomes your contribution at any time. You are also welcome to direct part or all of your contribution to “Arts to Elders”. A convenient way to donate online is through GuideStar.

History
Northwind Arts Alliance was founded in 2001 by a small group of Port Townsend artists who sought to improve representation and support for the arts in the region, with the goal of connecting a wider diversity of art and artists with the community. We were awarded 501(c)3 status in 2002.

The Northwind Arts Center building at 2409 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, was previously a gallery, and Northwind Arts Alliance had the opportunity to utilize this space when Port Townsend Gallery moved downtown. A grant from Port Townsend Friends of the Arts was seminal in launching the exhibit space. An early Northwind Arts Center exhibit, “Art from the City of Dreams,” embodied the new organization’s goal. The show, which had been curated and exhibited in Seattle by Lamar Harrington, former director of both the Henry Gallery and the Bellevue Art Museum, superbly represented the broad spectrum and high quality of the work of artists in our region.

Soon after, Northwind Arts Alliance assumed sponsorship of the annual Art Port Townsend festival (created in 1999 by the Port Townsend Arts Commission), and rapidly added a variety of educational programs, including an annual series of art workshops, Arts for Elders, the Northwind Reading Series, Kaleidoscope and Children’s Festival of Art.

Today, Northwind’s shows, literary events and workshops attract artists and writers from throughout the Northwest and beyond. In 2009, Northwind Arts Alliance acquired additional space in the Arts Center building, launching the Artists Showcase, a place where individual artists may rent wall space to exhibit their work, and which includes new space for Art Talks, seminars, literary gatherings and on-site workshops.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NAME	TITLE
Susan Hazard	President
Karen Putterman	Vice President/Director of Volunteers
Bill Mawhinney	Vice President/Director Literary Events
Mare Tietjen	Treasurer
Colleen McCaffrey	Secretary
Jeanette Best	Past President/Director of Art Port Townsend
Marilyn Brasier	Community Outreach Chair
Anita Edwards	Compliance Chair
Harold Nelson	Member at Large
Sandra Stowell	Webmaster & Newsletter Chair
Don Tiller	Member at Large
Sylvia White	Past President/Grants & AE Chair
Carl Youngman	Member at Large
STAFF
Jay Haskins	Gallery Manager
Charlie Petersen	Bookkeeper
Jim Yount	Art Port Townsend Webmaster
Harvey Putterman	Director Arts to Elders
HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS
Miriam Lansdon
Rae Belkin

Visit: Northwind Arts Center is located at 2409 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend. Come down the hill from the highway, and you will see Safeway on your left. Continue past the boatyard (on your right). Look for the red and black Northwind sign on your right just beyond Henery’s Garden Center. Welcome!

Northwind is open Thursday through Monday, noon – 5 PM. We are closed January 1 through 15 for maintenance. We are also closed the Monday and Thursday before a new show opens, in order to do tear down and setup. Check the gallery schedule for shows and dates.

Northwind Arts Center

2409 Jefferson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368 (360) 379 1086

Volunteer: Volunteers are the heart of Northwind!  With the exception of our gallery manager, our bookkeeper and the director of Arts for Elders, all three part time, Northwind is an all-volunteer organization.

Join the more than 90 enthusiastic volunteers who work here for fun, fellowship and the future of Northwind. We have many jobs available, from gallery docents to committee chairs. You’ll also have a chance to hear artist’s and juror’s previews of our new shows, and take field trips to other art venues. For more information, call Karen Putterman at (360) 379 2620.