Grunge. Mystical modernism. Jazz on Jackson Street: Seattle has long been a hotbed for creativity. But it’s getting harder and harder for artists to afford to live here and continue making work. Many arts organizations were struggling before the pandemic, and are now finding it more difficult to draw people back to live shows. While precarity has long been part and parcel of the arts scene, many creatives say the pandemic has shone a light on just how unsustainable the creative sector is. What will it take for the local arts ecosystem to flourish? In this series of stories Crosscut reporter Margo Vansynghel explores the solutions that could help Seattle arts not just survive, but thrive.
