Sounding like veterans of the tech industry that they are hoping to better collaborate with, the co-founders of Seattle-based Future Arts have their sights set on a “big, hairy, audacious goal” (BHAG).
The 3 1/2-year-old women-led nonprofit was founded as a way to bridge the tech-arts wage gap and to strengthen the connections between those working in tech and those creating tech-infused art in the city.
The big goal is to have an artist-in-residence at every tech company in Seattle in 10 years. They’re particularly interested in targeting startups on the GeekWire 200 — our ranked index of fast-growing companies in the Pacific Northwest.
“If we’re really looking at Seattle to be the leader in tech arts, tech media, tech innovation and culture, that’s what we’re interested in,” said Yuliya Bruk, Future Arts co-founder and executive director. “We know for a fact that residencies work in terms of community engagement, cultural development, vibrancy in a creative economy.”
Bruk is leading the organization alongside Anna Czoski, the creative technology director. Both are graduates of the University of Washington’s Digital Arts and Experimental Media program.
Czoski was focused on computer animation, games and mechatronic art in college. She spent time in the game industry and UX design and founded a short-lived VR company. Bruk has a background heavy in photography and filmmaking.
When the tech boom in Seattle reshaped the landscape and pushed art spaces out of South Lake Union and elsewhere, Bruk said she decided she needed to go to Amazon and to “the belly of the beast” to better understand what artists were up against. She spent more than seven years at the tech giant in marketing/advertising roles.
As Seattle has emerged as a leading city in attracting workers skilled in the latest technologies, median earnings for tech workers hit record highs of $157,000 in 2023. That’s more than double what artists in Seattle make. And Future Arts sees a city in danger of losing more of its cultural and creative identity.
“We’re an amazing incubator for creativity and creatives. And then they leave to New York, they leave to L.A.,” Bruk said. “We have to have an environment and ecosystem where folks want to come to Seattle … for interdisciplinary creativity and support and artist residencies. Not just, ‘Oh, it’s an old tech town.'”
Through partnerships, sponsorships, and grants, Future Arts has been able to facilitate a number of programs, initiatives and public art installations for underserved artists working with technology. The nonprofit has a strong focus on youth education and also runs a “hybrid livestream experience” called Future Arts Live! to facilitate conversation and interaction with artists.
In a bid to be able to pay more artists and the people helping to run Future Arts, the organization launched a new membership program called Future Sparks. Monthly contributions as low as $10 are meant to help community members contribute to the cause of supporting the arts and gain access to future events.
Companies such as Amazon, Meta and others have demonstrated a willingness to bring art and artists into their buildings in different ways. Amazon does have an artist-in-residence program, and the company dedicated space in its re:Invent office tower for the new home of Gage Academy of Art.
But Bruk and Czoski think every tech company should be running to have an artist working alongside engineers, developers, program mangers and others. They envision their BHAG as the spark that moves Seattle beyond being just a tech hub.
“We have a beautiful, beautiful city, but its heart needs to keep beating into the future,” Bruk said. “We’ve got to create some new things.”
