the arts

AMOCAT Arts Awards

Stay informed!  Join the TacomaArt Listserv to receive and post information about arts events and opportunities or join the TACelist to simply receive periodic emails from the Tacoma Arts Commission about sponsored opportunities and programming. Check out the TacomaArt Listserv & TACelist page for more information.

AMOCAT Arts Awards

The AMOCAT Arts awards recognize those in our community who provide distinctive contributions to the arts. The honorees work hard to support and build our community by innovating in artistic excellence. AMOCAT award recipients are nominated and selected by the Tacoma Arts Commission. 

The three categories for recognition are Community Outreach by an Artist, Community Outreach by an Organization, and Arts Patron. Each exhibit vision, dedication, and action in creating a lively arts community in Tacoma.

 

2008 Community Outreach by an Artist award - Linda Danforth
Tacoma jewelry artist Linda Danforth specializes in one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces, often using gemstones from her travels around the world. Her jewelry is found locally at Dame Lola and SAVI Day Spa, and at various other boutiques and spas. 

About two years ago Linda downsized her housing "footprint" and went in search of an affordable studio in which to move her jewelry business. Finding nothing available at the price she'd hoped for and figuring other people must be having the same problem, she opened the Jet Artist Cooperative on the UW Tacoma campus to welcome other artists in need of low-cost studio space. The space filled up immediately and six months later, she opened the Broadway Artist Cooperative at the other end of town. Both studios are open-concept with the mission to provide affordable workspace and support for artists.

More recently, Linda has mixed her jewelry design and business skills with her other passion for global poverty alleviation through micro-entrepreneur programs. Linda taught jewelry making to girls at the Hèrè jè Center in Mali, West Africa, a program of the Schillios Development Foundation of which Linda is a huge fan. After spending time at the Hèrè jè training facility, Linda traveled around Mali and stumbled upon a women's cooperative that inspired her. Women at this cooperative paid 40 cents a month to be able to use equipment at the facility - sewing machines, candle making equipment and jewelry tools - to help them support their families.

After returning home she hoped she'd find a model in the U.S. that she could propose to copy in Tacoma . Finding nothing quite like it, she built an advisory board to develop a plan anyway. One year ago this month, Tacoma Art Place opened - our own non-profit art facility to bring affordable access to art equipment to the community for creative pleasure or a business effort.  Tacoma Art Place hopes to be sustainable with volunteer support from the community and to provide support for artists and aspiring artists for years to come.

Contact:
www.TacomaArtPlace.org
info@TacomaArtPlace.org 
253.238.1006
www.JetArtistCooperative.com www.BroadwayArtistCooperative.com

 

2008 Community Outreach by an Organization award - King's Books
King’s Books is tyrannically run by two felines: Miko is more prone to the visual arts and Harriet is more inclined to the literary. With this dual focus, the bookstore strives to be a community center for arts. To this end, they work with community organizations to host a wide variety of events to highlight the various communities of Tacoma .

King’s Books showcases the letterpress and book arts community with such annual events as the Wayzgoose festival and the Book Arts Auction. Working with publishers and the local poetry community, they host frequent author and poetry readings. King’s Books also seeks to foster a culture of word nerds with such events as the annual Spelling Bee and the Smartest Person In Tacoma Contest. Intellectual freedom and the freedom to read are celebrated with annual events around Banned Books Week. Lastly, the bookstore provides a venue for discussions of politics and peace.

King’s Books also partners with public schools on events to raise money, for both school activities and school libraries, and to foster the next generation of readers.

Contact:
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Avenue
253.272.8801
www.kingsbookstore.com 

 

2008 Arts Patron award - Hotel Murano
Hotel Murano features glass artists from all over the world, educating guests on various glass art techniques and introducing artists from the United States , Europe and Asia . With more than 45 artists showcased in the lobby, the exterior and the guest floors, every step in the hotel is an artful journey. From its exterior entrance where Costas Varotsos – internationally renowned Greek artist – has created a 104-foot masterpiece of glass called “Orizon” (horizon in Greek) sharing its magnificence with all of downtown Tacoma to the interior where art is deeply integrated in function and design, the hotel will stimulate anyone’s artistic sense. 

The Hotel Murano supports Tacoma ’s already established art community by partnering with the Museum of Glass and the Tacoma Art Museum to offer hotel packages (Artsy Fartsy Package, Hot Piece of Glass Package) to their guests and supporting their fundraising efforts. They also offer glass art tours of the hotel, providing yet another attraction for the city’s visitors and natives and further lifting the community to an art destination.

Contact:
Hotel Murano
1320 Broadway Plaza , Tacoma

253.572.3200

www.hotelmuranotacoma.com

 

2007 AMOCAT award recipients
Click here to learn about the 2007 recipients  

2006 AMOCAT award recipients
Click here to learn about the 2006 recipients   

2005 AMOCAT award  recipients
Click here to learn about the 2005 recipients.