Artist Sean Yoro painting a floating mural for Tacoma Ocean Fest
FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS
The Tacoma Creates Advisory Board has approved funding for the 2023-24 funding cycle to 65 arts, culture, heritage, and science organizations in Tacoma, totaling approximately $5.6 million. This funding cycle covers work from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, and includes a range of public programming for all ages, youth education programs, and a commitment to equitable and inclusive access for people throughout the City of Tacoma.
FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS The Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality recently launched the inaugural year of Tacoma Creates, funding 58 organizations whose primary purpose is to advance or preserve arts, culture, heritage, and science. These organizations’ work includes a range of public programming for all ages, youth education programs, and a commitment to equitable and inclusive access for people throughout the City of Tacoma. Read More. Explore the list of funded organizations below, and click on their photos to learn more on each organization’s website.
Explore the list of 2023-24 funded organizations below, and click on their photos to learn more on each organization’s website.
To see the funding history from previous years, visit the Funding History page, and check out the Events page for current programs.
Alchemy Skateboarding is dedicated to providing opportunities for young people to skate, create, learn and grow through a variety of in-school and out-of-school camps, classes, and programs.
Arts First aims to empower individuals of all ages, from youth to adults, by granting them the opportunity to participate in the arts. They achieve this by offering free filmmaking and dance classes in Tacoma, ensuring access to creative education for everyone.
Asia Pacific Cultural Center is a center for cultural exchange - providing programs and services that promote, honor, and celebrate the Asia Pacific people, representing 47 different countries.
Barefoot Collective is a community-based organization dedicated to creating opportunities for dance and related arts in the Greater Tacoma Area. Our goal is to foster a creative community through service projects, creative connections, and a collaborative spirit.
The Buffalo Soldiers Museum is about courage, bravery, dedication, and loyalty to this country. Their military history and contributions are a story of inspiration. These men persevered in adverse conditions to prove their love and loyalty to this nation.
Capoeira Vida is dedicated to providing equitable access to empowering Capoeira Angola teachings in Tacoma for art, culture and vitality, focusing on under-resourced and under-represented youth and families.
CRPF is a non-profit organization that advances civic harmony by way of the Tacoma Chinese Garden & Reconciliation Park on Schuster Parkway in Old Town along Commencement Bay.
Classical Tuesdays in Old Town offers free music events at Slavonian Hall in Old Town Tacoma, on the second Tuesday, October through February, and at Old Town Park in September. The series showcases diverse musicians from the Tacoma area in world music, local composers, a youth ensemble, or string quartets.
For over 30 years, CHB has engaged the community in the cleanup, restoration, and protection of our natural environment. Today, CHB’s work is deeply tied to the values and principles of environmental justice – combining aspirations of both a just society and a sustainable environment.
Cousin Collective is a community-based arts, agriculture, education, and liberation organization collaboratively problem-solving in Tacoma, Washington. Cousin Collective prioritizes recognizing and honoring the will and intention of our community.
Our mission is to support queer and disabled dancers in creating accessible space to work in dance professionally. Our work focuses on the Weird and Wonderful aspects of folklore, queerness and disability.
Destiny City Music Collective is dedicated to providing quality, affordable music instruction and performance opportunities to South Sound communities.
Esperanza Móbil is a mobile family resource center focusing on the Spanish-speaking community dedicated to bringing resources, workshops, and help to the Latino community.
FabLab Nonprofit provides hands on STEAM education experiences to youth and adults with a focus on increasing access to technology education. They have classes, workshops, camps and clubs in computer coding, 3D printing, engineering, drones, CNC laser, CNC router, welding, TinkerCad, and Inscape.
The Foss Waterway Seaport is Puget Sound’s maritime heritage education and event center where families, groups, and communities come to discover, explore, learn, and play.
Golden Bamboo is a senior walking group with a mission to bridge communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business. This walking group for seniors provides a safe way to keep active and support one another.
Greentrike powers the Children’s Museums of Tacoma and at JBLM, and programs that honor children and youth. Greentrike, formerly Children’s Museum of Tacoma, has championed play in Pierce County since 1985 with immersive indoor playscapes and early learning resources.
Hilltop Artists uses glass art to connect young people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to better futures.
The mission of the HBA & the Hilltop Street Fair is to recover from the pandemic, reinvent this community idea, as a signature Hilltop event, and rejuvenate the festival with new and lasting inclusion and creativity.
The Job Carr Cabin Museum (JCCM) is a replica of Tacoma's first permanent non-Native residence. It was built in 2000, about a block away from the original site of Job’s frontier home.
LUSS’s mission is to facilitate the engagement of South Sound Latinos in the broader community by calling attention to the expressed needs of this diverse group, encouraging pride in Latino cultural heritage, and promoting and expanding on existing opportunities and resources.
LeMay – America’s Car Museum is an international destination for families and auto enthusiasts to celebrate America’s love affair with the automobile, and learn how it shaped our society.
Mi Centro is a community-based non-profit that works with the Latino and Indigenous native families through our educational programs, crisis intervention, family outreach services, arts & culture programming, and advocacy efforts that concern families and our community.
Museum of Glass (MOG) serves as the only contemporary art museum in the West dedicated to the medium of glass. Through hands-on access, impactful and engaging artist residencies, compelling exhibitions, and unique programs, MOG helps to ignite creativity, fuel discovery, and enrich lives through glass and glassmaking.
Music & Heart in Wright Park brings 8 Bands from Bach to Rock to Tacoma’s Wright Park Arboretum. Experience Live Art and Art Exhibits with Su·per·flu·ous, Art vendors in collaboration with the Tacoma Art Market and an interactive installation by Artists 4 Life in the Sound.
Northwest Sinfonietta brings world-class art music experiences to Tacoma, serving our community with innovative and inspiring chamber orchestra concerts, community events, and student arts engagement opportunities for over 30 years.
Oasis Youth Center is the only organization dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ youth 14-24 throughout Pierce County. Oasis provides engaging programs 6-days a week, special events throughout the year, vital resources and system navigation, as well as a 24/7 crisis line for youth and providers. Oasis has been a trusted organization serving the community since 1985 and we look forward to continuing to uplift and support queer youth!
ORS of Tacoma provides music students of all levels and ages the opportunity to perform on a non-competitive basis as soloist with live orchestral accompaniment in musical festivals (fall, spring) that are open to the public.
PNWDF is dedicated to equitable art education for all through free classes, materials and performance opportunities in our community.
Permaculture Lifestyle Institute (PLI) empowers communities through information, education, and demonstration of Permaculture systems, to develop climate resilient, ecologically sensitive and sustainable community infrastructure systems that are climate and culturally relevant.
The Playground Kiki aims to engage, empower, and create space for Black and Brown LGBTQS2+ communities: using cultural arts, social justice and wellness programming support queer expression, promote health and mobilize coalitions.
Puget Sound Revels builds and celebrates community through traditional (and not-so-traditional) song, dance and story drawn from many cultures and times. Revels is a convener of communal celebration - offering theater productions, seasonal celebrations, and educational opportunities for all ages.
Queer NW’s mission is to enhance the betterment of the LGBTQ+ community of the Pacific Northwest by showcasing the unique and talented individuals, groups, and organizations with emphasis on art, culture, health, and rights that make this community’s diversity incredibly remarkable.
Through education, advocacy, and celebration, Rainbow Center expands resources and safe space for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. Rainbow Center’s Education Program offers introductory, advanced, and custom cultural competency training. Rainbow Center also produces the Tacoma Pride Festival, a community event that centers and celebrates the LGBTQ community.
[COMING SOON]
We are located between State and Alder on 6th Ave. It is a busy and vibrant area of Tacoma.
Spaceworks unlocks opportunities by connecting creative professionals with space, training, and business resources. From the entrepreneurs and artists who dream big dreams to the Tacoma residents and donors who love their city and want to see it thrive, they are empowering the community and revitalizing the city one brilliant idea at a time.
Swan Creek Art Academy
Swan Creek Art Academy provides underserved communities with innovative arts education that is accessible, affordable and inclusive.
Symphony Tacoma’s mission is to build community through music. Inspiring audiences with live symphonic experiences that transcend tradition, our part-time professional orchestra annually performs concerts for nearly 15,000 citizens and provides education programs for approximately 6,000 youth in the Greater Pierce County Region.
Tacoma Arts Live is a non-profit arts organization and regional performing arts center. Tacoma Arts Live’s vision is for a South Sound community that honors all cultures and enjoys shared prosperity, and their mission is to energize community through live performance.
Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is a premier destination and resource for the art of the Pacific Northwest and the broader Western region. Celebrating over 85 years, TAM’s mission is to transform communities by sharing art that inspires broader perspectives and cultivates a compassionate future. TAM’s collection contains more than 5,400 works.
Tacoma Boat Builders creates transformational opportunities by providing programs for marginalized and court-connected youth through positive mentorship, hands-on learning through woodworking and on-the-water activities.
The Tacoma City Association of Colored Women’s Clubs promotes and improves the education, health, economic and cultural awareness of all citizens regardless of race and/or ethnic group so that lives and relationships are improved and the quality of the community is enhanced.
The Tacoma Concert Band provides the Puget Sound community with a professional quality wind ensemble performing the finest symphonic band music; offers a high-quality performance opportunity to local wind and percussion musicians; and supports and encourages the region's school band programs.
Tacoma Historical Society preserves, presents, and promotes Tacoma's history, and its vision is for generations to be connected by the many stories of our city's past. Members of THS and its museum forge these connections between past and present by collecting, documenting and sharing the unique history of our city.
The Tacoma Light Trail is a free festival of light art and sound in downtown Tacoma, with a sound/art Trail, New Year’s Eve parade, live performances and lighted bike ride. The festival uses light art to bring light to dark times, lift up diverse voices and bring the community together through values we all share – truth, hope, justice, peace.
Tacoma Little Theatre is a historic national award-winning live community theatre employing professional standards of excellence. During each season TLT produces seven main stage productions, seven staged readings, youth productions, education classes for all ages, murder mysteries, and other special events.
The Tacoma Music Academy formed for the purpose of advancement of music education. Our mission is to provide quality music education opportunities to children of Tacoma and Pierce County, regardless of income and ability to pay; to make music education accessible to underserved populations; and to promote the overall developmental benefits of music education.
Founded in 1994, Tacoma Musical Playhouse presents fully-staged musicals, family theater, and specialty shows. TMP is the largest National and International Award-Winning community theater in the PNW with year-round educational programs.
Tacoma Opera Association is Tacoma’s professional opera company, serving Pierce County and the surrounding region by offering traditional and non-traditional operatic productions in an intimate, atmospheric setting that allows audiences to experience opera in a uniquely personal way, touching the heart and stimulating the mind.
Tacoma Photo Center provides the community with arts education / community building and a safe space to create. They are open for all mediums of art, but have express expertise in photography and film production.
The Tacoma Refugee Choir is composed of refugees, immigrants, and supporters who sing together to educate and inspire change in our community. Community building and education are central to TRC’s program, emphasizing the power of each individual to welcome and support others and use their voice to make a difference.
Tacoma Sister Cities strives to enhance communication, promote goodwill and understanding and foster continuing relationships by people to people contact between Tacoma and its recognized Sister Cities of foreign nations.
Tacoma Tree Foundation’s mission is to educate, empower, and support community members in neighborhood-based greening, and help to create a greener, healthier, and more connected Tacoma area.
T.U.P.A.C. provides the people of Tacoma, particularly Black and BIPOC youth in the historic Hilltop community, with opportunities to achieve artistic excellence through culturally relevant pre-professional dance training, community events, and classes & performance opportunities in the performing arts.
Celebrating 60 years, the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association provides inspiring and engaging music education to Tacoma area youth. Through weekly rehearsals, coaching sessions, masterclasses, music theory classes, summer camps, and FREE community events, TYSA teaches valuable life skills, like teamwork and discipline, while students have fun and create lasting friendships.
Ted Brown Music Outreach gives musical instruments to students who would not be able to participate in a music program. They offer music therapy programs year-round and three summer programs: Instrument Exploration, Jazz Improv and Live It OutLoud Rock School. They believe music makes life better and everyone should participate.
The Grand Cinema is an independent movie theater that focuses on films of highest quality that often would not otherwise play in Pierce County. As a community gathering spot, they also work to promote local filmmakers, create youth film camps, produce The Tacoma Film Festival, host visiting filmmakers, and create ongoing social dialogue through film.
The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra is an organization dedicated to providing high-quality performances and music education to communities around the globe. Through the use of concerts, workshops, composing, recording, and cultural exchanges, KKWO brings people together through the broad scope of music and the jazz art form.
The Night Show is an ongoing live event series based in Tacoma, WA. Executed in the style of classic late-night television, The Night Show features interviews, games, and musical performances designed for a multi-cultural, multi-generational audience.
Toolbox Laboratories facilitates hands-on learning opportunities for youth and adults, with the purpose of empowering individuals through equitable educational opportunities. They offer monthly community events where attendees can participate in a STEAM themed activity at no cost, removing barriers in accessing their programs. In addition, they offer woodworking and home repair classes.
Truth Movement Innertainment (TMI) focuses on uplifting and highlighting the stories that connect communities through multimedia and curated spaces. They strive on the values of community, truth, and passion. Their north star is to see Black and Brown history be accurately documented and local heroes uplifted!
BYTM/WayOut Kids a local, non-profit organization, has developed, and implemented programming as a ‘way out’ for minority and low income under-served populations. Their team partners with organizations, school districts, parents, and teachers to educate youth through programs and community events that engage children in important issues that improve their life choices, overall health, and long-term success.
The World Affairs Council Tacoma (WACT) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to promote public understanding of world affairs, and to enhance the ability of its members to engage in a global community. They feature guest speakers such as international figures, academics, business professionals, and journalists.
Write253 is a literary arts organization whose mission is to provide meaningful and transformative writing and printmaking opportunities that cross boundaries and create community for youth in greater Tacoma.