Consolidated Works
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Consolidated Works is a "multi-disciplinary contemporary arts center" located in a former warehouse in the Cascade neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA. It incorporates an art gallery, a theater, a cinema, and a music/dance/lecture hall, as well as studio spaces for artists and a bar and lounge.
The center was founded in 1997 by Matthew Richter. Richter had previously worked at Seattle's alternative newspaper, The Stranger, as theatre editor. Funding came from grants, donations, and corporate sponsorship, and The Stranger also agreed to provide advertising for events at ConWorks in exchange for storage space at its warehouse. Richter became the center's Executive Director, with Shiffler becoming Director of Visual Art until 2003.
The center opened in 1999, working from temporary premises on Terry Avenue for three years. ConWorks' renovated facility at 500 Boren Avenue North opened on 13 September 2002. The refit of the 35,000 ft² warehouse, built in 1948, cost almost half a million dollars.
Consolidated Works' aim is to give all the artforms equal billing - to be "neither a theater with art in the lobby nor a gallery with a stage in back; it is neither a cinema that plays music nor a music hall that shows films" [1] (http://www.conworks.org/about.php3). To this end, its presentations have offered both high profile artists like Andy Warhol alongside emerging talent, primarily from the Pacific Northwest. This policy of encouraging young creative professionals also includes an Artist-in-Residence program.
As well as mounting its own productions and exhibitions, the center also hosts touring events - and critics have voiced the opinion that it is these shows that are most successful: e.g. the Curiously Strong contemporary art program (sponsored by Altoids) and the popular 14/48 theater show (where 14 short plays are written and produced in 48 hours, begun in 1997). However, Richter's vision was one of experimentalism, and he argued that "if the quality of the programming was always of a strong finished caliber, then we weren't doing our job right" [2] (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002202172_richter10.html).
Re-structuring of 2005
On 8 February 2005, the board of Consolidated Works dismissed Matthew Richter, the co-founder and Executive Director. The president of the board, Robb Krieg, did not publically reveal the reasons for the firing, although Richter believed it surrounded "relationship skills and leadership skills" [3] (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002202172_richter10.html). The move followed a number of resignations from the center under Richter's leadership.
Richter's dismissal caused consternation in the Seattle arts community. A 36-signature petition was presented to the board, signed by senior figures in other local institutions [4] (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/212161_conworks16.html), and all of ConWorks' creative staff resigned.
The center is, at time of writing, being run by the board alone, and its future strategy is unknown.
References
- Official site (http://www.conworks.org/about.php3)
- 'Explanations differ in firing at ConWorks', The Seattle Times, 10 March 2005 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002202172_richter10.html)
- ibid.
- 'Arts community rallies for Richter', Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 16 February 2005 (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/212161_conworks16.html)
External link
- Official site (http://www.conworks.org/)