About the Gallery
Crawl Space is a nonprofit exhibition space that incites community interest in the visual arts by engaging in critical discussion surrounding art. Through exhibitions, public forums, publications, and experimental projects organized by a dedicated artist board, we challenge early career artists to develop informed and influential new work.
Programs
Crawl Space produces a unique annual program of nine month-long exhibitions with opening celebration events and quarterly moderated public discussions and artist presentations. This includes solo shows by member artists as well as a number of special programs including an annual juried exhibition curated by an established arts professional in the community and various guest artist exhibitions selected from a pool of submissions. Every summer, for our Studio Intensive residency we select one artist from a pool of national and international applicants to live and work in the gallery for one week, and then put on a culminating exhibition. As part of a free, one-to-two page publication accompanying every exhibition, we invite writers to present a observation, discussion and/or analytical response to the artwork. With a growing reputation around the country and overseas, we are able to exhibit a wide range of works from local and international artists that range from the latest installations by our Seattle-based member artists to multi-screen video works by early career artists from abroad.
History and Organizational Structure
Crawl Space was founded in 2003 by six working artists hoping to further the creation and exhibition of innovative artwork by early career artists in the region. By developing a tight-knit base of artist members, Crawl Space has won acclaim and expanded the gallery’s audience by offering viewers and artists a unique exhibition platform in the Northwest.
In 2008, the organization recruited and hired a dedicated director to replace the artist member who was serving as our founding director. Since then we have increased our volunteer administrative support to include five-member artist board, one public forum and outreach manager, one webmaster, one installation specialist and two interns. The artist board meets at least twice each month to curate, plan and coordinate programming, and to organize fundraising events.
In the Press
Crawl Space has won acclaim and increasing support from local press and both local and national funders. In both 2006 and 2008, we made the Genius Award shortlist for best Arts Organization from Seattle’s weekly newspaper, The Stranger; in 2008, The Stranger listed two of our exhibitions among the top ten shows of the year (please visit This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on and Home Field Advantage). In addition, in 2008 we received a 4Culture Sustainable Organizations Grant, our first operating grant, and in 2009, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation awarded us funding to produce a sizeable publication documenting our exhibitions and accompanying writings.
Fiscal Sponsor
Crawl Space is a Partner Artist of Shunpike, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts services organization.
Shunpike is a 501c3 non-profit art service organization, whose mission is to strengthen the Seattle arts community by partnering with small and mid-size arts groups to develop the business tools they need to succeed. It was founded in 2001 to support a vibrant and diverse local arts community where arts groups of all sizes could thrive. Working in close partnership with these groups, Shunpike helps solve problems quickly and impart vital skills in finance, organizational management and arts administration. Since inception, they have supported work by more than 2,000 artists in live performance, film, literary arts, visual arts and arts education.
Crawl Space receives financial support from 4Culture’s Sustained Support Program:
