Record Group 403
ARTS COMMISSION

The King County Arts Commission (KCAC) was created officially with the passage of Resolution 32682 by the King County Commissioners in late 1966. The KCAC originally was to be composed of twelve members, representing all areas of the arts, who were to be appointed by the commissioners. The initial charge of the KCAC was to serve in an advisory capacity to the commissioners and to make "such recommendations as it deems proper for the beautification and cultural development of the County." In 1969, following the adoption of Ordinance 00110 by the King County Council, the KCAC was established formally as a program under the County Executive, becoming, in the process, the first publicly funded county arts agency in the United States.

The Arts Commission received its first operating budget from King County in 1970. In 1973, Ordinance 1511 established the innovative One Percent for Art Program. This new legislation, the first adopted by a U.S. county, set aside one percent of funding for most county capital improvement projects for the creation or acquisition of public art.

Over the years of its existence staff support and administration for the Arts Commission was provided by a variety of agencies. Once a division of the Office of Cultural Resources (OCR), the KCAC saw its mission change and its scope broaden through several reorganization plans. During its tenure under the OCR, the Arts Commission was composed of nine volunteer members appointed by the County Executive. The Arts Commission was charged with advising the Executive and Council regarding arts policy, developing policies to guide programs, identifying projects and initiatives to increase public access to the Arts, and acting as an advocate for the arts. In 2002, following another major reorganization of county government, legislation to dissolve the OCR and recreate it as a separate, quasi-independent public development authority was passed by the Council. Programs that had been administered previously by the OCR, including those of the KCAC, became the responsibility of the new Cultural Development Authority (CDA).

403-255 Annual reports, 1971-1980
Typewritten reports of Arts Commission activities, including information on officers and staff, commissioners, financial statements, programs and statistics.

Volume: 0.33 cu ft

403-278 Earthworks files, 1979
Project files from Earthworks symposium held in Seattle from July 31 to August 18, 1979. The symposium addressed earthwork sculpture as a land reclamation tool. The symposium was made up of completed earthworks, proposals for future earthworks, public forums and panel discussions relating to land reclamation and environmental art. Included in the files are artwork proposals, correspondence, vouchers, symposium transcripts, and videotapes. The symposium was a project of the King County Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and other public and private sponsors.

Volume: 7.66 cu ft

403-267 Gallery artists files, 1980-1989
Correspondence, contracts, press releases, work samples and administrative files concerning artists exhibiting work at the King County Arts Commission gallery and the Arts Commission's administration of the gallery.

Volume: 0.67 cu ft

403-259 Organization files, 1967-1981
Correspondence, budgets, plans, minutes and organizational data concerning the management of the Arts Commission and its staff.

Volume: 1 cu ft

403-258 Program files, 1971-1981
Correspondence, budget data, reports and administrative files concerning Arts Commission programs, including seminars, classes, the 1% for Art Program, and the Writers in the Jail project.

Volume: 1 cu ft

403-266 Public Art Space files, 1985-1987
Correspondence, press releases, press clippings, floor plans, work samples and reports dealing with the Public Art Space, a gallery at the Seattle Center jointly sponsored by the King County and Seattle Arts Commissions.

Volume: 0.33 cu ft

Volume: 0.33 cu ft

403-257 The Arts, 1972-1990
A monthly newsletter, The Arts began publication as a joint effort of the Seattle and King County Arts Commissions in 1972. In April 1977 the newsletter discontinued its affiliation with the City of Seattle and became a County publication. The Arts contains information of Arts Commission meetings, programs, shows, job openings in the performing arts, articles on artists, and opinion pieces.

Volume: 0.67 cu ft

403-256 The Written Arts, 1984-1989
The Written Arts began in 1977 as a supplement to The Arts, and became a separate publication in 1984. Containing both prose and poetry, the publication emphasizes Northwest writers.

Volume: 0.33 cu ft