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Seattle Arts and Lectures moves to 15th Ave E, plans to stay forever (and ever)

Literary-focused nonprofit Seattle Arts and Lectures has made Capitol Hill its home base. The organization migrated from its previous office in Georgetown to a new spot on 15th Ave E where architecture firm Board and Vellum was housed until its move earlier this summer.

“We’re so grateful to be here and be part of such a vibrant art community and such a vibrant neighborhood.” director Ruth Dickey said. Dickey said that though the move came because SAL’s landlord in Georgetown wanted the space, the organization is ecstatic about its new neighborhood. “We hope to stay forever.”

SAL is an almost 30-year-old nonprofit that showcases and supports the literary arts in Seattle through events with literary figures like Isabel Allende, John Updike, and Alison Bechdel, and programs that places local writers in city public schools to “spark student interest in reading and writing.”

When SAL started looking for a new location, Dickey said the organization’s priority was finding somewhere located close to venues where it frequently puts on events, like Town Hall, Benaroya Hall, the Sorrento Hotel, and the Seattle Center. From this perspective, Dickey said Capitol Hill was perfect — the Sorrento and Town Hall are nearby, and Benaroya and the Seattle Center are just down the Hill. In SAL’s upcoming season, Marina Abramović and Roxane Gay are scheduled to perform at Town Hall, and several events showcasing local artists are scheduled for the Sorrento.

The square footage of the 15th Ave E office is a little smaller than the nonprofit’s Georgetown digs, but Dickey said that the only change SAL had to make to the space was taking out some of Board and Vellum’s built-in desks to make more room. On a typical day, nine people work out of the office, plus Murry and Lannon, SAL’s “canine coworkers.” Dickey said a rotating cast of volunteers and summer interns also pass through the office.

Dickey said that while the Capitol Hill office is the “nerve center” of SAL, the move will not, sadly, result in a greater number of SAL events in the area. SAL would like to meet their new neighbors, however. Dickey said people are welcome to stop by anytime and say hello.

To learn more about SAL and the organization’s upcoming events, visit lectures.org.

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John M. Feit
John M. Feit
7 years ago

Welcome to Capitol Hill!