About

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Vestibule acknowledges that we are on the ancestral land of Native communities including the Puget Sound Salish and Duwamish peoples.

We acknowledge that we benefit from the prosperity of the United States, which was built on the labor of enslaved people. Please join us in expressing our deepest respect and gratitude for the descendants of those who built this country.

about us

The Vestibule is an artist-forward exhibition space in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. We frequently showcase 3d projects and noncommercial installations. We work closely with artists in collaborative exhibitions, and we invite artists as guest curators. We support the sale of artworks on a low, sliding scale for commission and do not exclusively represent artists.

non profit sponsorship

The Vestibule is proud to be fiscally sponsored by the 501c3 Northwest Film Forum.

Give now

Support us and keep the shows low-commission by donating here or signing up here to volunteer!, buying books, existential totes and tees and art in person or online.

MISSION

The Vestibule is a micro-cultural center and artist-forward exhibition space, showcasing conceptually-drive, three-dimensional and installation art from the Pacific Northwest.

VISION

Art lives in a vestibule, the passage between the private and public life, between inside and out. Vestibule names not only passages in architecture but in the body - eyes, nose, ears and the so ons and so forths. Art passes between. We dream of a culture in which everyone opens the vestibule of their private life to public life. Private life doesn’t have to be the end of life. Public life can be the aim of life.

The Vestibule brings public art to a primarily residential neighborhood in North Seattle which has few dedicated art galleries. As a nontraditional gallery space, we enjoy exhibiting time-specific work: this might include a performance, a participatory event, community contributions, an artwork that changes over the course of the show.  We hold panels, discussions, and meet-ups. We support projects that benefit nonprofit organizations. We frequently showcase womxn and nonbinary artists in pursuit of our goal of supporting artists not historically represented by commercial art structures.  We encourage submissions by persons of color and indigenous artists.

To forward this mission, we also sell books, totes, tee-shirts and… art!

Vestibule 1.0

Vestibule 1.0 was a place to get intimate with art. You could sleep with art in our Air BnB. During exhibitions visitosa slept inside installations and beside new work by PNW artists. Read about our project in the Seattle Times! 

The gallery supported emerging artists who show work, commission-free; earned income from short-term rental offset the cost of maintaining this space.

Vestibule 3.0

We hope to recreate some of the elements of our original space in our future studio space to be constructed on Lopez Island. Stayed tuned for news on this long-term plan.