ABOUT US
MISSION
ART PARTY fosters creative experimentation, radical rest, and community through recurring low-barrier residencies for multidisciplinary artists and an outdoor summer festival of site-responsive work for PNW audiences. All leave encountering new artists and innovative work, set against the backdrop of an inspiring natural environment.
VISION
Nourishing a community of artists and art lovers .
FESTIVAL
An outdoor festival of site-responsive art, installation, dance, music, workshops, theatre, readings, and interactive opportunities featuring PNW artists. With programming that spans 24-hours and is set throughout a beautiful property, attendees have the chance to encounter new and experimental art, meet new people over a shared meal, float in the creek, explore the forest trails, and relax on the meadow. Attendees can opt to camp on site, stay locally, or come just for the day.
RESIDENCIES
We support artists from across disciplines through no-cost micro-residencies utilizing a nomination system which provide opportunities for artists to connect, experiment, refine, and be fed without an expectation of producing. Through light facilitation and shared meals, artists have the space and structure to both rest and create. Some artists choose to use this time to experiment beyond their expertise, others deepen their own craft, and many build new collaborative partnerships organically. Past residencies have featured readings, workshops, performances, and installations activating the natural environment. Artists leave fed, rested, inspired, and connected to a broader community.
HISTORY
In 2022, theatre artists Francesca Betancourt (aka Cessa) and Jess K Smith started dreaming of an outdoor art festival in the woods. One year later they gathered with ten artists from a range of disciplines (dance, rap, projection, comedy, installation, tabletop world building games, digital art, music, etc.) for a micro-residency and artistic think tank affectionately called ART PARTY. The goal was to move away from a culture of urgency, productivity, expectation, and burnout toward one of experimentation, connection, care, and invitation. Over one weekend and many shared meals, the artists developed a mini festival, a blueprint for low-barrier artist residencies, and an enduring mantra - “Big fan, love your work!”
Since that initial residency, Cessa and Jess have hosted quarterly ART PARTY residencies for a growing roster of regional artists, and will host the first ever annual ART PARTY FESTIVAL of new and exciting site responsive work this coming Summer of 2025.