MadArt’s mission is to support emerging artists in our community, to bring art into our lives in unexpected ways, and to create community involvement in the arts.

MadArt is a contemporary art organization that serves as a catalyst for creating new large-scale, site-specific works by providing artists with opportunity and support. Started in 2009, MadArt’s initial programming was nomadic and took place in a variety of non-traditional spaces. These included houses slated for demolition, business storefronts, public parks, and The University of Washington campus. By exhibiting in these places, MadArt not only created a forum for the community to connect with contemporary art outside of traditional viewing spaces, but also established rich community partnerships.

In 2014, MadArt moved into MadArt Studio, an architecturally distinct masonry-and-wood build from the 1920s, redesigned by Seattle-based Graham Baba Architects. The impetus for creating a physical space for site-specific exhibition was to further engage public audiences by exposing the installation and making processes of selected artists and to challenge artists to expand on their practices. By remaining free and open to the public during all phases of construction, visitors have an opportunity to engage directly with the artists and their developing work.