Apply to Join Our Board

Apply to become an Olympia Artspace Alliance Board Member

The current mission of Olympia Artspace Alliance is to preserve, develop, and advocate for affordable live, work, and exhibition space for artists in Olympia, Washington. OAA’s work, on behalf of artists of all artistic expression, is guided by these core values: Community, Inclusion, Advocacy, Affordability, Trustworthiness, and Creativity.

The Olympia Artspace Alliance is seeking new volunteers to join our board of directors. We currently have 10 members on our board, including a mix of working artists and advocates in our community. Our Board Members dream up and manage existing programming and opportunities for artists, and help guide the arts landscape in Downtown Olympia through partnerships.

Our Board Recruitment Goals

The OAA seeks board members who can bring diverse perspectives and life experiences, personal wisdom, good communication, and careful oversight to our organization and decision making. Our board creates projects, exhibitions, grants, and additional opportunities for artists in the South Puget Sound.

Our ideal board candidates might have experience in the following areas:

• Arts & Program Management and/or Curation

• Meeting Facilitation and Leadership

• Governance and Advocacy

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• Organizing & Updating Documents, Emails, Scheduling

• Finance management and/or Grant management

• Knowledge and/or experience with our local arts community/communities

• Event planning & Marketing

• Tech / IT / Web Support

• Fundraising

Board Member Duties

Here is some information about what board member volunteers do for OAA:

• Our board meets monthly for one and a half hours (from 9am to 10:30 am) to review project work, advocacy needs, and community funding opportunities. We have been meeting remotely via zoom, but have historically met in person in downtown Olympia at 9am on the second Friday of each month. (Note: We do not usually meet in December.)

• Our Executive Committee and other active committees typically meet monthly (Executive usually meets the first Friday of each month at 9am).

• We hold an annual board retreat and planning session, usually in October, where we spend three hours planning as an organization. This is usually in lieu of our regular meeting to help with planning.

• We ask that members commit to attending 80% of our monthly meetings per year (and any committees they join) and respond with timely email votes or input as needed.

• Board terms are a minimum of 3 years and can be extended upon mutual agreement from the Board at the annual meeting.

• Our organization is sustained by grants and donations, and In the past we have asked board members to make an annual financial contribution to our Give Local campaign. Please know that commitment is completely optional.

Ready to apply to join our board?

This questionnaire sheds light on what is important to us as an organization, and what we're interested in knowing about you. Completing this questionnaire is optional. If you would rather connect via a phone or zoom call, we would be happy to get to know you that way too!

Meet Our Current Board Members

The Olympia Artspace Alliance board meets every other month with auxiliary meetings as necessary. Board members coordinate ongoing projects, including Art in Olympia Storefronts, Artist Studio Surveys, and Space Grants, collaborate on community events, take part in arts advocacy, and much more. Read more about our current board members by visiting our board page.