OUR HISTORY

La Sala is a Seattle-area organization that creates and catalyzes opportunities for Latino/a/x artists and arts organizations. Our work provides artists with access to professional education, art spaces, institutional connections, expanded audiences, and commissioned creative opportunities. Our goal is to facilitate and promote the creative and artistic production of the Latinx community in the greater Seattle area.

La Sala was founded by arts administrator and advocate Irene Gómez, visual artist / arts administrator Miguel Guillén, and musician / arts manager Tony Gómez. Current Board president Catalina Cantú and vice president Wendy Call were also founding members of La Sala.

Since 2007, La Sala has connected museums, galleries, and arts and cultural organizations to Latinx artists and arts educators—and vice versa. La Sala has worked, often behind the scenes, to raise the profile of Latinx artists and arts initiatives. It is the only arts organization in King County serving the Latinx arts community in all disciplines, by forging connections, developing careers, and creating arts experiences of the scale and quality to make Latinx artists competitive within the larger arts community. Our long-term goal is to create a physical home for Latinx arts in the Seattle area. Over the years, La Sala has collaborated with many organizations to create temporary arts spaces, including the former Benham Gallery in downtown Seattle, Bellevue Art Musuem, Centilia of El Centro de la Raza, CoCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Seattle, Good Arts Building in Pioneer Square, the Seattle Public Library, to mention just a few. We have organized and curated arts events, exhibitions, performances, and professional development opportunities throughout Seattle, including Pioneer Square, the Central District, Capitol Hill, SoDo, South Park, White Center, and Beacon Hill —as well as in Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, and other suburbs.