The Conru Art Foundation

A nonprofit, public service with values of beauty, truth and love

***The Summer of Awe is a three venue art extravaganza to enjoy this summer, courtesy of the Conru Art Foundation.****

I went to the Occidental Fine Arts Center in June and last week I went to the other two venues: The Coliseum of Art and The ArtLove Salon. I had the pleasure of a tour, led by Andrew Conru, of the hidden upper balconies of the Coliseum Theater, which is now The Coliseum of Art.  Mr. Conru purchased the historic building in 2024, after being vacant since Banana Republic closed in 2020. The Coliseum Theater was the first movie theater in Seattle when it opened in 1916.  It opened in the silent film era and had a 7-piece orchestra and an organist. It was active until the big cinemas opened and the people left for a higher tech experience.  The upper levels are now covered with a cement ceiling and unused, but the main floor was used as a retail store.  Today, when you enter on 5th Ave at Pike, there is a video where you can learn and see the history and evolution of this beautiful place.  There is also a display of movie posters from the early days of the theater.

The hidden upper balconies of the Coliseum Theater

 

Terracotta details 

 

Through September, PublicDisplay.Art magazine curated a wonderful collection of art for the Summer of Awe. The entire first floor, the old Banana Republic store, is a spacious gallery of contemporary local art.  The rooms are well filled with sculpture and 2D art.  The dressing rooms are now installations by different artists.  The old Coliseum marquee is displayed from above.

Two beautiful works by John Avendano, johnandroavendano.art.

 

An immersive kaleidoscope experience.

 

Chameleon, 2024, monotype printmaking and commercial wallpaper by Dawn Endean.

 

Above this ceiling is the beautiful upper balcony of the old theater.

Another project by The Conru Foundation is ArtLove Salon, at 110 Union St., 5th Floor, across the street from the SAM.  It opened one year ago and has over 250 works of art on display. 

***This is a salon, as opposed to a museum or gallery. It’s a comfortable gathering place to be surrounded by art, and attend workshops and community events. ***

Many of the works are for sale and the QR code next to them will give you the price. It’s open Tuesday-Saturday noon-4:00. Plus, they host a weekly Salon Social on Wednesdays from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm, with live music, food and drink.  It is always free!  Artlovesalon.org

The view with works by Olumide Oresegun

 

Nigerian artist, Olumide Oresegun with a work in progress. 

 

Four paintings by Keven Furiya that I adore.

 

Tattooed Carney by Peter Walker.

 

BIG PUFFA by artist duo Uckiood, consisting of Missy Douglas and Kim Rask.

The Occidental Fine Arts Building in Occidental Mall was purchased by Mr. Conru in 2024. It was previously Davidson Gallery on the main level.  Now there are two upstairs spaces. On one side is the Beautiful Things exhibit, an Andrew Conru curated collection of 400 historical artifacts from Seattles’s first 100 years.  On the other side are studio spaces for 8 artists. The Conru Art Foundation launched the Seattle Prize Masters Fellowship, a one year program meant to cultivate early-career artists dedicated to classical, representational painting.  The 8 fellows received a full year’s stipend to focus only on art. We went to the June Art Walk and toured this gallery of awesomeness (see my last post).

 

There’s no art here (yet) but we also had the opportunity to go inside The Seven Seas Building (better known as the Lusty Lady Building) which Mr. Conru purchased in 2023. Built in 1890 after the Great Fire, this building has landmark status and a long history with many uses over the years, including a hotel and, of course, The Lusty Lady for 33 years. It has been shuttered since 2010 and in need of $30,000,000. in seismic upgrades!  He’s not sure what will become of it yet, but it’s a cool facade with three levels on 1st Ave and three levels going down to Post Alley. You can take the one hour tour too, Wednesday-Sunday at 1:00 and 2:00. Meet at the Coliseum entrance.  No reservation needed, but you can get more information at conrufoundation.org.

 

The Seven Seas Building at 1315 1st Ave., right across from the Seattle Art Museum.

 

The folded ‘The Lusty Lady’ marquee and Andrew Conru.

 

The top level with the framing of the hotel rooms still intact. 

 

****I am blown away by the philanthropy of Andrew Conru. He is truly giving back to the people who made him uber-wealthy, which is a refreshing thing to see in this day and age. ****

His city of Seattle is much improved by the support to artists and the exposure (free) to art for the public. Everything I had read made me think it was too good to be true, but The Coliseum, The Occidental Fine Arts and The ArtLove Salon are all incredible.  They are super inviting and comfortable to experience, and so much good art!

Oh, he also purchased PublicDisplay.Art magazine which is a great, free, local art magazine.  There are many featured artists in each issue, some with 2-page spreads.  It can be found in display stands around town.

*All photos by Angela Salvadalena lol.