By Josh Stilts
Reporter Newspapers
The Bellevue Arts Museum broke all of its attendance records last year as more than 81,000 visitors toured its exhibits, 32 percent more than in 2013.
Executive director Linda Pawson said she was thrilled, but not necessarily surprised as the museum celebrates its 10th anniversary of its new mission and the half-way point of its five-year plan.
“It’s a testament to a lot of hard work from our staff. We really focused on what the community wants,” she said. “Bellevue has changed a lot and we have a plan in place to address what we’ve heard from people.”
Even a two-week closure of Bellevue Way due to construction for the Lincoln Square expansion didn’t deter people from coming, Pawson said, adding GOI Contractors, the group selected for the build, have been great neighbors throughout the process.
Pawson said she’s confident the museum will break the record again this year, adding “it’s only a matter of time before we exceed 100,000 visitors.”
In the last year the museum also strengthened its partnership with the hugely popular winter celebration Snowflake Lane, which performed nightly outside its front door, offering crafting supplies for children to make Snowflake Lane Princesses.
The unofficial “year of pulp” at BAM kicked off with a wildly successful show from stylist and designer Isabelle de Borchgrave, featuring her elaborate paper dress collection.
“We heard from lots of people who came a dozen times or more to see the collection,” Pawson said.
The huge influx of people meant a lot more memberships for the museum and many more return visitors.
Borchgrave’s paper dress exhibit was followed by another pulp exhibit ‘Folding Paper,’ which examined the world of origami and its connection to the Pacific Northwest.
That exhibit, in particular, proved to be a multi-generational teaching tool among hundreds of families near and far who came to visit, Pawson said.
Shortly after that exhibit the museum held its annual Kid’s Day which drew roughly 14,000 visitors during the three-day event.
This year, Pawson said the museum will feature an even greater variety of exhibits kicking off with its third biennial symposium “Knock on Wood” from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday Jan. 31.
Two new exhibits also will be unveiled in February and March, including Kiln-Glass collections from emerging artists and “Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection” from the former Secretary of State.
“We want to be a community space where people can engage, find a piece of serenity, of peace, completely refreshing.” Pawson said. “We want it to be an environment that’s peaceful and stimulating at the same time.”
Josh Stilts: 425-453-4290; jstilts@bellevuereporter.com
