PETE RUSH, Arts Programs Manager, Seattle Center Productions. Pete coordinates many signature programs like KConcerts and Movies at the Mural, Best Damn Happy Hour, and Seattle Center Winterfest. A favorite part of his job involves booking artists.
“I am an artist in my own right. I freelance as a designer—I design costumes and scenery for different theater companies in town. I’ve also worked in arts administrations jobs—I was an education director at a theater company, I’ve been a company manager and a production manager. So my job at Seattle Center is really ideal in the sense that I am still working in the field of arts. I’m collaborating with a lot of artists that I might actually collaborate with in other arenas in my life. I’m also working with the resident organizations on campus. It’s really great to have multiple points of connection. It gives me so much satisfaction to be able to offer a paying gig to a struggling artist that I know is worth every penny and more. To be able to give them a high profile venue and a large audience and a paycheck, it’s just really satisfying. Part of my job is being sort of an artist advocate and making sure that we treat artists well and represent the diversity out there.”
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Photo by Curtis Bathurst