AACG News
Chihuly Exhibit to Open at Seattle Center in 2012
Excerpted from The Seattle Times, April 25, 2011
The Seattle City Council on Monday approved a lease that will bring a Dale Chihuly exhibit to Seattle Center. The exhibition hall and an adjacent art garden are to open in April of 2012, when the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1962 World's Fair kicks off (as well as the 50th anniversary of contemporary studio glass in the U.S. will be celebrated.)
The Space Needle Corp., which is creating a subsidiary called Center Art to build and operate the glass exhibition hall, will pay the city of Seattle a base rent of $350,000 per year under a five-year agreement. Rent will increase to $500,000 per year if the lease is extended for an additional five years. The $350,000 figure is comparable to the Center's lease with Experience Music Project, city officials said.
Center Art will be responsible for all costs associated with the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the glass exhibit. No city money will be used for the project. An advisory panel in September recommended the Chihuly exhibition space as the most likely to draw tourists and generate revenue for Seattle Center.
| Posted 11 Apr 26
