ABOUT US
Wave Pool is a socially-engaged art center that acts as a conduit for community change through artist opportunities and support. Pairing communities’ knowledge of their needs with artists’ sense of possibility, Wave Pool provides a structure whereby contemporary art and artists can be integral contributors to the fabric and success of our city, country, and beyond, by helping us build relationships and collective knowledge around complex issues, centering the insights and experience of those most intimately affected.
Our space includes an art gallery, studios, artist residency program, wood shop, ceramics studio, and community gathering space. We are best known for initiating and supporting artist driven social practice projects and exhibiting work that stretches beyond our gallery walls through interactive projects that proactively support our neighbors. Listening deeply, and collaborating broadly, we work with neighbors and partner organizations to tackle tough problems through asset-based development and promote visionary approaches to problem solving as artistic practice.
MISSION:
Wave Pool creates community fulfillment through artistic opportunities.
With exhibitions, creative engagements, and collaborations we:
LISTEN
Wave Pool is community driven, exploring the stories and needs of the diverse communities we serve.
ACTIVATE
Wave Pool is artist led, reflecting the concerns and interests of contemporary creatives.
SHARE
Wave Pool uses our platform to amplify the ideas, expressions, and work, through which the world is made more joyous and equitable.
VISION:
Artists and communities remaking the world together.
VALUES:
SERVICE
We share resources, build connections, and encourage creative experiments.
CONSIDERATION
We listen and learn, cultivating a culture of curiosity and empathy.
COMMUNITY
We center the needs of artists in order to discover opportunities that can bring people together.
EXPERIMENTATION
We seek out novel approaches to seemingly impossible problems through art.
OPTIMISM
We believe that collectively we are enough and that things can be better.
ORGANIZATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS:
DIGNITY
We believe that dignity for all begins with a commitment to equity and inclusion.
ARTWORK IS WORK
We believe that the labor involved in being an artist is valuable and should be compensated accordingly.
POSSIBILITY
We believe that every moment is pregnant with the potential to positively transform the world around us through the power of art.
DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION STATEMENT
Wave Pool believes in a world that is inclusive in approach, equal in opportunities, and equitable in outcomes for all. As a conduit for community change through artist opportunities including funding, professional development, mentorship, connection and advocacy, Wave Pool views every project as an opportunity to act on these ideals and support social justice in all its forms. Wave Pool uses our platform to amplify the ideas, expressions, and work through which the world is made more joyous and equitable.