Common AREA Maintenance is an artist led nonprofit in downtown Seattle. We operate art studios, a Risograph print shop, woodshop, bookstore, and performance space, supporting artists and cultural workers through collective resources, and public programming.
We host workshops, exhibitions, and public gatherings year round while developing affordable housing and cultural infrastructure for artists and nonprofit partners.
Come spend time with us and let’s keep making this city amazing!
We are launching a $1 million fundraising campaign to support the development, renovation, and long-term stability of El Rey. Your donation or pledged support will help us bring this project to life as a sustainable community resource. We are building the foundation for El Rey’s next phase, ensuring it has the resources needed to grow thoughtfully and responsibly. Please consider making a contribution or multi-year pledge to help us reach this goal and fully realize the El Rey.
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Affordable Art Space & Community Programming
We support a wide range of artists, including material based artists, print artists, and over 50 writer members. In line with Common AREA’s ethic of accessibility, all memberships are affordable and many are available on a sliding scale model.Aligned with our mission to break down barriers to art access and engagement, our events and workshops are thoughtfully designed to be either free or offered at an affordable cost. These encompass a diverse array of experiences, such as art exhibitions, performance art, readings, lectures, and an ever expanding catalog of educational opportunities.
At the heart of our community is a unique programming model that encourages individuals from all walks of life to propose their ideas freely. Importantly, we do not burden our community with production fees, adhering to a no cost model for realizing these collaborative and innovative community programming concepts..
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In collaboration with creators from across Seattle and the NW, we run a bookstore for independent publishers, artists, and the public to gather and share works. It’s not about the transaction of buying a book so much as creating a place where people can dwell with the printed word. Our local community of writers, comix and book artists, printers, and teachers curates the space to keep it inclusive and welcoming. It gives zine fair energy a place to thrive year round. Make sure to check out the bookstore page and submit your work.
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We invite artists of all backgrounds to take part in a shared resource for teaching and learning in Seattle. This is a welcoming platform for creativity, resource sharing, and community driven growth. If you are interested in teaching, learning, or proposing a class, we would love to hear from you.In our open classroom, artists from various disciplines can explore and expand their teaching capabilities. Whether you're passionate about writing, printmaking, drawing, performance arts or other disciplines, we want to support you.
Whether you're an experienced teacher looking to expand your horizons or a passionate artist eager to share your expertise, our open classroom is the perfect space for you to thrive, learn, and contribute to our communities.
Join us in shaping the future of art education in Seattle!
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Our print shop is a core part of CAM, managed by a team of dedicated printers and open to a broad community interested in print arts and publishing.
Our guiding principle of resource sharing continues to shape how the space operates. Whether you are an experienced print artist or someone with a project in mind, you will find an environment that fosters creativity and encourages collaboration.
MEMBERSHIPS
Members have 24/7 access to shared studio spaces where they create, teach, exhibit, and collaborate. CAM runs on a volunteer-driven model that keeps space affordable and accessible, with flexible membership options tailored to different creative practices. We are looking for artists with shared values who are dedicated to their practice and interested in community building and resource sharing.
Plus, all CAM members have the opportunity to consign at least one piece of work in the Common Objects Bookstore!
We want to work with amazing artists and writers!
Become a member here
Built by artists to support artists.
CAM's expansion reflects our mission of creating and manifesting more resources for the arts community and the public. The expansion into a new space is not just about physical growth, but embracing diverse forms of involvement through curatorial ideas, attending events, volunteering, and fostering connections. Tending to this supports our long-term vision of a thriving ecosystem of arts and culture in Seattle.
Making Wild Art Spaces That Last
Art spaces that resist commodification have always been ephemeral – flourishing in warehouses or soon-to-be demolished buildings – existing on the economic fringes of Seattle. Their existence within the city is increasingly jeopardized by the rising cost of living, and with the loss of these third spaces we lose the hubs where people can play, dream, and experiment.
Our vision is to create a space that endures, maintaining that wildness while sustaining the people who make it possible. CAM’s expansion is a critical step towards accomplishing that vision.
Maintaining a community arts space with limited resources pushes us to envision beyond our limitations. We are constantly building the tools, spaces, and coalitions of people we need to support our ideas and our community. This commitment to resource sharing and resourcefulness helps us foster community well-being, whether that is expanding our capacity to support artists financially, establishing and nurturing scholarships to democratize access, or nurturing the emergence of arts leadership roles within our community.
Community and Collaboration
“CAM is an incredible space centered on community care, with a strong emphasis on making sure everyone has what they need to thrive”
Asha Helmstetter — Second Ave Sign Project Resident Artist
Mission and Values
Common Area Maintenance (CAM) provides affordable space and resources for artists and cultural workers to ensure that the arts are accessible to everyone and to foster meaningful connections across creative communities.
Through free public programs, ongoing community partnerships, education and mentorship we connect artists and audience members to the tools and opportunities they need to engage in the arts.
We use our resources to center the voices and perspectives of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists and cultural workers through leadership positions, scholarships and programming for underserved and historically marginalized communities.
Our Mission & History
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We hold the idea that artists do not flourish in isolation, but within strong supportive networks. We believe a multi-disciplinary open format space provides more access to resources for individual artists — access to tools, collaborators, and curatorial opportunities, empowering artists to build the systems of support we want to see in the world.
As a volunteer-run art space, our funding comes from a mix of rent from member artists, community support, and grants. Member artists are a part of decision making and the day-to-day operations of the studio and gallery.
We operate deliberately as an overlap between our individual member artists, the local arts community, and the broader public by offering affordable open-format studio space for renting artists and opportunities for programming by the larger community.
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This was and continues to be an increasingly difficult thing to do, as Seattle has undergone rapid changes and skyrocketing rents, threatening the existence of many art spaces in the city. Originally we took up residence in the ruins of an appliance repair shop in Belltown. We continue to support artists in incubating their ideas and developing their practices among peers. Both artist members and the broader community are encouraged to play and collaborate, host shows and events, and to support one another.
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We are a chimera, the creature of Greek myth composed of more than one animal. Part collective art studio, performance venue, wood shop, literary salon, classroom, gallery, reading hall, community—we have as many iterations as we need to keep art thriving in Seattle.
Values
This process began when member Meke Spence drew a big ol’ bathtub on construction paper, laid it on a table with a few markers and wrote “bathtub of values, add yours!”
From this extensive list we whittled it down to five through a CAM-wide consensus vote, which were further defined in meetings & individual interviews. Quotes are from those interviews.
1. Community 2. Play 3. By Artists for Artists 4. Access to Art 5. Artists over Profit
