About This Work

A voluntary group of advisors has been working with Anne on her papers since about 2010 and was formalized in 2017. Most have known Anne for decades or worked with her on projects and organizations documented in the archives.

To date, this group has consolidated around 200 boxes of files in a safe storage facility; worked with graduate students of the University of Washington Master of Library and Information Science program to begin to standardize indexing and labeling for the collection; researched related archive collections; initiated conversations with institutional libraries and archives to establish a permanent home for the papers; made preliminary plans for programs, budgeting, governance, and fundraising.

The goals are to:

1. preserve, index, and make available the archive of approximately 200 banker boxes of her papers,
2. create digital inventories following international library standards to connect with other relevant archives locally and globally,
3. activate interest and engagement with the archive for the next generation of artists and activists.

Advisory Committee

Edie Adams

Edie served on the Henry Art Gallery board for over twenty years, including as chair and treasurer, and is currently a member of the collections committee. She is a past president of Artist Trust, and was a key leader of the Microsoft Art Collection in the 1990’s.  She was a board director of Artech, served on the collections committee of the Tacoma Art Museum, and is part of the host committee for Seattle Art Fair. She has been a juror for the Seattle Arts Commission ArtsUp program, and for the Seattle Metal Arts Guild. She was a founder and managing director of JunctionHouse. Professionally, Edie is the director of Human Centered Design at Microsoft.

Sarah Cavanaugh

Sarah is a writer, photographer, and social enterprise inventor. She founded and directs Peaceful Exit a company that explores all aspects of grief and loss through a podcast and other programs. She is a trustee of the Jini Dellaccio Collection, preserving and promoting the photographer’s work. She serves as president of the Russell Family Foundation and is a past board member of the National Center for Family Philanthropy and a former trustee of the Merwin Conservancy. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for many years in support of the arts, education, leadership development, the environment, and children’s health.

Anne Focke

Anne founded or helped found and/or (an artist space), Artist Trust, Arts Wire, Artech, 911 Media Arts Center, and Penny University at Town Hall, and held executive leadership roles at the start of the Seattle Arts Commission, the Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Grantmakers in the Arts, and Center on Contemporary Art. She served as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the Bush Foundation, Centrum, the Goodwill Games, the Market Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Common Field, and SOIL Artist Cooperative, among others.

Carole Fuller

Carole served on the staff at and/or, was founder and co-owner of Fuel Gallery in Pioneer Square, and later served as a board member of 911 Media Arts Center. She is a huge supporter of artists, and currently serves on the advisory board of the UW School of Art + Art History + Design and was responsible for moving the Anne Focke Arts Leadership Award from 911 to the University of Washington.

Anna Hurwitz

Anna R Hurwitz, produced site-specific, interactive art happenings for over 30 years. She was the founding director of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival and was the Communication & Development Director for Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) where she launched the CoCA Archive Project. She is a certified archivist currently working for a private family archive.

Tommer Peterson

Tommer Peterson is an artist, playwright, retired graphic designer, and troublemaker. He has served as a board member for and/or, Artist Trust, Intiman Theater, Washington Ensemble Theater, and the Seattle Design Association, as well as a member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and chair of the Seattle Bumbershoot Commission. Professionally, he was employed as deputy director of Grantmakers in the Arts, development director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum, collection manager of the City of Seattle 1% for Art program, and preparator of the University of Washington Henry Art Gallery.

Norie Sato

Norie was a key staff member for and/or, and is an artist who currently works primarily in the field of public art. She was awarded NEA Fellowships in 1979 and 1981. She received the Betty Bowen Award, the 2013 Twining Humber Award from Artist Trust, the 2014 Public Art Network Leadership Award from Americans for the Arts,the 2014 Washington State Governor’s Arts and Heritage Individual Artist Award, and a 2018 SOLA Award. Sato served on the Visual Arts Advisory Panel for the NEA in 1983. She is a former member of the Public Art Network Council and a former commissioner of the Seattle Design Commission.

Emily Zimmerman

Emily is a curator, educator, and writer. Previously she served as director and curator, Jacob Lawrence Gallery and as associate curator, Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington; associate curator, Experimental Media and Performing Art Center (EMPAC) at Rennselaer. In 2023 she co-curated Out of Sight, a survey of artists working in the Pacific Northwest at Bumbershoot 2023. She has archived exhibitions and institutional histories at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, EMPAC, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.