The Port Townsend
Creative District
The Port Townsend Creative District connects audiences with artists to sustain a vibrant, year-round arts economy.
On May 6, 2020, Port Townsend was named Washington State’s newest creative district by the Washington State Arts Commission. This designation is the culmination of a successful application submitted by the Port Townsend Creative District subcommittee. The Creative District encompasses the Downtown and Uptown Historic Districts and the historic campus of Fort Worden. The designation provides resources, grant opportunities, technical assistance, training and networking, and tracks the progress of each community’s creative economy.
PT Creative District Arts & Culture Plan
The Port Townsend Creative District recently completed its Arts & Culture Plan.
Join us at Nexus!
Join the PT Creative District Manager for Nexus, a free monthly meetup for artists, makers, and performers held on the second Wednesday of each month from 5:30 to 7pm at rotating venues in Port Townsend.
Ask questions, connect with fellow creators, and learn about the district’s near-term goals developed from the Arts and Culture Plan.
The first meetup will be held Wednesday, May 8, upstairs at Aldrich’s beside Winter Texts book shop. Hope to see you there!
Nexus upcoming dates:
June 12, July 10, Aug. 14, and Sept. 11, at venues to be announced.
More about PTCD
The Creative District spans the Downtown and Uptown Historic Districts as well as Fort Worden, a lifelong learning center and home to many cherished arts organizations and partners such as Centrum, Northwind Art, KPTZ Radio Port Townsend, the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, and others. Traverse the northeast tip of the Quimper Peninsula between these areas via public trails and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery and original Victorian architecture in the world. You can also pick up a tide chart from the Northwest Maritime Center and plan a trek from the iconic Point Hudson marina. On behalf of the hundreds of working artists in our Victorian seaport and arts community, we welcome everyone whole-heartedly and hope you enjoy what we have to offer.
The Port Townsend Creative District is a collaboration with the Port Townsend Main Street Program and our founding partner organizations: Centrum, Port Townsend Public Library, Northwind Art, KPTZ Radio Port Townsend, Key City Public Theatre, Fort Worden Public Development Authority, and the City of Port Townsend.
Our Mission
The PTCD mission is to expand living-wage opportunities for artists who work, live, and show within the Creative District by providing resources and support to market their craft. Contact us via email with your questions and suggestions at [email protected].
Support
The Creative District is under the auspices of the Port Townsend Main Street Program.
These local businesses, property owners and nonprofits contributed to the required cash match to secure the ArtsWA grant: The Port Townsend Main Street Program, Centrum for the Arts, The Port Townsend Public Library Foundation, the Port Townsend Food Coop, 1st Security Bank, Northwind Art, KPTZ 91.9 FM Port Townsend Radio, The Kuhn Building, and Key City Public Theatre. The City of Port Townsend committed to in-kind services for this project to help with the installation of art markers and wayfinding signage.
The District is coordinated by the Creative District Subcommittee:
Kris Nelson, Chair of the Port Townsend Main Street Program Economics Committee and downtown restaurateur
Rob Birman, Executive Director of Centrum
Owen Rowe, City Council member
Melody Sky Eisler, Library Director, City of Port Townsend Public Library
Denise Winter, Artistic Director, Key City Public Theatre
Mari Mullen, Executive Director, the Port Townsend Main Street Program
Eryn Smith, Port Townsend Main Street Program Coordinator
Jason Victor Serinus, past Public Arts Subcommittee Chair of The Port Townsend Arts Commission, served on the review panel.
Welcome PT Creative District’s New Manager!
The Port Townsend Creative District Subcommittee is pleased to announce Mitzi Jo Gordon of Port Townsend has accepted the role of the Port Townsend Creative District Manager. She has an extensive background in the arts, fundraising, and project management. Gordon will manage the implementation of the recently released Creative District Arts and Culture Plan.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gordon is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and researcher whose work centers on socially-engaged collaboration and reclaimed materials at every scale. Her creative clients, employers, partners, and projects span from Florida, to New York, to Washington. These include roles at The Dali Museum, Street Lab, the Tampa Museum of Art, Creative Pinellas, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, and other nonprofit organizations.
Passionate about access and mobility, Gordon believes in the transformative power of shared artistic experiences. She is the founder of multiple traveling and interactive art projects, including the Bluebird Books Bus (2011-2020), a rolling free library and book-arts studio housed on a converted short bus, and the Carmada art car showcase, bringing art-on-wheels events to public spaces. From 2018-2023, she guided the SPACEcraft project as a founder and manager, bringing a public shipping-container art studio to parks in Pinellas County, Florida.
She also served for several years as a volunteer organizer and gallery manager at collaborative artist-led studios in the Tampa Bay area. She received her BA in Journalism from New York University, and is currently based in the Pacific Northwest, where she is writing a book about her experiences in social practice.
Photos by Sandra Dohnert, 2023.
Donate to The Port Townsend Creative District!
Help us support our mission to connect audiences with artists to sustain a vibrant, year-round arts economy.
Volunteer with Us!
Discover numerous volunteer opportunities within the Port Townsend Creative District. Whether you’re interested in assisting with events such as Soundcheck and Art Walk, or helping to bring aspects of the Arts & Culture Plan to life, there is a role for you.
For more information about Washington’s Creative Districts visit www.artswa.gov.
