SAM Open House is a recurring series that opens the doors to the museum for an evening of fun and learning after our usual daytime hours. Everyone is invited to enjoy talks, gallery tours, performances, relaxing music, and delicious cocktails and snacks. Space is limited—reserve your tickets now!

Program Schedule

6–8 pm
Get to Know the Chief Seattle Club
Stop by the Brotman Forum to meet the folks behind Chief Seattle Club and learn more about what they do. As a 501(c)(3) registered organization, the Chief Seattle Club is dedicated to physically and spiritually supporting American Indian and Alaska Native people. At its day center in Pioneer Square, members provide food, primary health care, housing assistance, legal services, job training, and more opportunities to engage in cultural community-building.

6:15–7:15 pm
SAM Performs: Guma' Gela'
The Guma' Gela' Band is a collective of Trans and Queer Pacific Islander singers, songwriters, musicians, and performers. Offering chants and songs of love, joy, grief, and cultural appreciation, The Guma’ Gela’ Band takes listeners on a journey to the Mariana Islands. At their performance in the Brotman Forum, you will hear multi-part harmonies, driving drums, calming acoustic guitar, and a steady bass.

Guma' Gela' is an inclusive collective with a mission to cultivate and innovate the CHamoru culture through interdisciplinary artistic expression.

6:30–7 pm
SAM Tour: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
Uncover contemporary Native artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's perspective of America in a guided tour through the galleries ofMemory Map with Theresa Papanikolas, Ann M Barwick Curator of American Art, on the museum's fourth floor.

7–7:30 pm
SAM Tour: Calder
Explore the genius and wonder of American artist Alexander Calder with Catharina Manchanda, Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, in the third floor galleries of Calder: In Motion, The Shirley Family Collection.

7:30–8 pm
SAM Tour: Lessons from The Institute of Empathy
Awaken your own empathy through an interactive tour of Lessons from the Institute of Empathy on the museum's fourth floor with Pamela McClusky, E. Cobb and Pamela F. Cobb Curator of African and Oceanic Art.

7:45–8:15 pm
SAM Tour: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
Join John Wesley, Curator of City of Light Gallery, for walk through Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map in the museum's fourth floor galleries. This guided tour will navigate Smith's evocative works that transcend traditional boundaries, inviting participants to decode the artist’s masterful use of visual language as a catalyst for change.

John Wesley is an international curator and art dealer based in Seattle, WA with almost a decade of experience working in fine art. He is the founder of City of Light Gallery and is passionate about promoting the advancement of Afro/Indigenous exhibitions and collections. He is also fascinated with exploring the role of art and language as tools for building the cultural architecture of the future.