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Free First Thursday: Seattle Art Museum

Thu Jun 4 2026

10 am–8 pm

Seattle Art Museum

Photo: Alborz Kamalizad

Call your friends and bring the family, admission is FREE to everyone at the Seattle Art Museum on the first Thursday of every month. In addition to our regular hours, Seattle Art Museum will be open for Free First Thursday evenings from 5–8 pm to provide more opportunities to visit the galleries for free! Evening hours will feature extra activities like live music, drop-in art making, and in-gallery experiences for visitors.

Tickets are available both onsite and online.

11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 6 pm | Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection
These 60-minute tours meet at the top of the 3rd floor escalators.

5–8 pm | Drop-in art activity with Jessie Blackmer
Brotman Forum

5–8 pm | Earthcorps Youth Photographers Reception
South Hall

5:30–7:30 pm | Seattle Hall-Of-Fame All-Stars Performance
South Hall
This band of local Jazz icons has been holding the bar high for decades, while also keeping Jazz visible and vibrant in Seattle. Each shares a direct musical lineage to the musicians of the Jackson Street scene and continues their legacy today by passing it on. Scheduled to appear: Marc Seales, Phil Sparks, Thomas Marriott, Jay Thomas, & John Bishop. Presented by Seattle Jazz Fellowship to complement Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest.

5:30–6:30 pm | SAM Gallery artist talk
SAM Gallery

6–7 pm |  Beyond Mysticism Public Tour
This tour meets at the 4th floor special exhibition entrance.

7-7:30 pm | Spotlight Talk: Zola Mumford on Washington Hall
4th Floor Galleries
Join historian Zola Mumford for a short talk and Q&A about the history of Washington Hall. Learn how you can collect and preserve histories in your community. Zola Mumford is an academic librarian, researcher, writer, and Co-Leader of the Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute, a project of Wa Na Wari. Her work includes a Washington Hall HistoryLink.org essay and audio recording in "Frequencies", a 2026 project of the Henry Art Gallery (Bloomberg Connects). 

 

Free First Thursday Evenings Presented by

Allen Family Philanthropies

Related exhibition

Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest

Related program

Discounts

To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience art, SAM offers monthly free days and various discounts for visiting our locations.

view program

Related program

Free First Thursday

Get free admission on Free First Thursday at all SAM locations and take advantage of extended hours and art programming at Seattle Art Museum.

view program

What’s on at Seattle Art Museum

2026 Naramore Middle & High School Art Show

Seattle Art Museum

2026 Naramore Middle & High School Art Show

Wed Apr 1–Sun May 31 2026

  

10 am–5 pm

SAM Gallery Presents: Into the Wild

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Gallery Presents: Into the Wild

Wed May 6–Sun May 31 2026

  

10 am–5 pm

Saturdays at SAM

Seattle Art Museum

Saturdays at SAM

Sat May 16 2026

  

11 am–2 pm

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Seattle Art Museum

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Sat May 16 2026

  

11:30 am–12:30 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Sat May 16 2026

  

1:15–2:15 pm

Chanoyu: Tea Culture of Japan Demonstration

Seattle Art Museum

Chanoyu: Tea Culture of Japan Demonstration

Sat May 16 2026

  

3–4 pm

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Seattle Art Museum

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Sun May 17 2026

  

11:30 am–12:30 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Sun May 17 2026

  

1:15–2:15 pm

SAM Happy Hour

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Happy Hour

Thu May 21 2026

  

5–8 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Thu May 21 2026

  

6–7 pm

Conversations with Curators | Picturing Salvation in Premodern Japan

Seattle Art Museum

Conversations with Curators | Picturing Salvation in Premodern Japan

Thu May 21 2026

  

6–7:30 pm

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Seattle Art Museum

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Sat May 23 2026

  

11:30 am–12:30 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Sat May 23 2026

  

1:15–2:15 pm

SAM Films | Hilma

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Films | Hilma

Sat May 23 2026

  

2–4 pm

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Seattle Art Museum

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Sun May 24 2026

  

11:30 am–12:30 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Sun May 24 2026

  

1:15–2:15 pm

SAM Happy Hour

Seattle Art Museum

SAM Happy Hour

Thu May 28 2026

  

5–8 pm

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism Public Tour

Thu May 28 2026

  

6–7 pm

Member Tour: SAM Collection & Monochrome

Seattle Art Museum

Member Tour: SAM Collection & Monochrome

Fri May 29 2026

  

1:30–2:15 pm

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Seattle Art Museum

Public Tour: Highlights from SAM’s Collection

Sat May 30 2026

  

11:30 am–12:30 pm