The Summer of Awe·Press Kit
The Summer of Awe is the Conru Art Foundation’s ten-week 2026 program in downtown Seattle: three exhibitions, twelve evenings of live performance, and a private guided tour through five historic buildings most people have never been allowed inside. June 1 to August 15.
At a glance
Dates
June 1 – Aug 15, 2026
~10 weeks, opens with Pride month
Buildings
3 historic
Coliseum (1916), Lusty Lady (1893), Occidental
Programs
3 exhibitions + 1 tour
Coliseum of Art, Beautiful Things, Occidental Sessions
Performances
~12 evenings
Occidental Sessions: ballet, jazz, opera, spoken word
Tour throughput
200+ / day
Across the SoA tour + Beautiful Things gallery walks
Locations
3 downtown
Pike & 5th, 1st Avenue, Pioneer Square
The Story
The Conru Art Foundation is opening three downtown Seattle buildings to the public this summer, simultaneously, for ten weeks. The 1916 Coliseum Theatre at Pike & 5th, sealed behind a retail-era drop ceiling for thirty years, will host The Coliseum of Art: fifty installations, a 30-foot LED wall, and museum-grade gallery walls programmed every night. The 1893 Lusty Lady building on 1st Avenue, locked since the club closed in 2010, is part of the loop tour. And the Occidental Fine Arts Center on Pioneer Square hosts both Beautiful Things, 1850–1950 (a century of paintings, photographs, and mechanical marvels upstairs) and The Occidental Sessions (twelve evenings of chamber music, ballet, jazz, opera, and spoken word downstairs).
Tying the buildings together is The Summer of Awe Tour: a 60-minute private CAF walking loop that starts at the Art Love Salon at 110 Union, walks down to the Lusty Lady for a behind-the-scenes look at the 1893 brick walls and original peep-show booths, then up Pine Street past Pike Place Market to the Coliseum, where guests climb an original spiral staircase to the upper balcony, gilded-plaster ornament at hand height. The tour ends inside the show.
This is, the foundation believes, the largest temporary opening of locked Seattle buildings in a generation. Pride opens the season; the FIFA World Cup brings the world. Public admission to all three exhibitions is free.
The Programs
Pike & 5th
A 30-foot LED wall, museum-grade gallery walls, and nightly happenings inside the historic 1916 Coliseum Theatre. Fifty installations and an immersive experience from Pacific Northwest creatives.
June 1 – Aug 15, 2026 · Pike & 5th
Pioneer Square
A century of paintings, photographs, mechanical marvels, and the everyday objects Seattleites once put on the mantel. The story of a city being born, told through what it treasured. 30-minute curated tours every half hour.
Daily 12–5 PM · OFAC, 2nd floor
Pioneer Square
A dozen evenings of chamber music, ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, opera, and spoken word inside 6,000 square feet of restored gallery space, plus a working art exhibition on the walls all summer.
Summer 2026 · OFAC, ground floor
Photo Pack
Real photography of the buildings, programs, and artwork. Click any tile to download. Photos credit "Conru Art Foundation" unless otherwise noted.

Beautiful Things — gallery composite
19th-century gallery interior with a contemporary humanistic painting inset.

Coliseum ceiling ornament
Original 1916 gilded plaster ceiling, photographed mid-restoration.

Coliseum hidden balcony
Upper balcony today, with original ornament still visible above the HVAC.

Coliseum exterior, 1987
The Coliseum Theatre at Pike & 5th in 1987, mid-retail-era.

Occidental Sessions — evening
Through-the-window view of a chamber-music evening at the Occidental.

Lusty Lady — marquee corner
The historic 1st Avenue marquee on a sunny Seattle corner.

Lusty Lady — gutted interior
Original 1893 brick walls and wood beams behind the gutted main floor.

Lusty Lady — 1st Ave facade, 2022
Yellow-brick three-story facade, marquee removed, graffitied storefront.

The Lusty Lady™ logo
Trademarked red script logo, transparent PNG, 1024px.

Tour climb — impression
Illustrated impression of the original spiral climb to the Coliseum upper balcony.

Lusty Lady — across from the Hammering Man
The Lusty Lady building visible across the street from Borofsky’s Hammering Man at SAM.

Atelier session at the Salon
Working artists at easels under brick walls and copper-pendant lights.
Need higher-res masters or a specific shot we don’t have on this page? Email press@conruartfoundation.org.
Partners & Sponsors
The Summer of Awe is funded by the Conru Art Foundation. Sponsorship and corporate partnership opportunities are open for any of the three exhibitions, the tour, or the season as a whole. Naming opportunities, hospitality nights, and in-kind partnerships welcome.
wendy@conruartfoundation.orgPress Contact
Print, digital, and broadcast inquiries welcome across all three programs and the tour. We can arrange building walkthroughs ahead of the public opening on request.
Conru Art Foundation, 110 Union Street, Floor 4, Seattle WA 98101