Bellevue Downtue Downtown Magazine is a publication of the Bellevue Downtown Association

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Bellevue Celebrates Grand Opening
of the New Bellevue Arts Museum

	David Chatt, Toy Box, A Sampler 1996 Glass seed beads, wire armature, collection of The Museum of Arts and Design

Bellevue celebrated the Grand Opening of the new Bellevue Arts Museum on Saturday, June 18, and in the first six weeks alone, more than 8,300 visitors poured through the doors.

Under the leadership of executive director, Michael Monroe, the Museum has focused its mission on illuminating the finest in craft and design. To accommodate its new vision, the interior of the Museum was remodeled to enhance function and flow. In addition, a new lighting system was installed; carpet tiles in gallery spaces were added to improve the acoustics; and a gracious palette of paint colors were used to give the Museum a softer more approachable feel. Both the Museum Store and Café were remodeled as well. The store offers fine crafts from regional and national artists, and the Museum Café includes a program of weekend jazz.

On September 29th, the Museum will introduce a new exhibit by David Chatt (on cover), a nationally renowned and collected Northwest bead artist whose fascinating and intricate work ranges from jewelry to figurative vases with flowers. The exhibit, entitled Two Hands, Twenty Years, and a Billion Beads will run through December.

Throughout the year, the Museum will offer walking tours, lectures and special events. To find out more, visit www.bellevuearts.org