My name is Anna Mlasowsky I am a German born, Seattle living artist and now pandemic-bred curator. I lost all my work last year as an artist and decide to do something for my community instead. The project I am submitting is my artist-run experimental window space called “Das Schaufenster”. German for storefront, meaning “viewing window or looking at window”. Das Schaufenster was born from the loss of exhibition opportunities for artists due to the COVID19 pandemic. During the first year we had focused on artists that needed support the most, such as immigrant artists, artists with an activist practice and recent MFA graduates that had their graduation exhibition canceled. We are housed in an old corner store in Ballard. At the beginning of the pandemic when businesses boarded over, I opened up the space to share art with my community and to provide artists with exhibition and curation opportunities. Within the first half year of our existence, we have hosted the work of 17 artists from 9 states, monthly artist talks and a socially distanced performance in the neighborhood park across the street. All exhibitions can be viewed safely from the sidewalk and we are open 24/7. The challenges artists face from losing their work for over a year are multifaceted. Das Schaufenster gives artists the opportunity to exhibit their work regardless of restrictions and has brought interesting, joyful, and thoughtful art to my neighborhood, for which I have received a lot of positive feedback. In fact, I have gotten to know more folks in my neighborhood in the first 2 months of opening, than I have in the previous 5 years living here. This space is not meant to be temporary, but rather an investment in the future. Hopefully we will be able to continue to share the work of many local and international artists. Das Schaufenster is not a commercial gallery. We pay artists a modest fee, to honor their time and effort. Please check out our website for more details.